The 2026 Nedbank Golf Challenge will return to a transformed Gary Player Country Club from 3-6 December, with the most significant course redesign in the tournament’s history creating a new championship test for one of world golf’s most recognisable events.
The course transformation is the headline development ahead of the 44th edition of “Africa’s Major”. Alongside the new layout, Sun International has confirmed the first five players in an exceptionally strong opening field, while the tournament has been expanded into a broader destination experience that continues after the final putt each day.
While championship golf will remain at the heart of the week, Sun City will add a stronger after-hours programme so visitors can move from the course into dining, live music and nightlife without leaving the destination.
+LIVE+ concert at the Super Bowl
Four nights of headline entertainment are planned during tournament week. The programme includes a +LIVE+ concert at the Super Bowl on Saturday, December 5; and The Final Putt! with Scorpion Kings and DJ Shimza at Sun Park on Sunday, 6 December.
At the centre of the course redesign is an entirely new 470-metre par-four 1st hole. Built parallel to the original and climbing higher up the mountainside, it represents the most significant single change to the Gary Player Country Club layout in the tournament’s history. The site of the old 1st will become the course’s first dedicated practice range.
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The transformation also includes new professional tees, refurbished bunkers, an enlarged dam on the 2nd and a newly opened view of the waterfall from the 9th. Together, the changes are designed to sharpen the championship test while retaining the character and tournament pedigree of a course that has been central to the Nedbank Golf Challenge since 1981.
The return of Justin Rose
The first field announcement adds immediate sporting credibility. Major champions Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau will be joined by South Africa’s Casey Jarvis, defending champion Kristoffer Reitan and Marco Penge, the winner of The Seve Ballesteros Players’ Player of the Year Award for 2025, with further player announcements to follow.
Rose returns after finishing runner-up in 2007, while Jarvis arrives following back-to-back DP World Tour victories this season. Reitan returns to defend his title, with Penge adding further international pedigree to the opening field.
“The Nedbank Golf Challenge has always been one of the highlights of the Sun City calendar, and the golf remains the main attraction,” says Brett Hoppe, Resort General Manager at Sun City.
“The changes to the Gary Player Country Club give the world’s best players a new challenge, while the expanded programme across the resort gives spectators more reasons to stay longer and experience everything Sun City has to offer once play has finished.”
- The 2026 Nedbank Golf Challenge will take place from December 3-6 at the redesigned Gary Player Country Club.
- The course redesign features a new 470-metre par-four 1st hole and other changes like new tees, refurbished bunkers, and an enlarged dam on the 2nd hole.
- The old 1st hole area will be converted into the course’s first dedicated practice range.
- The first five confirmed players are Justin Rose, Bryson DeChambeau, Casey Jarvis, defending champion Kristoffer Reitan, and Marco Penge.
- The tournament week will include after-hours entertainment such as a +LIVE+ concert at the Super Bowl on December 5 and a performance by Scorpion Kings and DJ Shimza on December 6.
