Francesco Molinari, Matteo Manassero, and Guido Migliozzi will make their 2026 DP World Tour debut. From December 4th to 7th, the three Italians will compete in the "Nedbank Golf Challenge in honor of Gary Player" in South Africa. The tournament, dedicated to a timeless champion who inaugurated the series on December 31st, 1981, challenging big names such as Severiano Ballesteros, Jack Nicklaus, Johnny Miller (who won the match), and Lee Trevino (there were only five players in the field at the time), will offer a prize pool of $6,000,000, of which $1,025,000 will go to the winner. In Sun City, on the Gary Player Golf Club coursedesigned by the nine-time Major champion, born in Johannesburg in 193566 competitors will compete, including 58 winners of at least one event on the top European men's tour.
DP, schedule
As is tradition, the DP World Tour is offering a double-header this week (the Crown Australian Open will be held in Melbourne on the same days). In South Africa, Molinari, Manasseroboth returning after recent stints on the PGA Tourand Migliozzi will face opponents of the caliber of Norway's Viktor Hovland (world number 13), making his South African debut; Canada's Nick Taylor (five wins on the top American circuit); England's Marco Penge (second in the 2025 Race to Dubai behind only Rory McIlroy); Spain's Angel Ayora; and America's Will Zalatoris, playing for the first time since May (his last appearance at the PGA Championship) after a new back injury. Also among the favorites are Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin, Britain's Laurie Canter, and China's Haotong Li. Thirteen South Africans are in the field chasing the feat (the last golfer to win in front of a home crowd was Branden Grace in 2017), including Thriston Lawrence and Aldrich Potgieter (last year's runner-up). The American Johannes Veerman will defend his title.
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From Miller to Ballesteros (who won twice in the competition), from Bernhard Langer to Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie, and Tommy Fleetwood. These and many others have won the event that Tiger Woods attempted to win in 1998, losing a play-off to Nick Price. As for the Italians, it's worth noting that in South Africa, on March 11, 2024, ten years and ten months after his last appearance, Manassero returned to the DP World Tour (on the Glendower GC course in Dowerglen) by triumphing in the Jonsson Workwear Open.
The rules of golf are relatively complicated compared to other sports because they are played outdoors, close to nature and animals. Respecting the rules is a fundamental element in the game of golf, which, almost always based on self-control and the free conscience of the players, often sees distorted results, sometimes consciously, but often unconsciously or through carelessness, due to the failure of many players to comply with the rules of the game. In addition to the rules, golf adheres to a code of conduct, known as etiquette, which generally means playing the game with due respect for the golf course and other players. Etiquette is an essential component of this sport.
