The 2026 Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player is set to return to Sun City this December with a transformed Gary Player Country Club, marking the biggest course redesign in the tournament’s history.
As the 44th edition of “Africa’s Major” approaches, the championship is not only bringing a new test for some of the world’s best golfers, but also expanding the entire Sun City experience beyond the fairways. The biggest change comes at the very start. The Gary Player Country Club will introduce an entirely new 470-metre par-four opening hole, built parallel to the original and climbing higher up the mountainside. The old first hole will make way for the course’s first dedicated practice range. Other upgrades include new professional tees, refurbished bunkers, an enlarged dam on the second hole and a newly opened view of the waterfall from the ninth. The goal is simple: make an already iconic course an even tougher championship test.
The opening field is already looking serious. Major champions Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau are among the first players confirmed, alongside South Africa’s Casey Jarvis, defending champion Kristoffer Reitan and Marco Penge, the 2025 Seve Ballesteros Players’ Player of the Year. With more names still to be announced, the battle for the 2026 title is already shaping up to be one to watch.
This year, Sun City is making sure the action continues long after the final putt. The tournament week will feature three nights of headline entertainment, with Scorpion Kings performing at the Valley of Waves on Friday, 4 December, +LIVE+ taking over the Superbowl on Saturday, 5 December, and DJ Shimza closing things off at Sun Park on Sunday, 6 December.
The golf finishes. The party doesn’t. The 2026 Nedbank Golf Challenge takes place from Thursday, 3 December to Sunday, 6 December at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City. Four days of world-class golf, music, entertainment and the full Sun City experience — Africa’s Major is coming back bigger.