ISLAND GREEN The par-5 ninth green, with the Cascades hotel on the left of image, and The Lost City Palace in the background.
teed off on Thursday. Veerman hasn’t followed up that victory with the hap- piest of years in 2025, and his ranking has now fallen to 214. Last year was an unusual tourna- ment. The course was in exceptional condition as always, but intense heat building up to the week meant there was no water to spare for the kikuyu rough. The absence of rough, plus firm fairways meant tee shots were running into the bush and trees and causing greater problems for players. The winning score of five-under-par 283 was the highest since David Frost shot 284 in 1990. It was stressful golf for all involved. Defending champion Max Homa was 8-under after 29 holes and played the next 43 in 8-over. Tough pins made the GPCC very demanding for lower-level pros under pressure. There were 1004 bogeys or worse com- pared to 810 birdies. The average score was 73.22 from a select field of 66. Eight players failed to break 300. Veerman was 35 shots better than the four who tied for last place. SA Open champion Naidoo and lefthander Garrick Higgo will be mak- ing their debuts in the NGC, while Sun- shine Tour Order of Merit winner Danie van Tonder will tee up in “Africa’s Ma- jor” for the first time since 2014. He’s another who won the SA Open at the GPCC, in 2021 when it was not part of the DP World Tour. Potgieter will not have Jake Roos as his caddie this year. The former Sunshine Tour player proved an ex- cellent foil for Potgieter last year, but Potgieter will trust in his Australian bagman who helped him to his break- through triumph on the PGA Tour.
NEW BACK TEE AT NO 15 Gary Player has overseen key strategic and aesthetic course changes for the 43rd NGC, one of which may have turned the 15th into the most challenging par 4 on the GPCC layout. He has contended for some time that the GPCC is too short for the modern golf ball, even though the winning scores have fluctuated over the years. Behind the par-5 14th green a pathway has been built through the bush to a new tee on 15 which will add 45 metres to a hole that will now play 475. The carry over the left-hand fairway bunker is 305. “This was a key change from Mr Player to make the course more challenging,” said NGC tournament director Ken Payet. Last year No 15 was the fourth most difficult hole at the NGC. The 14th itself has had bush cleared down the right-hand side in preparation for a new future tee 40 metres further back. Bush has been cleared from the right side of the par-3 fourth, showcasing more of the green and water hazard from the tee. “From the tee it opens up the hole and makes it more visually appealing,” said Payet. The par-3 seventh has a new tee complex, with the pro tee pushed back 25 metres. “We’re excited about this change because it offers great tee options in relation to flag position.” Bush has been cleared left of the hole, and a bunker at the front left of the green removed. The fairway bunker on the par-5 ninth has been removed to entice players to be more aggressive off the tee on this feature hole, so they can go for the green in two. The three toughest holes during the 2024 NGC were the eighth (4.28), 18th (both 4.23) and 17th (4.21).
NGC WINNERS SINCE 2013 2013 Thomas Bjorn 268 Denmark 2014 Danny Willett 270 England 2015 Marc Lieshman 269 Australia 2016 Alex Noren 274 Sweden 2017 Branden Grace 277 S Africa 2018 Lee Westwood 273 England 2019 Tommy Fleetwood 276 England 2022 Tommy Fleetwood 277 England 2023 Max Homa 269 USA 2024 Johannes Veerman 283 USA
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 67
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025
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