NEDBANK GOLF CHALLENGE December 5-8, Gary Player CC
the US PGA, The Open Championship, and Alfred Dunhill Links, but missed the cut in all three. Bezuidenhout has a stellar record at the GPCC and can be expected to be in the mix. Winner of the 2020 SA Open at Sun City, the 30-year-old was the 54- hole leader in the 2022 Nedbank Chal- lenge but closed with a 72 on Sunday to finish T-5. He didn’t play last year. Christo & Stingers missing Christo Lamprecht has said he was “gutted” at having to withdraw from the Nedbank Challenge. He has done so be- cause he needs to play in the Final Stage of PGA Tour Q School which begins at TPC Sawgrass in Florida on December 12, and wants more time beforehand to prepare for that. Lamprecht earned a place in the NGC field following his recognition as the inaugural recipient of the Gary Player International Golfer of the Year Award. This award, established in partnership with the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) and FlightScope, rec- ognises collegiate golfers from outside the United States. Lamprecht was a standout in NCAA Division I for Geor- gia Tech where he earned multiple ac- colades including the 2024 ACC Golfer of the Year and Byron Nelson Award. In 2023 he won The Amateur Champion- ship and the silver medal at The Open. The only South African to have been No 1 in the World Amateur rank- ings, the 100-kilogram, two-metre tall “super bomber” is regarded as one of the game’s longest drivers. When the 23-year-old from George played in last year’s Alfred Dunhill Champion- ship at Leopard Creek (as an amateur) he nuked a drive on the downhill 18th which measured 382 metres. At the Masters in April, his two opening drives at Augusta National’s first and second holes went 323 and 335 metres. Also missing from the Sun City lineup will be the four members of the LIV Stingers team – Louis Oosthuizen, Charl Schwartzel, Dean Burmester and Branden Grace – who are committed to playing the Saudi International from December 4-7, the season-ending event on the Asian Tour, at Riyadh Golf Club.
2024 Korn Ferry Tour – 13 missed cuts in 24 tournaments – but a 29th place finish in the money-list was enough to secure his PGA Tour card for 2025. He has made a big impression though with his driving prowess. He’s up there with the longest in the game. He led the field in driving distance at the 2023 US Open in Los Angeles and was No 1 in Driving Distance on the 2024 Korn Ferry Tour with an average of 336 yards. Two other young South Africans making their debuts at Sun City are Robin Williams and Ryan Van Velzen. Williams, 23, received a personal in- vite from Gary Player to be included in the Sun City field. He delivered one of the best performances in 2024 by a member of the SA contingent on the DP World Tour when he finished T-4 in the Alfred Dunhill Links Champion- ship in Scotland. Earlier in the year he lost a playoff for the SDC Champion- ship at St Francis Links. He now has exemption for 2025 and boasts a higher World Ranking (203) than Potgieter (328). Locally he retained his Fortress Invitational title with a 22-under per- formance at Glendower in October. Van Velzen, 23, who delivered such a terrific effort in last year’s SA Open at Blair Atholl to finish runner-up to Dean Burmester, has had a quiet year since winning the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit in April. He had invitations to
The first tee at Gary Player Country Club.
Aldrich Potgieter.
Robin Williams.
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 77
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024
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