Nathan Kimsey is eager to maintain the momentum from winning the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca Rankings when he kicks off his 2023 DP World Tour campaign at the Joburg Open.
The Englishman won the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A earlier this month – his second victory of the campaign – as he clinched his full DP World Tour playing privileges for the first time in five years.
Kimsey will have the honour of hitting the opening tee shot at Houghton Golf Club, which is hosting the Joburg Open for the first time this year as the tournament stages its 15th edition.
“I just want to keep my game rolling, really,” he said.
“We have got a nice little run of four weeks here [on the DP World Tour] so we will try to have a few good results to start the season off nicely and take it from there in 2023.”
Kimsey, who became the 11th English Challenge Tour Number One and first since Jordan Smith in 2016, registered five top-ten finishes in addition to his two victories last season.
“After having my DP World Tour card a few years ago, it was always a goal to get back,” he added.
“It was a tough year [on the Challenge Tour last year]. When we came down to South Africa at the start of the year, I didn’t start out so well.
“When I went back to Europe, I was searching for something and then I found it and started to play some good golf through the summer and just kept it going all through the year.”
The Joburg Open, which runs concurrently with the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, is one of three back-to-back events in South Africa.
It is followed by the Investec South African Open Championship and then the Alfred Dunhill Championship, with Kimsey excited to test his game once again in a country steeped in golf history.
“I have been down here a fair few times and seen different parts of the country,” he said.
“It is great coming down here and playing in the good weather most of the time. Obviously, all over the country you have different styles of golf courses so it’s a real mix.”
