The Nedbank Golf Challenge celebrates its milestone 40th edition this week as an international field gathers in Sun City for the penultimate event of the 2022 DP World Tour season.
Tommy Fleetwood returns to South Africa to defend his title, three years on from when the event was last held, while home hope Thriston Lawrence, New Zealand’s Ryan Fox and Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson are all targeting their third Tour title of the campaign.
If you have not done so already, you can sign up now to the official Fantasy Game of the DP World Tour and submit your six-man team before round one on Thursday: https://fantasy.dpworldtour.com/
Favourite – Tommy Fleetwood
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Englishman lifted the trophy in 2019 when he overturned a five-shot deficit on the final day and beat Marcus Kinhult in a play-off. The victory at the Gary Player Country Club was his fifth DP World Tour title and saw him join an illustrious list of Nedbank Golf Challenge champions, including golfing icons Sir Nick Faldo, Bernhard Langer and Ernie Els. Despite being without a victory worldwide since then there is reason to believe he could be on the cusp of a return to the winner’s circle. The World Number 25 finished tied fourth in his most recent appearance at the PGA TOUR’s CJ Cup in South Carolina and boasts three top fives to his name on the DP World Tour this year. Ahead of the season-ending DP World Tour Championship next week, the 2017 European Number One is aiming to improve on his current standing of 13th in the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
Form horse – Jordan Smith
Victory at the Portugal Masters saw Smith end a five-year wait for a title as he earned a wire-to-wire win to become a two-time champion on the DP World Tour. The success was reward for a hugely impressive campaign, during which he has amassed eight further top tens due to his consistent ball striking. Those performances have seen Smith rise to ninth on the DP World Tour Rankings, with only second-placed Ryan Fox ahead of him from this week’s field. In his three prior appearances at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, Smith’s best performance came in 2018 when he finished in a tie for 21st. With confidence at such a high and the Englishman celebrating his 30th birthday on Wednesday, it would be no surprise to see him become the first player to win back-to-back events this season.
Dark horse – JC Ritchie
The South African arrives in Sun City fresh from securing his DP World Tour card for next season by virtue of finishing fourth on the Challenge Tour’s season-long Road to Mallorca. All four of his Challenge Tour titles have come on home soil, including his back-to-back titles in his homeland earlier in the campaign. He narrowly missed out on winning the fifth Challenge Tour title of his career at the British Challenge presented by Modest! Golf Management last month and has now been rewarded with an invite to make his debut appearance at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. In his previous appearances on the DP World Tour so far this season, he finished in a tie for eighth at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett demonstrating his promise ahead of playing more regularly in Europe over the next 12 months.
