Excitement is building as we approach the 31st staging of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, or Africa’s Major as is has become know. Last year’s event saw the introduction of an eight man Senior Challenge in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the NGC.
Due to the resounding success of the exhibition event the Nedbank Senior Golf Challenge has become and extension of the main event and will run together with the NGC from 1 – 4 December.
The winner of last year’s Nedbank Senior Challenge, Jeff Sluman, will be defending his title against Gary Player Country Club specialists Nick Price and David Frost, both of whom have won three NGC titles, as well as the player now considered to be the best senior golfer in the world, Bernhard Langer. Langer is also no stranger to the Gary Player-designed layout, and has won here twice.
Making up the star studded field will be former Open champion Mark Calcavecchia (who finished as runner-up to Langer in the 1991 NGC), another past Open champion Tom Lehman, and two-time major winner Mark O’Meara. Completing the octet of over-50 stars will be Ian Woosnam, a former world number one who became the first Welshman to win a major – the 1991 US Masters. The long-hitting professional who has 48 professional wins to his name, was also the first golfer in the world to win $ 1 million in a single event. This was in the 1987 Nedbank Golf Challenge.
The 2011 Nedbank Senior Challenge will be played over 54 holes and offers a total purse of $ 880 000, with the 2011 champion earning $ 250 000. The player finishing in 8th place will take home $ 70 000. The first prize compares favourably with most of those available on the Champions Tour, and dwarfs most senior champions’ cheques in Europe and other parts of the world.
The continuation of the Senior Challenge reinforces the status of the Nedbank Golf Challenge as the premier golfing event on the South African sporting calendar.