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Max Homa closes out surprise victory in South Africa that left Rory McIlroy a winner, too. Here’s why

Clarkwin — Mon, 13 Nov 2023 05:40:35 +0000

Max Homa would likely have described his time in South Africa as a success regardless of his finish at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. The opportunity to compete in a different part of the world was one the 32-year-old Californian couldn’t pass up, turning it into a family trip by arriving early with his wife Lacey and taking in a safari excursion with fellow PGA Tour pro Justin Thomas and his wife, Jill.

But with a 19-under 269 total at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, capped by a closing six-under 66, Homa is taking home a trophy and a €961,124.05 first-place prize money payout from his working vacation. Homa won his first DP World Tour title (to go with six PGA Tour victories) by defeating Nicolai Hojgaard by four shots (and a hard-charging Thomas, who finished fourth but seven shots back).

“It’s just been tremendous to get to travel to a new place, meet so many amazing people,” said Homa, the fifth American to win the tournament (along with Jim Furyk twice, Johnny Miller, Raymond Floyd and Corey Pavin) but the first since it became a DP World Tour event. “The fans have been amazing. Everyone has been so welcoming and kind.”

Never mind that Homa hadn’t played competitively since the final day of the Ryder Cup on Oct. 1, or in a stroke-play event since the Fortinet Championship in mid-September. And forget the fact that Homa still hadn’t found his comfort zone with the 10-hour time change until a few days into the tournament. His game was spot on, playing bogey-free golf through his first 39 holes and making just three all week.

Suffice it to say, Homa’s putter came in handy at clutch moments. Like here at the 16th hole on Sunday. Homa, who opened the day with a one-stroke lead over Matthieu Pavon, was clinging to the two-shot margin, now of Hojgaard and Thorbjorn Olesen, as he faced this 38-foot birdie opportunity on the par-3 16th hole.

.@Maxhoma hammers home a 38-foot putt to go 3 shots clear…?#NGC2023 pic.twitter.com/RSUuGTgzgJ

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 12, 2023

“It was one of those weeks, the ball wanted to go in when it needed to,” Homa said.

And it was also one of those weeks where good breaks came at the right time too, like with this drive on the par-5 14th hole.

A very lucky break for @Maxhoma as he hits a buggy and lands back in play…?#NGC2023 pic.twitter.com/NI4ixcTMdh

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 12, 2023

“To be granted the opportunity to even be here, I was truly grateful for,” Homa said, “but to come out with a trophy is just cherry on top.”

As it turned out, Homa wasn’t the only “big winner” after the end of the Nedbank. So, too, was Rory McIlroy, despite the fact the Northern Irishman wasn’t even in the field.

McIlroy began the penultimate event on the 2023 DP World Tour schedule in first place in the tour’s Race to Dubai points list and was assured to remain No. 1 afterward regardless of the outcome. Yet by virtue of Homa’s victory, coupled with the performance of the rest of the field, McIlroy will arrive at the upcoming DP World Tour Championship having clinched the season-long title for the fifth time in his career no matter the outcome during the coming week in Dubai. McIlroy has 5,164.47 points while Jon Rahm, sitting in second, has 3,081.94. The winner earns 2,000 points.

McIlroy previously had been the winner of the Order of Merit in 2012, 2014, 2015 and 2022. Only two golfers have won the title more often: Colin Montgomerie having claimed it eight times and Seve Ballesteros six.

Main image: Warren Little

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DP World Tour: Will Zalatoris set for 40th anniversary celebration at Nedbank Golf Challenge

Matt Smith — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 09:59:14 +0000

By Matt Smith
The field for the 40th anniversary of the Nedbank Golf Challenge just got a significant boost with world No. 14 Will Zalatoris announcing he will compete in the November 10-13 event.

American Zalatoris, who is second on the DP World Tour Rankings, will tee it up at Gary Player Country Club, Sun City as he seeks to become the first winner of the event from the United States in more than 15 years.

The $6 million event is the penultimate tournament on the 2022 DP World Tour schedule and will also carry an increased number of DP World Tour Ranking Points as the 64-man field vies for a place in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.

Zalatoris announced himself to the professional golfing world in 2020 after finishing in a share of sixth place at the US Open. The following year the 25-year-old finished one stroke behind Hideki Matsuyama at the Masters and was voted PGA Tour Rookie of the Year for the 2020-21 season.

His runner-up finish at the 2021 Masters was the first of three second place results in just ten major starts to date and this year he was runner-up at both the US Open and US PGA Championship, losing to Justin Thomas in a play-off at Southern Hills.

Zalatoris will bid to become the fifth winner of the tournament from the United States, and the first since Jim Furyk defended his title in 2006, when he competes in the historic anniversary edition of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, which has been postponed for two years due to the global Covid-19 pandemic.

“I’m really excited to travel to South Africa,” said Zalatoris. “I’ve had great experiences of playing DP World Tour events in Dubai and Scotland and I’m sure that South Africa will be no different.

“I’ve heard a lot about the Nedbank Golf Challenge and I’m looking forward to experiencing a new country and a new culture later this year. It’s sure to be a special occasion for everyone involved after waiting so long to celebrate a landmark milestone.”

The celebrations for this year’s tournament will seek to capture the history of a tournament that changed world golf’s landscape as it offered the first $1 million first prize in the history of golf, won by Ian Woosnam in 1987.

Some of golf’s most celebrated names, including Woosnam, Bernhard Langer, Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Colin Montgomerie, Nick Price and Ernie Els are among the tournament’s former champions.

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South Africa’s Branden Grace feeds off home crowd en route to Nedbank Challenge win

Golf Digest Middle East — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 07:04:57 +0000

Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

By John Huggan
It was, for a proud citizen of the Rainbow Nation, the perfect climax to what has already been a historic year. Four months on from shooting 62 in the Open Championship—the first in any of the four Grand Slam events—Branden Grace added victory in South Africa’s Nedbank Golf Challenge to his burgeoning list of career achievements.

With a final-round 66 over the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, the 29-year-old clinched what he called “Africa’s major” by one stroke from Scotland’s Scott Jamieson. Victor Dubuisson was third, the eccentric Frenchman pulling up two shots clear of a fast-finishing Li Haotong of China—who coincidentally shot 63 at Royal Birkdale one day after Grace’s record-breaking 62. Li’s eight-birdie 64 on Sunday was the lowest round of the week.

The decisive hole of a closely contested final day turned out to the par-3 16th. Tied on 11 under par standing on the tee, Grace and Jamieson each provided much in the way of excitement before making their way to the penultimate hole.

It went like this: Jamieson’s near-shanked tee shot flew wildly to the right, hit a grandstand and rebounded just short of a greenside bunker in some heavyish rough. Grace then struck his tee shot to roughly 40 feet from the cup.

Jamieson, bidding to be the first Scot to win on the European Tour in more than 2½ years, played an amazingly delicate flop-shot that landed perfectly on the fringe before lipping out for what would have been the week’s unlikeliest birdie. And, just to round things off, Grace then holed for his own birdie—his sixth of the day—to grab what proved to be the decisive lead.

“This is a dream come true for me,” said Grace, who announced to the crowd behind the 18th green that he and his wife are expecting a baby boy early next year. “This is the one event that as a South African you want to win. It’s Africa’s major for a reason and what a special place it is. There’s a lot of history and a lot of great winners on the trophy. I’m very glad to be able to put my name on the trophy as well.”

Warren Little

Grace started the day three strokes behind Jamieson and knew he had work to do to claim the title. “I told myself I had to go birdie-free and that would give me a chance,” Grace said. “I drove it well all week. And that allowed me to be aggressive when I needed to. Mostly, I stayed patient and tried to take any chances that came my way. I did miss a couple of short ones, but I did that pretty well. The big key was obviously the putt on 16.”

In the most interesting and significant of the various sub-plots in play during the European Tour’s penultimate event, Tommy Fleetwood’s T-10 finish extended his lead at the top of the Race to Dubai over the absent Justin Rose. The young Englishman has a €256,737 edge over his older compatriot with only this week’s DP World Tour Championship left to play. And only Rose and Masters champion Sergio Garcia can possibly pass the long-time leader.

“This was a good week for me overall,” Fleetwood said. “I’d have taken this before we started. The only disappointment is that I hit it all over the place on the back nine. I got a bit hot and bothered. Then again, I feel like I left some shots out there today. But it has been a good week overall. Every shot counts for me at the moment. And doing all the math in my head … it’s been hard to get it off my mind. But to be in with a chance to win the Race to Dubai is special. I’m not that stressed though. It is still in my hands whatever the other guys do.”

Speaking of which, Jamieson’s best finish of the 2016-’17 season saw him rise 53 spots on the money list and claim one of the 60 places available in the United Arab Emirate. Last man in was yet another South African, Richard Sterne, who earned €4,074 more than Paul Waring.

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