RUSTENBURG HERALD - RUSTENBURG - Marco Penge, the only three-time winner on the DP World Tour in the 2025 season, has added his name to the field for the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player, with the Englishman set to make his debut in “Africa’s Major” at the end of his breakthrough year. With his three wins in China, Denmark and Spain, Penge finished the season in second place on the Race to Dubai Rankings, 30th on the Official World Golf Ranking, and earned dual membership on the PGA Tour.
He heads to Sun City as the 2026 season gets up and running as the next highest-ranked player in the field after Norwegian Ryder Cup star Viktor Hovland, who is also making his debut at Sun City. The Nedbank Golf Challenge is scheduled for Thursday, 4 December until Sunday, 7 December at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City.
It’s apt that he returns to South African fairways where his incredible year began when he finished third in the Investec South African Open in March.
Penge said: “I love playing in South Africa and I’m really looking forward to ending an amazing year by making my debut at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player. It’s an event I’ve heard a lot about, in terms of the course, the fact that it is played in honour of Mr Player, and everything else that goes into the week, so I’m sure it will be a great experience and the perfect way to help get my 2026 season up and running.”
It’s been a remarkable year for Penge who claimed his maiden DP World Tour victory in April’s Hainan Classic and then added the Danish Golf Championship and the Open de España in a six-month stretch that has transformed his career.
This year’s Nedbank Golf Challenge will also showcase an even greater fan hospitality experience. The Hospitali-TEE Lounge, an enhanced VIP hospitality option for the public, is offering a first-of-its-kind in the history of “Africa’s Major”, with fans gaining exclusive 18th grandstand access as well as player autograph opportunities, a photo opportunity with the Nedbank Golf Challenge trophy at the Hospitali-TEE Lounge facility, a voucher to the value of R500 per Hospitali-TEE Lounge ticket purchased for official Nedbank Golf Challenge merchandise at The Pro Shop at Sun City, and a range of other enhancements to this popular concept.
And the new Sunbet Signs on 18th viewing seating area will make its debut this year, offering a prime viewing experience in comfortable director’s chairs right alongside the 18th fairway and close to where most of the professionals will land their tee shots.
About the European Tour group
The European Tour group administers the DP World Tour, the HotelPlanner Tour, the Legends Tour and the G4D Tour and, as the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe LLP, stages golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup, in partnership with the PGA of America.
The European Tour group has Strategic Partnerships with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour, the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association (CGA), the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA), and the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India. These partnerships provide global pathways for players from across the world to compete internationally on the DP World Tour, the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group which was established in 1972, as well as the HotelPlanner Tour.
