The Nedbank Golf Challenge is an annual golf tournament played over the Gary Player Country Club Course in Sun City South Africa. It was inaugurated in 1981 and has had several previous names. Like most high profile unofficial tournaments in professional golf it takes place between the conclusion of the PGA Tour and PGA European Tour official schedules in early November, and Christmas. It does not count for world ranking points, but nonetheless it attracts many of the world's highest ranked players.

The tournament is a twelve man invitational stroke play event. When it was first staged the first prize was a then unheard of one million U.S. dollars. This was designed to overcome any qualms the world's top golfers might have about competing in South Africa during the apartheid era, and it was successful in doing this in many cases. It was known as "The Million Dollar Challenge" in the early years. The budget required for the tournament was kept in check by awarding a much higher share of the overall prize fund to the winner than is the case in most other golf tournaments.

From 2000 to 2002 the first prize was $2 million, which as of early 2005 remains the largest prize in the history of golf, but the following year the winner's share of the total prize find was reduced from more than half to around 30%. The standard winner's share on the PGA Tour is 18% and on the PGA European Tour it is 16.67%. In 2004 the winner received $1.2 million, out of a total purse of $4.06 million.

Winners

• 2004 Retief Goosen South Africa
• 2003 Sergio Garcia Spain
• 2002 Ernie Els South Africa
• 2001 Sergio Garcia Spain
• 2000 Ernie Els South Africa
• 1999 Ernie Els South Africa
• 1998 Nick Price Zimbabwe
• 1997 Nick Price Zimbabwe
• 1996 Colin Montgomerie Scotland
• 1995 Corey Pavin United States
• 1994 Nick Faldo England
• 1993 Nick Price Zimbabwe
• 1992 David Frost South Africa
• 1991 Bernhard Langer Germany
• 1990 David Frost South Africa
• 1989 David Frost South Africa
• 1988 Fultom Allen South Africa
• 1987 Ian Woosnam Wales
• 1986 Mark McNulty Zimbabwe (later became a Republic of Ireland citizen)
• 1984 Seve Ballesteros Spain
• 1984 Seve Ballesteros Spain
• 1982 Raymond Floyd United States
• 1981 Johnny Miller United States

As of 2004 the leading money winner in the event is Ernie Els with winnings of $6,585,800.

External link

Official site