In a dramatic finish, England’s Tommy Fleetwood came from six shots down on the last day of the Nedbank Golf Challenge to win the tournament against Sweden’s Marcus Kinhult in a play-off.
Held at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City in the North West Province, the Nedbank Golf Challenge is one of the biggest events in South Africa’s yearly sports calendar and brings a positive impact on the South African tourism industry in numbers and awareness.
“Since the event is broadcast globally and covered on major international golf digital platforms, South Africa is front of mind amongst golf fans all over the world. This is certainly advantageous for us as a destination and with golf being identified as niche target market, the Nedbank Golf Challenge is a catalyst to drive this market as we have some of the most beautiful golf courses in the world,” says Sthembiso Dlamini, Acting CEO of South African Tourism.
From a domestic tourism perspective, the event is also a key driver of tourism in the North West Province, with around 30 000 people enjoying the golf on a daily basis in Sun City for the duration of the four days, which benefits the local tourism economy.
Independent Tourism Adviser, Gillian Saunders, agrees, noting that in 2018 there were 20 000 visitors to Sun City for the event each weekend day and 72 000 visits in total. “With these people all spending well, it is a great tourism impact for the area,” she says.
“Given that the four-day event is one of the resort’s busiest periods with higher spending visitors, it will be an important contribution to Sun City’s total impact on the region through tourism,” Saunders reiterates.
She adds that there is also immeasurable profiling of Sun City and South Africa through the TV coverage. “It profiles the destination generally, but also for golf tourism specifically, and we have a good golf tourism industry – events and golfing holidays – that has more potential.”
Prior to the event, Glenton de Kock, CEO of the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI) acknowledged the full holistic economic and social benefit that the event brings to the country annually. “These are investments in infrastructure, in permanent jobs and training, in the support for good social causes and, importantly, in the broader social agenda across South Africa,” he says.
“SAACI will be watching the disruptive approach taken by the organisers in making this year’s golf fan experience more personal with the introduction of new technologies and platforms to meet the demands of a social and digital age. The tournament, sponsors and players are also increasingly building platforms in social media to engage with fans and promote themselves.
“These are early signs of what the business events industry can look forward to in 2020, as organisers and business find ways to have more engaging experiences with their audiences.”
According to event organisers, the public hospitality offering is proving immensely popular and affirms once again the Nedbank Golf Challenge’s status as a premier hospitality sports event on the South African calendar.
The Nedbank Golf Challenge hospitality sales increased by 25% from 2017 to 2018, according to André Homan, Director of Sales and Hospitality of Circa.
The tournament, played by 64 golfers, forms part of the Rolex Series on the European Tour and is also the penultimate event on the Race to Dubai.
