Liam Grehan and Rowan Lester came through a pre-qualifier to earn a place in the field at this week’s NTT Data Pro-Am on the HotelPlanner Tour in South Africa.
The four South African events on the HotelPlanner Tour are co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour which Grehan and Lester are members of so they teed it up in a pre-qualifier at Montagu Golf Course, Fancourt looking to clinch one of the ten available places in the field.
Grehan qualified in fourth place on five-under after a round of 67 while his compatriot Lester had to survive a playoff after he carded a four-under 68.
Both players will now join Conor Purcell, Gary Hurley, Max Kennedy and Liam Nolan this week, taking the Irish contingent to six players.
Four-time major winner Ernie Els is also part of the field this week.
“I have such wonderful memories of this tournament throughout my career, and I’m looking forward to playing in it again. They have been such a loyal and longstanding partner of the Sunshine Tour. The Sunshine Tour is where I started my career and I’ve always come back to play here whenever I can. It’s going to be great to see some old faces and a few of the youngsters on the Tour as well,” said Els.
Having first visited Fancourt Golf Estate in 2020, the HotelPlanner Tour returns to the foot of the picturesque Outeniqua Mountains for a seventh time this week. The resort is home to three world-class courses – Montagu, Outeniqua and The Links – with each 18 providing a unique test. The NTT DATA Pro-Am will be played across all three courses with Sunday’s final round taking place on the Montagu.
The NTT DATA Pro-Am is the only event of its type on the 2026 Road to Mallorca schedule, with two competitions running simultaneously. Each professional is paired with an amateur, with a better ball medal scoring system in use. With amateurs’ handicaps taken into account, the lowest score on each hole, by the amateur or professional, is recorded.