Viktor Hovland says he is ready to take on the demanding test of Gary Player Country Club as he soaks up his first experience of the Nedbank Golf Challenge – and his first taste of Sun City, which he has swiftly labelled “incredible”.
The European Ryder Cup star arrives in South Africa fully recovered from the neck injury that curtailed his week at Bethpage Black in September. That setback forced him to miss the Sunday Singles against Harris English, though the controversial envelope rule ultimately resulted in a tied match as Europe marched to a landmark 15–13 victory – their first away win since Medinah in 2012.
Now, with his 2026 Race to Dubai campaign beginning in earnest, Hovland is relishing both the challenge of one of the toughest layouts on the DP World Tour and the unique atmosphere of the iconic resort.
Hovland, 28, has spent the early part of the week exploring the surrounding Pilanesberg National Park and familiarising himself with a course he believes will put every part of his game under pressure.
“You can’t really fake it around here,” he said. “The rough is pretty juicy. Sometimes when you miss it and it sits up, you can kind of get away with it, but the greens are so firm that it’s hard to stop it, even though you can land it on the green, but it’s most likely going to roll over.
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“Sometimes if the ball’s buried in the rough, I mean, it’s just a chip out. And then even if you do hit the fairway, it’s no cakewalk from there. The greens are tiny, even if you’re going to the middle of the green. It’s small areas, but of course, they’re going to tuck the pins and then you’re looking about just five or six steps around the holes there. So, yeah, it’s going to test every single part of your game.”
The Norwegian admits the past two seasons have been physically and technically challenging, but he takes confidence from an increasingly steady run of results.
“It’s kind of been a challenging period throughout the last two years, but I think, even though I haven’t been super happy with the way I’ve swung it the past, even couple months, I’ve started to get some consistent results.
“Played nicely at Wentworth, even had a nice finish to the FedExCup playoffs in the States, and in India, just about a month ago, another sixth place finish. So, things are trending in the right direction, and hopefully it just continue to build on that.”
The week has already provided plenty of memorable non-golf moments, too.
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“It’s incredible. The resort is awesome, and we’ve already been on a couple safari trips on Monday night and Tuesday morning, and we’re actually getting ready to go out there in a couple hours time, so, just trying to soak it all in and see as much as I can.”
World No.13 Hovland also has no shortage of inspiration to draw upon. Defending champion Johannes Veerman won here on debut last year, overturning a five-shot deficit on Sunday to claim the biggest victory of his career. The American is proud to have his name etched alongside past champions such as Seve Ballesteros, Sir Nick Faldo and Ernie Els as part of the elite club of winners at “Africa’s Major”.
Zalatoris targeting emotional win after return from back surgery
Will Zalatoris is another player arriving in Sun City with renewed momentum.
The American enjoyed both his debut appearance and the safari experience last year, finishing tied 18th, but he returns this week with a clean bill of health for the first time in years.
Zalatoris, 29, underwent disc replacement surgery to resolve a debilitating back problem that had threatened his career. Now pain-free, he says another American win – following Veerman in 2023 and Max Homa in 2022 – would rank among the most significant moments of his life.
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“Last year was special. I’d heard about it since I was a kid, you know, growing up with some legends of the game that have come here through the years. It’s just fun to be back here. You know, doing the safari to start off your week is about as fun as it gets. I brought my wife this year and, seeing a momma leopard with a baby is as good as it gets.
“So it’s special off the golf course, but obviously playing in Mr. Player’s event is even more special. The golf course is in phenomenal shape this year, too.”
Zalatoris says the back surgery has transformed his outlook.
“Yeah, it’s feeling great. I had the disc replaced. You know, I battled it for about four years, did every modality that is under the sun to try to get back to being healthy, but essentially, I had gotten to a point where I was bone on bone and needed some help.”
An emotional victory would cap a journey that, at one point, looked uncertain.
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“Considering everything I’ve gone through the last three years, it would probably be the most important win I’ve ever had. You know, going through those few years that I’ve had, not knowing if I was going to be able to play again, no matter what injury you go through, sometimes that’ll creep into your mind. But the fact that I’m on the other side of it now is so gratifying.”
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