Although the dust has barely settled on the season ending DP World Tour Championship, some of the best players from all over the world have travelled down to South Africa to compete in one of the most lucrative events held in Africa, the Nedbank Challenge.
The tournament has long been popular and this year has seen a strong field gather at the Gary Player Country Club as they try to compete for their share of the $6,000,000 prize pool.
With two rounds left, here are some of the tournament's main talking points.
Max Homa Aims to Put a Difficult Year Behind Him With a Defence of His Nedbank Title
Rewind twelve months ago and Max Homa would have been optimistic of what 2024 held in store. A great winner of this tournament, Homa would have hoped that his win would have been able to act as a platform to a strong year. However, that hasn’t been the case.
After winning six times on the PGA Tour, Homa had climbed all the way up to the top of the game and at his height reached fifth in the world ranking and would have had massive hopes of claiming a first major.
Those dreams almost became a reality when Homa found himself bang in the mix at the Masters earlier this year. In the final group alongside Scottie Scheffler, a costly double bogey at the par 3 twelfth would see him fall back through the field and it seems that he has never really recovered.
With his form taking a nosedive, Homa has fallen outside of the world’s top 30 and missed out on the lucrative FedEx Tour Championship. In search of finding his swing again, Homa has returned to South Africa hoping to end his year in style and set himself up for a return to the top of the game in 2025.
Through the first two rounds we have seen both the good and bad from Homa. Finding himself in the lead deep into the second round, things quickly unravelled as Homa’s lack of conviction and confidence was on full display.
Dropping a shot on the 12th hole, that seemed to rattle the American and after finding trouble off the tee at the par 3 16th he would record a double bogey before he would then repeat the feat on the very next hole. Dropping five shots in five holes, the lead that Homa enjoyed was quickly eradicated and he heads into this weekend with plenty of work to do.
Signing off on a disappointing round of 75, Homa will start his third round two shots off the lead and will hope to find himself in the reckoning by the time Sunday rolls around.
Julien Guerrier Aims to Win The Biggest Title of His Career
Julien Guerrier has enjoyed the best year of his career. Hailing from France, Guerrier is a name not known by most, but he emerged on the radar when landing the Andalucia Masters just a few months ago.
Capturing the biggest title of his career, it was his first victory on the DP World Tour and he is clearly using the confidence gained from that victory to good effect in South Africa.
After a quiet opening round where he posted a one under 71, things came alive in the second.
Posting a four under 68, the Frenchman’s round included eight birdies and four bogeys. Showing the best and worst of his game, due to Max Homa capitulating at the top of the leaderboard, his round of 68 was enough for him to hold a one shot lead.
Today will be interesting, if Guerrier can keep his birdie form from yesterday he could be a hard man to catch. However, if he remains inconsistent as he did during yesterday’s second round, he may find his lead overhauled.
Stacked Nature of The Leaderboard Could Lead to a Special Weekend
Ten players will tee off the third round within three shots of the lead held by Julien Guerrier and it’s fair to say that this tournament is wide open.
Hoping to take the lead from Guerrier is his compatriot, Romain Langasque. At 85 in the world Langasque is one of the highest ranked players in the field and will be hoping to land his second DP World Tour Title.
Extremely talented, the Frenchman had a decent end to the season finishing seventh at the Andalucia Masters, before posting a top twenty effort at the DP World Tour Championship.
Often it’s his temperament that gets in the way but if the laid back Frenchman can keep the mistakes at bay, he has every chance of landing the biggest title of his career.
Paul Waring will start his third round three shots off the lead but the Englishman is playing some of the best golf of his career. Having cemented his PGA Tour card for next season thanks to his brilliant win at the Abu Dhabi Championship, Waring has climbed back into the world’s top 100 and will hope to set himself up nicely for his adventures next season with a win this weekend.
Absolutely flying in confidence, if he can get on a roll victory could well be his.
One man who just missed out on his PGA Tour card was Laurie Canter. Canter, who could have made history by becoming the first man to have played on the LIV Tour and then the PGA Tour, will want to make up for his near miss and win his second DP World Tour title of the year.
A classy player, Canter has been a late developer but now in his mid thirties he is without doubt playing the best golf of his career. Solid from tee to green, Canter has managed to accrue enough experience at the top end of various leaderboards to be a major force over the next two rounds.
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
