Homa chasing glory in ‘Africa’s Major’

It’s always the names on the walkway that do it, and for Max Homa
it’s no exception.

The American, who will take a one-stroke lead into Sunday’s final round of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, admits that seeing the names of the winners of this event on the walkway that leads to the ninth green makes him determined to add his on there as well.

“Every day we walk up the ninth and they have the plaques of everyone who’s won here, and the names are impressive,” said Homa after his third-round 69 for the lead on 13 under par.

He is one stroke clear of Frenchman Matthieu Pavon who added a 70 on another day of intense heat at Sun City’s Gary Player Country Club. Nicolai Højgaard and Thorbjørn Olesen are both on 11 under par, with defending champion Tommy Fleetwood going into the final round on seven under.

But while in the future there stands the famous crystal trophy of ‘Africa’s Major’ for the winner on Sunday, it’s to the past that Homa has had his eye on over these last three days. In particular, the names of past champions Johnny Miller, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, Nick Price, Nick Faldo, Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia and, most notably for him, Jim Furyk.

Furyk was the last American champion here at Sun City in 2006.

“It would be amazing to add my name to the tradition that’s been here,” said Homa, who has done a superb job of slowly acclimatising to a golf course he is playing for the first time and on the back of perhaps the least tournament preparation he’s ever had following a lengthy break.

After what he described as a “scrappy” start to his third round, Homa started to find his rhythm and then clicked into something truly special on the par-five 10th hole when he chipped in from the bunker for eagle.

“That was big because I felt like I had been hitting some really good shots and not capitalising. I felt like nothing was going my way, so to have that one go in felt like a nice boost. It was one of those fun ones where at about 12 feet out you feel it just can’t miss.”

Behind him, Pavon is still feeding off the confidence of his maiden DP World Tour win in October.

“My confidence is high. The game feels good and now I’m competing against some of the best players in the world, so all I can do is give it my all in the final round.”

And Homa will do the same, reminding himself of the history of this great event as he looks to make history of his own.

Formerly known as the European Tour, which was established in 1972, the 2023 DP World Tour schedule includes five Rolex Series events, along with four Major Championships, one World Golf Championship event, as well as tournaments staged around the world with a minimum prize of $2million for all events solely sanctioned by the DP World Tour.

The season concludes with the final Rolex Series event, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, where the winner of the Tour’s season-long competition, the Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex, will be crowned.

DP World, the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, is the title partner of the DP World Tour, which is administered by the European Tour group.
About the European Tour group

The European Tour group is the overarching corporate brand which administers four competition brands: the DP World Tour, the Challenge Tour, the Legends Tour and, along with the PGA of America, is the Managing Partner of golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup.

Established in 1972, the European Tour group is committed to ‘Driving Golf Further’ through our guiding principles of being innovative, inclusive and global.

Innovative: We are driving innovation in golf through the creation of award-winning content, pioneering tournament formats and the use of the latest technology and inventive fan engagement. We are committed to attracting new audiences whilst respecting the tradition of our sport.

Inclusive: We are committed to include all who share a love for the game of golf. We are passionate about a closer collaboration with the women’s game, golf for the disabled and promoting the many physical and mental health benefits of playing golf.

Global: Since 1972, players from 38 different countries have won tournaments on our main Tour, while our live broadcast reaches more than 490 million homes in more than 150 countries every week, generating in excess of 2,200 global broadcast hours for each event. We also enjoy the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with DP World, Rolex, BMW, Emirates, Fortinet and Hilton as Official Partners.

The European Tour group has Strategic Alliances with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour and ISPS Handa PGA Tour of Australasia, while  we ensure we have a positive long-term impact on the courses, countries and the communities we visit through ‘Golf for Good’, the umbrella name for the European Tour group’s commitment to ‘Driving Golf Further’ in an environmentally and socially sustainable way.