Asian golf will witness one of its most impressive rising stars make his debut in the Nedbank Golf Challenge when 19-year-old Wenyi Ding tees it up at Sun City from 5-8 December.
The Chinese golf sensation will face his biggest test since turning professional in October when he joins a stellar field for ‘Africa’s Major’ that already includes defending champion and six-time PGA Tour winner Max Homa, PGA Tour champions Will Zalatoris and Corey Conners, DP World Tour stars Nicolai and Rasmus Højgaard, victorious European Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald, and fellow Sunshine Tour stars Thriston Lawrence, Christiaan Bezuidenhout and Erik van Rooyen.
Ding will now seek to make history as the first Chinese champion in the over 40 years of the Nedbank Golf Challenge and at a Sun City resort that is already a premier holiday and business destination for Chinese tourists, and where the South African Chinese community has also celebrated Chinese New Year.
Ding is expected to have a large following at a Sun City resort that is as widely recognised in China, as is Gary Player’s status as an international golf icon, and which is further enhanced by an expanded Vacation Club offering at Sun City as well as several resort refurbishments including to the popular The Palace of The Lost City.
After a glittering amateur career, Ding turned professional through the Global Amateur Pathway, which was launched by the DP World Tour, PGA Tour and The R&A to help the best eligible male amateur players within the top 20 on the World Amateur Golf Rankings take the next step in their careers and secure playing rights on the DP World Tour.
Although only a few months into his professional career, Ding is already a global golf sensation.
The Beijing-born golfer was the first in Arizona State history to win both the Pacific-12 Conference Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year.
He was also the first Chinese golfer to win a United States Golf Association (USGA) title when he claimed the 2022 US Junior Amateur, and this year he won the Asia Pacific Amateur Championship.
Photo: Zhe Ji/Getty Images
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