Zimbabwe-born South African golfer Dean Burmester has joined the star-studded line-up for this year’s Nedbank Golf Challenge at Gary Player Country Club in Sun City.
Burmester will make his third appearance in ‘Africa’s Major’, which is scheduled to take place from November 10-13.
This year’s Nedbank Golf Challenge will be celebrating its 40th anniversary and making its return since the Covid-19 pandemic.
Burmester will join defending champion Tommy Fleetwood and recent PGA Tour winner Will Zalatoris in the field.
Two-time DP World Tour winner Burmester took his game to the next level this year when he achieved his best-ever finish in a Major with tied 11th in the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews.
“The Nedbank Golf Challenge is an iconic tournament for any South African golfer. It’s one we all grew up watching and wanting to play in one day. It will also be great to have all those passionate Nedbank Golf Challenge fans back after the Covid-19 pandemic,” said Burmester.
“My goal is to definitely to become South Africa’s next Major champion. I want to be challenging in the Majors.
“As a boy growing up, that’s where you want to be. You dream of standing at The Open with the claret jug or at The Masters with a green jacket on. I want to give myself a chance in a Major on the back nine on a Sunday. I’d be pretty happy just to have that chance right now.”
Dean Burmester has confirmed his place in the Nedbank Golf Challenge and will make his third appearance in “Africa’s Major” at the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City. #AfricasMajor #NGC2022 pic.twitter.com/GDDWdX0aGr
— Nedbank Golf Challenge (@AfricasMajor) August 23, 2022
Burmester, who finished tied 11th in the 2018 Nedbank Golf Challenge, is currently in the United States of America, plying his trade on the Korn Ferry Tour, hoping to secure a spot on the 2022/23 PGA Tour.
Meanwhile, Burmester will be chasing history in history at the Nedbank Golf Challenge as he seeks to become the seventh South African winner of the tournament and also the third Zimbabwean-born champion.
Former World number one Nick Price won the Nedbank Challenge three times in 1993, 1997 and 1998 while Mark McNulty was the first Zimbabwean to win the event in 1986.
Although he now competes under the South African flag, Burmester was born in Mutare and learnt the sport at Claremont Golf Club in Juliasdale, Manicaland, where his parents were both members and former club champions.
His father played international cricket for Zimbabwe while his mother Mitchelle played for the Southern African country as an amateur and holds the women’s course record at Royal Harare Golf Club.
Tickets for the Nedbank Golf Challenge, starting at R40 for the Pro-Ams and R250 for Tournament Rounds, are available here, while Hospitality Packages for the Circa Champions Club, Circa Pavilion or Circa 18th Green can be purchased here.