The tournament now forms part of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai series and will attract a field of 72 players, as well as 6 invites.

The two-time major champion, Retief Goosen, has already accepted an invite to play at the Gary Player Country Club.

The former world number one, Rory McIlroy, who is looking to become just the third player after Luke Donald and Henrik Stenson to win the FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai in the same year could be heading to Sun City as well.

The Tournament Director, Alastair Roper, neither confirmed nor denied that Rory McIlroy will be heading to Sun City, but told OFM Sport that if he doesn’t want to play in the event, he needs to win at least one of the European Tour events over the next three weeks.

The hugely popular Englishman, Andrew “Beef” Johnston, will be playing and Roper said that they are delighted to have his coming over.

“It's wonderful to see all these young guys coming through and there are some characters.

“You mentioned Beef Johnston.

“We’re hugely blessed that he is going to come. I think he is going to be a huge attraction. A lot of people are going to follow him.

“Golf… any sport for that matter, is about entertainment and they are entertainers.

“It’s not just about the scores, at the end of the day it's how people behave. There are some golfers that are hugely boring to watch and there are others that are exciting to watch.”

Roper added that he doesn’t want to invite players such as Phil Mickelson, but rather the like of a Brookes Koepka or a JB Holmes.

The USA’s Ryder Cup hero, Patrick Reed, who beat McIlroy in arguably one of the most thrilling Ryder Cup games of all-time, it’s virtually assured of his place in the tournament.

The 2016 Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City tees off on 10 November.

Morgan Piek/OFM News