The world No 13 last appeared at the European Tour event in 2017 and ended with a Top 10 finish.

Fleetwood is currently fourth on the Race to Dubai rankings and will be hoping to be crowned European No 1 for the second time.

This season so far, the 28-year-old recorded four Top 10 and seven Top 20 finishes on the European Tour so far, including second place at The Open.

“This will be my fifth appearance at the Nedbank Golf Challenge, and the Gary Player Country Club is a place that I always enjoy coming to,” said Fleetwood via a press release.

“I obviously have good memories from the 2017 season, when my performance helped me to secure the Race to Dubai title. I’m in a good position in the Rankings again at the moment, and hopefully I can build on that in South Africa and enjoy another strong end to the season.”

Nine-time major champion and tournament host Gary Player welcomed Fleetwood’s participating in Sun City.

“With Tommy now confirming his participation in the Nedbank Golf Challenge, our field has become even stronger, which was certainly one of our goals for this year. It’s a testament to the hard work of everyone involved with this tournament – the European Tour, Nedbank, Rolex and especially Sun International,” said Player.

“Tommy is a terrific player in his prime. When the top players in the world show the importance of ‘Africa’s Major’, it brings even more people to Sun City and has a trickle-down effect on the local economy.”

“We are delighted that Tommy Fleetwood will join the field at this year’s Nedbank Golf Challenge. His participation is aligned to our joint efforts to elevate the quality of players competing at ‘Africa’s Major’ with the increased first prize money and Race to Dubai points on offer being a key attraction. We look forward to hosting one of the most competitive events in the history of the Nedbank Golf Challenge,” said Mike Brown, chief executive from Nedbank Group.

“We’re delighted to welcome Tommy Fleetwood back to Sun City where he has always been popular with our fans. It’s going to be wonderful to have Tommy here with us as he makes a strong push for that number one spot on the Race to Dubai, and it will certainly add to the general excitement around this year’s tournament,” said chief executive of Sun International, Anthony Leeming.

Fleetwood joins defending champion Lee Westwood and SA’s top ranked golfer Louis Oosthuizen in the field.

The Nedbank Golf Challenge saw an increase to the first place prize money and Race to Dubai points – the winner of the 2019 Nedbank Golf Challenge will take home $2.5 million , an increase on the $1.25 million won by Westwood last year.

The overall prize fund remains at $7.5 million , with the balance of the 63-player field.

This year’s tournament also offers an increased haul of Race to Dubai points from 7 500 to 10 000 , which places it above what the World Golf Championships tournaments offer.

General access tickets and luxury return shuttles for the Nedbank Golf Challenge can be purchased here .

The Nedbank Golf Challenge, which will be the seventh Rolex Series event on the 2019 Race to Dubai gets underway from November 14-17 .

Compiled by: Lynn Butler

Sport24