This week, two big tournaments are occurring simultaneously on the DP World Tour. One tournament features Rory McIlroy returning to Australia after a decade, and the other features goofy Viktor Hovland, debuting in South Africa at the country’s major. But why are such big tournaments held in the same week? Poor planning, maybe, and Richard Mansell is calling it out.
“Grateful to be down here in SA at the Nedbank, but how good does the #AustralianOpen look?! The fact that two of our best tournaments of the season are on the same week is just mind-blowing. Seriously hope this can be avoided in the future. Don’t know any other sports where this would happen,” Mansell wrote.
The English golfer is playing in South Africa at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and sits at 28th spot after 2 rounds, having shot 3 under. His tweet received over 6,800 views in hours, prompting discussions about the DP World Tour’s planning.
The $6 million South African tournament features players like Marco Penge (the only three-time winner on the DP World Tour in 2025), Will Zalatoris, who is returning from back surgery, and 13 local players, including Garrick Higgo and Aldrich Potgieter.
Now, at the the same time, things are exciting at Royal Melbourne during the Australian Open.
Grateful to be down here in SA at the Nedbank but how good does the #AustralianOpen look?! The fact two of our best tournaments of the season are on the same week is just mind-blowing. Seriously hope this can be avoided in the future. Don’t know any other sports where this would happen
— RICHARD MANSELL (@richardmansel14) December 5, 2025
The Australian field has other big names like Adam Scott, Cameron Smith, and Min Woo Lee. The field also had LIV Golf players Joaquin Niemann, Carlos Ortiz, and Sebastian Muñoz. McIlroy’s appearance attracted large crowds of approximately 25,000 fans each day. The winner will get a minimum prize purse of $2 million and a spot at the Masters in 2026.
Although fans had coverage-related complaints, McIlroy’s week became the highlight, garnering attention.
He made an air shot when his club hit a tree branch on the par-5 14th hole, had a double bogey after his ball landed under a banana peel that he couldn’t move, and finished strong on Friday, making birdies on three of the last four holes to make the cut by two shots.
Min Woo Lee scored an eagle on the par-4 10th, holing out from 176 meters with a nine-iron and celebrating with an aeroplane-style wave. Cameron Smith, after missing seven consecutive cuts, including all four majors in 2025, fired a 65 that had him contending for his first Australian Open title.
Meanwhile at the Nedbank, Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan fired an opening-round 63 and Hovland opened with a 69. This year, “Africa’s Major” has undergone course modifications, with Gary Player instrumental in the changes designed to challenge the world’s best.
Respondents to Mansell’s post noted that outside forces are influencing the DP World Tour’s decisions. The recent strategic agreement with the PGA Tour has complicated matters for the European circuit. Some suggested that the tour should improve representation in Australia and New Zealand for better planning.
The PGA Tour as well is contemplating its schedule.
PGA Tour leadership acknowledges the need for structural reform
Brian Rolapp, the CEO of the PGA Tour, recently discussed worries about potential changes to the Tour’s schedule at CNBC’s CEO Forum. He revealed that the PGA Tour is considering major adjustments, especially since Harris English mentioned looking for ways to reduce the schedule and avoid competing directly with the NFL for fans.
Rolapp made it clear that these discussions are ongoing, but no decisions have been made yet.
“If you are going to compete with football in this country for media dollars and attention, it’s a really hard thing to do,” he explained, saying that golf does well in the summer when interest is higher, and having events compete with football only creates problems.
The overlap forces pros to choose between events, weakening both tournaments. Some players are now in South Africa instead of Australia and vice versa. This division not only splits athletes but also reduces audience engagement, lowers sponsor value, and results in less exciting competitions.
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