The 2026 Road to Mallorca gets underway this week, with the SDC Open at Zebula Golf Estate & Spa the first of four co-sanctioned HotelPlanner Tour events with the Sunshine Tour.

Zebula will give visiting players a sense of the adventure which lies ahead over the next four tournaments in South Africa, which have become a popular part of the schedule which takes advantage of the Southern Hemisphere summer to start earlier in the year than it used to.

Zebula Golf Estate & Spa is one of the best golf resort experiences in Southern Africa. It’s a great getaway destination at any time of the year thanks to the pleasant Limpopo weather. Situated in the Waterberg region, the course is surrounded by nature and wildlife, with animals such as kudu, impala, blue wildebeest, zebra and giraffe being regularly spotted. Only two hours from Johannesburg, the course’s wide fairways are framed by indigenous grasses and a variety of trees, with the greens providing smooth putting surfaces.

The course itself was designed by Peter Matkovich and is recognised as one of the best locations in the world for a bushveld layout. Designed in 2003, feature holes include the relatively tough par-four first, which has a 90-degree dogleg to the right and an elevated green, and the unique par-five 15th with its split fairway. The signature par-three eighth has a raised green guarded by three bunkers and water on three sides. When the wind is up, the hole plays tougher than the stroke 15 suggests.

Clément Sordet was the first winner of the SDC Open in 2022, before JJ Senekal secured an emotional victory on home soil the following year. In 2024, Rhys Enoch produced four successive rounds of 66 to come out on top and in 2025 South African Daniel van Tonder produced a stunning final day fightback to secure a first HotelPlanner Tour win.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Course record: 61 by Darren Fichardt, 2015 Vodacom Origins Final, three eagles, seven birdies (28-33); 61 by Joshua Berry (England, age 18), 2024 SDC Open, 10 birdies, one eagle (32-29)
• Clément Sordet, JJ Senekal and Rhys Enoch tee it up at Zebula this week, with all three players looking to become the first two-time winner of the event
• General manager Chris Clayton, a PGA of SA professional who has worked at Zebula for 14 years, has an albatross two to his name on the par-five 18th hole, and aces at 8 and 17