The fifth edition of the Sunshine Tour event will bring more than 100 professional golfers to Ezulwini, with 15 emaSwati expected to compete.

The FNB Eswatini Challenge will return to the Ezulwini Golf and Country Club from 13 to 15 August 2026 with a tournament-record E2.5 million prize fund.

The fifth edition of the three-round Sunshine Tour event is expected to attract more than 100 professional golfers from Africa and other regions. The main championship will be preceded by a two-day client Pro-Am involving selected professionals, FNB Eswatini clients and other stakeholders.

FNB Eswatini is contributing E2 million towards the prize fund, while the Sunshine Tour is adding E500,000. The combined purse is E500,000 higher than the E2 million offered in 2025.

The winner of the 2026 tournament is expected to receive E396,250.

Fifteen local golfers expected to compete

Local interest will centre on the 15 emaSwati golfers expected to compete against the international field.

The Eswatini Professional Golfers Association will conduct pre-qualifying rounds at Ezulwini Golf and Country Club from 16 to 18 July. Twelve local players, including two amateurs, will qualify through that process and join three emaSwati who are already Sunshine Tour members.

FNB Eswatini has also allocated a separate E60,000 incentive for the three highest-placed local players in the main championship.

The initiative offers local professionals and amateurs an additional incentive as they attempt to become the first liSwati winner of the tournament.

Early entry information reported by the Times of Eswatini includes golfers from Europe, Asia, South America and Australia.

Among the names listed are Chile’s Martin Leon, Indonesia’s Eric Wowor, Australia’s Austin Bautista, Germany’s Allen John and Ireland’s Liam Grehan. The entry list may still change before the tournament begins.

John has previously competed on the Challenge Tour and won individual gold at the 2017 Summer Deaflympics in Türkiye. The early list also includes Jaco Prinsloo, winner of the inaugural FNB Eswatini Challenge in 2022.

Prinsloo would become the tournament’s first repeat champion if he wins in Ezulwini.

The trophy has so far been won exclusively by South African players. Prinsloo was followed by Peter Karmis in 2023, Daniel van Tonder in 2024 and Michael Hollick in 2025.

The 2026 programme will also include the tournament’s first Junior Golf Day.

According to FNB Eswatini, the initiative will introduce participating children to basic golf techniques and provide opportunities for them to interact with professional golfers during tournament week. Further information about participation and the date of the junior programme has not yet been announced publicly.

The programme adds a development component to an event that has primarily focused on professional competition and local qualifying opportunities.

Speaking at the tournament launch, Minister of Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs Bongani Nzima described the sponsorship as one of Eswatini’s largest single-sport investments.

Nzima said visiting golfers, officials and support teams were expected to generate activity for the hospitality sector and other local businesses during tournament week.

The tournament’s immediate sporting focus, however, will be on whether one of the 15 emaSwati in the field can end the event’s four-year run of South African champions.