Kristoffer Reitan retained command at the halfway stage of the 2026 Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player, keeping his name at the top of the board despite a fierce surge from Adrien Saddier. Reitan backed up his electric opening 63 with a composed three-under-par 69, moving to 12-under and maintaining a one-shot cushion.
Saddier applied the strongest pressure, igniting his round with an eagle at the second before rolling in a series of confident birdies to sign for a 67. Fellow Frenchman Julien Guerrier joined South Africa’s Christiaan Bezuidenhout in a share of third on nine under. Bezuidenhout delivered one of the rounds of the day with a 65 featuring eight birdies and a single bogey.
Reitan looked sharp early with a birdie opener and back-to-back gains at the fifth and sixth, including a bunker chip-in and a 32-foot conversion. Saddier responded with a dazzling approach from a fairway bunker at the second, followed by birdies at the third, sixth, and ninth. The two continued to march together, matching birdies at the tenth before Saddier briefly tied the lead with a chip-in at the 14th.
Both players stumbled coming home, but Reitan steadied the ship with a closing birdie to stay in front heading into the weekend.
Guerrier, who finished tied for sixth last year, produced a steady flow of birdies to remain in contention, while Bezuidenhout, already a past champion at this venue leaned on accuracy off the tee and two timely hole-outs to build momentum. Behind them, Garrick Higgo, Daniel van Tonder, Junghwan Lee, Andy Sullivan, and Jayden Schaper remain within striking distance as the field tightens.
Player Reactions
Kristoffer Reitan:
Reitan reflected positively on the day, acknowledging that his approach play left him under pressure, but credited his short game for bailing him out when needed. He highlighted the swirling winds and the grind required to stay patient on a demanding layout. Ending with a birdie provided a welcome lift after back-to-back bogeys. “Happy to finish strong and keep the momentum going,” he said.
Adrien Saddier:
Saddier described his start as “pretty hot,” and admitted that his eagle on the second came with a touch of luck as his intention was simply to lay up short. Strong tee-to-green play has him confident heading into the weekend. “As long as I hit fairways and greens on these small surfaces, I’ll have chances,” he noted.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout:
The South African was pleased with a clean, composed round aided by two hole-outs. Comfortable at a venue where he has previously won, he emphasized the importance of staying in play. Despite a strong 65, he feels there is room for improvement in his iron play. “I’ll head to the range and try to find something for the next two days,” he said.
About the DP World Tour
The DP World Tour is the main men’s professional golf tour of the European Tour group.
As golf’s global tour, we showcase global talent in global destinations and use our platform to build, entertain and connect our global community.
GLOBAL TALENT: We provide pathways and a platform for the leading international talent, bringing together golfing icons, national heroes and emerging stars from around the world.
GLOBAL DESTINATIONS: We stage tournaments in iconic cities and locations around the world and each week we celebrate and showcase the rich diversity of the courses, cities and cultures we visit.
GLOBAL COMMUNITY: We build, entertain and connect communities through our commitment to innovation, creative content and having a positive social and environmental impact.
Our 2026 Global Schedule features 42 tournaments in 25 different countries and comprises three distinct phases: five ‘Global Swings’, the ‘Back 9’ and the ‘DP World Tour Play-Offs’. It features five Rolex Series events – the premium category of events on the DP World Tour – and four Major Championships, all of which count towards the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World, the Tour’s season-long competition which concludes at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
DP World, the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, has been the title partner of the DP World Tour since the start of the 2022 season, the Tour’s 50th season following its formation in 1972.
We also enjoy the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with DP World, Rolex, Aldar, AWS, BMW, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Emirates, Fortinet, Nexo and Vestas as Official Partners.
About the European Tour group
The European Tour group administers the DP World Tour, the HotelPlanner Tour, the Legends Tour and the G4D Tour and, as the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe LLP, stages golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup, in partnership with the PGA of America.
The European Tour group has Strategic Partnerships with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour and Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association (CGA), Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA), and the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India. These partnerships provide global pathways for players from across the world to compete internationally on the DP World Tour, the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group which was established in 1972, as well as the HotelPlanner Tour.
