Hennie du Plessis became the first winner of the Course Record Presented by Nexo prize on the 2026 Race to Dubai with a stunning 63 at the Investec South African Open Championship.
With no existing course record at Stellenbosch Golf Club, a big prize pot was certain to be won so long as preferred lies were not in play.
The base prize for the season-long award started at US$10,000 but through the opening ten events of the campaign no new course records had been made, meaning the money had rolled over week to week.
Alejandro del Rey was on course to take the prize after posting a first-round 65, with Joe Dean, Dean Burmester and Oliver Lindell all matching it on Thursday.
Del Rey remained in the box seat having been the player to post the score first but the in-form Du Plessis usurped him in round three with his stunning effort containing ten birdies and three dropped shots.
Hennie du Plessis wins $100,000, courtesy of @Nexo, after his course record second round 63 💰#InvestecSAOpen https://t.co/5KdXPbB4lc pic.twitter.com/RUjtVbNmQV
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) March 1, 2026
German Freddy Schott matched Du Plessis' 63 in the final round but it was the home favourite who took the prize having got there first.
Nexo, the premier digital assets wealth platform, and the DP World Tour introduced the prize in 2025.
Grant Forrest and Marco Penge were the only two players to card course records last season, at the Nexo Championship and Danish Golf Championship respectively, both resulting in two $10,000 awards.
The course record prize pot has reset to $10,000 for this week's Joburg Open.
