The Sunshine Tour, Coca-Cola and Gary Player have inked a landmark three-year agreement for a new limited-field event aimed at providing a competitive platform for the 30 leading professionals at the culmination of the Sunshine Tour’s Winter Swing.
Following a three-year association with the Nelson Mandela Invitational, presented by Coca-Cola and hosted by Gary Player, the three parties have collaborated to create the Coca-Cola Charity Championship, with Coca-Cola as the title sponsor and the evergreen Gary Player as the host.
The inaugural tournament will boast a lucrative prize fund of R500 000 and will be staged at the award-winning Arabella Country Estate in the week leading up to the 2006 Nelson Mandela Invitational, from November 21 - 23, 2006.
"We are looking forward to our first significant golf tournament on the Sunshine Tour,” said Alex Maditsi, Executive Director of Coca-Cola South Africa Division.
“During our sponsorship of the Nelson Mandela Invitational over the past three years, we have been privileged to witness the emergence of many talented golfers such as Trevor Immelman, Tim Clark, Charl Schwartzel, Richard Sterne and Omar Sandys, to name a few.
"The Coca-Cola Charity Championship is a natural extension of the Nelson Mandela Invitational and it too was designed to raise significant funds for charity, while at the same time providing a world-class event to showcase the best in South African professional golf.”
South Africa’s legendary Grand Slam winning golfer, Gary Player, commented: “I am delighted that my concept of the Nelson Mandela Invitational has developed further into the Coca-Cola Charity Championship, which benefits three worthy children’s charities in the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, the Player Foundation and the Starfish Foundation.”
“I am honoured to have been asked to host the tournament and look forward to welcoming both the best players from the Sunshine Tour’s Winter Swing as well as Coca-Cola’s special guests.”
The Coca-Cola Charity Championship will be staged over 54 holes of stroke play in which the first two rounds will be played in a Pro-Am format, while the final round will be contested by professionals only, with no cut to the field size.
The leading 30 available players off the current Sunshine Tour Order of Merit at the conclusion of the Platinum Classic at Mooinooi (26-28 October) will qualify for the tournament, with the winner gaining automatic entry to the 2006 Nelson Mandela Invitational.
Sunshine Tour commissioner, Johan Immelman, welcomed the Tour’s newest tournament, saying that the Coca-Cola Charity Championship further underlines the accelerated growth of professional golf in South Africa.
“We are delighted to take our association with Coca-Cola and Gary Player to the next level and welcome on board the Coca-Cola Charity Championship to the Sunshine Tour schedule,” said Immelman.
“We are confident that this new event will be a great success and we truly appreciate the support from Gary Player and our valued Tour partner Coca-Cola.”
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