George, South Africa

Black Knight appoints Matchworld to GPI


Black Knight International appoints Matchworld to manage the Gary Player Invitational in South Africa.

Black Knight International, owners of the Gary Player Invitational global series of charitable golf tournaments, has appointed Matchworld to provide event management and public relations services for the 2010 Gary Player Invitational held at The Links at Fancourt in George, South Africa.

The Gary Player Invitational presented by Coca-Cola is South Africa’s premiere charity golf event, having raised in excess of R30 million for various children’s charities’ in South Africa. The event which is in its 11th year will take place from the 18th - 21st November and will once again see the gathering of golfers, businessmen and celebrities to raise funds for a worthy cause.

“We are proud of what we at Black Knight have built over the years and felt that the time was now right to engage the services of a professional events and media agency like Matchworld, said Marc Player, CEO of Black Knight International. I have known senior members of Matchworld for some time and have watched as the agency has grown in stature in a relatively short time. We are excited at working with a new team of people in growing the Gary Player Invitational still further and it is especially rewarding to be working with a South African business,” concluded Player.

Matchworld will provide a full service for the event including strategic guidance and communications, full event management and function coordination for off-course activities, sponsor liaison and leveraging where required and partner liaison as part of its remit.

“As part of Primedia Sport, and of course the greater Primedia stable, Matchworld has access to some of the country’s top radio stations, personalities and media representatives.  We believe that this offers immense value to our clients who benefit from our relationships, says Billy Lascaris, Matchworld director.
“We have worked with the Black Knight team before and we are very excited to be working with them again.  Our roles are clear and the goals defined.  To work on such a premium brand which has the broader South African community at heart is an absolute honour for the Matchworld team. ” he concludes.


TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The event partners both Champions Tour and Regular Tour golfers with leading celebrities and businessmen.  This format widens the appeal of the event way beyond that of a standard professional tour format event and allows for much needed funds to be raised for the charities.
Eight 4-balls consisting of a Champions Tour senior professional, a Regular Tour professional, a celebrity and a businessman compete against each other on a better ball medal basis over 36 holes, with 18 holes being played each day.
There is a daily competition – a 4-ball alliance stableford with the two best scores on each hole to count.  This encourages the professional golfers to assist their amateur partners and has to date provided for many exciting highlights.  R250, 000 is offered to the winning professional team.
Tickets for the public will be available at http://www.computicket.co.za


ABOUT BLACK KNIGHT INTERNATIONAL
Black Knight International, established by Marc Player, is the global holding company for all divisions of The Player Group.  The company provides a range of services and products that reflect the quality of the Gary Player®, Player® and Black Knight® brands.  The various divisions under the group umbrella include: Gary Player Design which has over 300 championship courses worldwide to its credit, Player Real Estate creating 5 star golf resort and residential properties, Black Knight Enterprises whose focuses include luxury goods, apparel, event management and promoting Mr. Player as an ambassador for global companies, and The Player Foundation which executes global charitable efforts in support of underprivileged children.  Established in 1983, The Player Foundation has been making a difference in the lives of children for over 25 years, and in that time, has raised over $30 million globally.  For more information about Black Knight International please visit http://www.garyplayer.com.
Contact details:
Alison Lurie
Email: alison@garyplayer.co.za
Tel: +27 21 671 5159


ABOUT MATCHWORLD (PTY) LTD
Award winning Sponsorship Marketing Agency, Matchworld was awarded the “Specialist Agency of the Year” accolade at in 2010 and walked off with the lion’s share of awards at the Marketing Excellence Awards Ceremony in 2009.
2010 has also seen Matchworld become one of the first agencies to sign up to participate in the new South African Sponsorship Council, of which MD Franco Barocas will be a board member.
• Winner of the AdReview “Specialist Agency of the Year” 2010
• Winner of the AdReview “Newcomer of the Year” Agency 2009    
• Winner of most Marketing Excellence Awards and the only Sponsorship Agency to win a Grand Prix 2009
Contact details:
Natasha Terlecki
Email: nterlecki@matchworld.co.za
Tel: 011 305 9873
Tel: 083 677 9090




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