Black Knight International Presents a Union of Golf and Giving: South Africa 2011

The Gary Player Invitational in South Africa celebrates 11 years of giving in November

The Gary Player Invitational presented by Coca-Cola, South Africa’s premier charity golf event will be staged in surroundings where life is celebrated every day at the magnificent Fancourt Resort and The Links in George in the Western Cape of South Africa.  Regular PGA Tour and Champions Tour players, along with businessmen and celebrities will enjoy an exclusive golfing experience over the four day premier tournament. Black Knight International has planned an exciting program for this year’s event that offers a little bit of dazzle to cater to attending guests every need.

The Player Foundation has set the benchmark in golf for raising funds for underprivileged children by raising in excess R250-million worldwide over the last 25 years. The 2009 Gary Player Invitational (GPI) raised a record amount of R4.5-million, making a substantial difference in the lives of so many less fortunate children. The following charities were the beneficiaries of these funds:
-  The Children’s Hospital Trust
-  Masizame Child and Youth Care Center
-  Sabine Plattner African Charities

This year, as they celebrate their 11th year of holding this tournament, The Player Foundation is dedicated to making a difference for their beneficiaries through the GPI global series and will continue to support the right to education and a better life for all.

The presenting partner Coca-Cola has once again committed to be a part of this prestigious event, alongside premier commercial Gary Player Invitational sponsors such as Fancourt, Audi, Callaway, UPS, Rolex, Heineken, Johnny Walker, SAP and SuperSport. 

This year’s event 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.

Some of the celebrities that have been invited to participate this year include Joanne Strauss, Sachin Tendulkar, Sir Clive Woodward, Sasha Martinengo, Brian Lara, Neil Tovey and Nelson Piquet, along with many well-known businessmen and women such as Alex Maditsi of Coca-Cola, Dr. Hans Walter Peters of Hamburg-based Berenberg Bank, Sinead Kenny, a former Junior International Athlete representing Ireland, Claudia Schönfeld of Alfred E. Tiefenbacher GmbH (AET), Dr. Hasso Plattner owner of Fancourt and Dr. Jurgen Dorsch, Multi entrepreneur for over 10 companies.

Regular PGA Tour and Champions Tour Players will participate and look set to include the likes of Retief Goosen, Paul Casey, Louis Oosthuizen, Carly Booth, Lee-Anne Pace, Mark McNulty, Louise Friberg,  Vincent Tshabalala, John Cook , Glen Ralph and European Rider Cup Captain Colin Montgomery to name a few.

Guests and participants can look forward to a beguiling leisure and entertainment line up across the four day event, with sensational functions themed to delight. 
The annual Gary Player Invitational’s charity auction will take place on the Friday evening at an elegant Masked Ball in the Links Clubhouse.

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 www.computicket.co.za.