Masters champion Ian Woosnam claimed his second Gary Player Invitational victory, but he claimed his first in the South African tournament on the global series when he led his team to a two-stroke victory at the Lost City Golf Course at Sun City on November 24.
Woosnam and his team made up of former Bafana Bafana football star Matthew Booth and businessmen Marc Viakovsky and Laurent Girouille made two crucial birdies over the final two holes to take the iconic Baobab Trophy with a score of 34 under par.
Tournament host Gary Player and his team made up of Springbok rugby player Owen Nkumane and businessmen Roger Gauntlett and Alex Maditsi finished second on 32 under par.
Woosnam previously won the London GPI tournament at Wentworth on the Gary Player Invitational series in 2015.
He said he was delighted to add a victory at Sun City to that list.
“It’s brilliant. Sun City is a place I’ve always loved coming to, and to add a trophy from here to the Wentworth title is just great,” said the Welshman, who was also still celebrating his country’s rugby success over the Springboks on Saturday.
“I’m thinking of just staying in South Africa, what with the success I’ve had this weekend. But seriously, I’m really proud of the way the team performed. We needed those two birdies coming down the stretch and they delivered.
“It’s a wonderful way to cap off an incredible weekend in which we helped to raise almost R3-million for charity, and that’s what this is really all about.”
Businessman Girouille was equally delighted with the victory after finishing fourth in this tournament in 2016.
“It’s such a fantastic feeling. It was a wonderful experience and a successful weekend, having raised so much for charity.”
The fund-raising success for the two official charities of Wildlands and Wings and Wishes were celebrated by all the participants.
“It’s been a great few days at Sun City and I really need to thank Marc Player for inviting me and giving us that opportunity to contribute to charity in this way,” said West Indies cricket legend Brian Lara.
“I thoroughly enjoyed it. We had lots of fun and made such great memories,” said fellow cricketing great Graeme Smith.
It’s exactly this family spirit that exists on the Gary Player Invitational series that left the Black Knight with an overwhelming sense of gratitude at the end of another remarkable 2018 of global tournaments.
“It’s so special to change the lives of so many people around the world and to do that through golf. I cannot thank all of our participants and sponsors enough for how much they have given and how they continue to help us to keep on giving back,” said Gary Player.
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