SAGA dedicates SA Junior IPT to Mandela
The South African Golf Association (Saga) has dedicated the South African Junior Inter-Provincial Championship to the memory of the country’s founding President, Nelson Mandela.
Saga president Andre Pieterse paid tribute to the former President, who passed away at his Houghton home on Thursday evening, at the age of 95.
“We learned with great sadness of the passing of our country’s former President,” Pieterse said.
“On behalf of amateur golfers in South Africa, we pass along our sincere condolences to the family of Madiba. Although we have been preparing ourselves, his passing still came as a great shock and the Saga joins people all over world in remembering this icon of our times.
“Mandela believed that sport could do more to unite a nation that politics could, and everyone in the sporting industry respected him for his relentless efforts to unite the sporting codes in South Africa in order to create a united and proud nation.”
“Who will ever forget the site of our former president wearing the number six Springbok shirt at the final match of the 1995 Rugby World Cup and hoisting the trophy with Francois Pienaar after South Africa beat New Zealand?
“Madiba believed that sport should be employed to provide the foundations for a healthy future for all the youth. That is why we want to remind our junior golfers that sport is a great force for unity and honour Madiba’s legacy by dedicating our South African Junior Inter-Provincial Championship to the memory of a man who dedicated his life to bring about peace and equality for everyone in this nation.”
