Gary Player golf courses in the spotlight
Gary Player Invitational, presented by Coca-Cola will be played from November 24 to 26.
For the second time in three weeks, Sun City’s two Gary Player-designed golf courses will be in the spotlight as the hosts of professional tournaments, with the Nedbank Golf Challenge now followed by the Gary Player Invitational, presented by Coca-Cola.
This week the Lost City Golf Course will host the South African leg of the global Gary Player Invitational series. The tournament starts on November 24 with the official pro-am followed by the main 36-hole tournament on Saturday and Sunday.
Top professionals such as Grand Slam champion Player, European Ryder Cup captain and 2011 Open champion Darren Clarke, European Tour winners Brandon Stone and Ignacio Garrido, World Golf Hall of Famer Laura Davies, Ladies European Tour stars Caroline Martens, Victoria Elizabeth and Emma Cabrera Bello, Springbok rugby great Chester Williams, renowned footballers Ruud Gullit, Robbie Fowler, Mark Fish and Matthew Booth, actor and entrepreneur Masego “Maps” Maponyane and a host of influential business leaders all will look to claim the Baobab trophy at the Lost City Golf Course.
It will be another apt showcase of Sun City’s two golf courses that were built by Player in the 1980s and which remain landmarks of South African and world golf.
The Gary Player Country Club received high praise from the European Tour’s professionals during the Nedbank Golf Challenge, hosted by Gary Player and again proved why it is consistently voted as one of the top golf courses in Africa by the annual World Golf Awards, Golf Digest and Golf Magazine, among others.
“The greens superintendent team did a marvellous job,” said Player. “In this part of the world we have very little water so getting the course in top form for such a big event can be a monumental task.”
“Many players came up to tell me this was the best condition they had ever seen the Gary Player Country Club. We are very proud of all the hard work that went into the Nedbank Golf Challenge as you cannot host a world-class event without having the course in top shape.”
The Lost City Golf Course presents a different challenge and in the opinion of Sun City director of golf, Ken Payet, is the perfect host of Player’s annual charity tournament.
“Mr Player has always had a soft spot for the Lost City Golf Course and it’s great that he hosts the Gary Player Invitational there because it gives the golf course the exposure that it deserves. It’s a phenomenal golf course,” said Payet.
“We have two spectacular golf courses at Sun City. From an experience point of view, it allows us as a team here to really blow people away and make sure they go away and tell their friends and family and come back for more.”
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