The tournament was played at the Country Club Johannesburg. The field consisted of Sunshine Tour professionals and PGA of South Africa professionals who can be found at golf courses around the country running pro shops and giving golf lessons.
Michael Vlismas of the PGA said, “They [SA professionals] are generally not the multimillionaires you see on your television screens from Thursday to Sunday each week. They don’t often own aeroplanes or live in gated communities in Florida, and are rarely known only by first names such as Ernie, Retief, Tiger or Phil.” He said the tournament was aimed at paying homage to the PGA professionals who were committed to keeping South African golf healthy and teaching the future stars.
Ivano Ficalbi, chief executive of the PGA of South Africa said, “This is the PGA’s flagship tournament and it allows us to promote our members and the work they do. The PGA brand is one of the most recognised brands in golf worldwide. Our job is not to grow the game of golf, but rather ensure that PGA members are trained in all aspects of the golf industry to assist the relevant bodies or development projects in delivering successful projects.”