Author: Michael Vlismas

Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, boxing great Brian Mitchell, Springbok rugby star Victor Matfield, and footballers Mark Fish, Shaun Bartlett and Jimmy Tau will join an array of other former sports stars, celebrities, business leaders and Sunshine Tour professionals who have gathered to show their support for the inaugural Gary and Vivienne Player Invitational at the Lost City Golf Course at Sun City from 19-20 November.

The biggest names in sport and business will come together in aid of a charity tournament that celebrates the life and legacy of the late Vivienne Player and the work of the Gary and Vivenne Player Foundation to raise funds for the underprivileged.

The beneficiary for the 2022 Gary and Vivienne Player Invitational is the Blair Atholl Pre-Primary School, located alongside the Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate and originally founded by Gary and Vivienne Player on what was then their family farm.

The other sports stars who will support this initiative are rugby legends Butch James, Akona and Odwa Ndungane, Patrick Lambie, Stefan Terblanche and Owen Nkumane, Proteas cricketers Herschelle Gibbs and Vernon Philander, former Bafana Bafana footballers Matthew Booth, Aaron Mokoena and Mark Williams, and renowned South African women’s golfer Sally Little.

“Vivienne had a tremendous love for people and she was also passionate about sport, having played golf at a high level herself. So I know it would’ve been very close to her heart to see so many of South Africa’s top sportsmen and women support my and her passion to help the underprivileged, and in this case the Blair Atholl Pre-Primary School and the children and teachers there that Vivenne felt so deeply about,” said Gary Player.

The field includes the top 18 professionals from the Sunshine Tour’s Gary and Vivienne Player Challenge played at Selborne Park Golf Club in September, as well as the leading five professionals outside the top 18 who are also a part of the Papwa Sewgolum Class for historically disadvantaged golfers on the Tour.

ST FRANCIS BAY (Eastern Cape) – The PGA Championship, which tees off at St Francis Links on Thursday, has a tantalising field of Sunshine Tour professionals pushing to add their names to the trophy of South Africa’s second oldest professional tournament.

While George Coetzee and Chile’s Matias Calderon are obvious favourites as winners of this prestigious title in 2011 and 2018 respectively, it is the runners-up here in recent years as well as a host of in-form players locally who could break through this week.

The field this week includes 11 of the 19 winners on the Sunshine Tour this season, with Combrinck Smit as the most recent champion.

Smit’s victory in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final in windy conditions at Pinnacle Point Estate last week would’ve been the perfect preparation for a St Francis Links course where the weather can be just as challenging. And his second-place finish in the 2018 PGA Championship will also be enough motivation to go one better this week.

Albert Venter has already won twice this year to lift him into second place on the Sunshine Tour’s Luno Order of Merit, and he is coming off a top-five finish in the Vodacom Origins of Golf Final.

MJ Viljoen has finishes of fifth and seventh in the 2017 and 2020 PGA Championships to suggest he could add his name to this historic trophy this week.

And Ruan Korb, Ockie Strydom, Jayden Schaper, Heinrich Bruiners and Hennie O’Kennedy all performed well in the last Sunshine Tour event played at St Francis Links in October.

Oliver Bekker, South Africa’s latest DP World Tour star, has confirmed his place in this month’s Joburg Open and believes the tournament will help to open doors for even more South Africans to become household names in European golf within the next five years.

Bekker is back on local fairways following a successful debut season on the DP World Tour in which he had eight top-10s and a runner-up finish in the Catalunya Championship as he has climbed into 33^rd place on the DP World Tour Rankings. His focus is now on a strong run of Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournaments in South Africa, beginning with the Joburg Open at Houghton Golf Club from November 24-27, 2022.

At various levels of South African professional golf the Joburg Open has provided a strong sense of opportunity for the country’s golfers and their global aspirations, while at the same time also helping to transform the South African golf landscape through its support of historically disadvantaged professionals competing in this event.

Thriston Lawrence claimed his maiden DP World Tour victory in the 2021 Joburg Open and went on to win a second title on the Omega European Masters this year as well as play in his first Major in the 150^thOpen in St Andrews. And Dylan Naidoo, who has played in the Joburg Open since he was an amateur and is a member of the Sunshine Tour’s Papwa Sewgolum Class for historically disadvantaged golfers, will return to the tournament this year as a true inspiration after breaking through with his maiden Sunshine Tour victory in the SunBet Challenge Sun Sibaya this year.

It all points to what Bekker believes is the foundation for a wave of new talent busy emerging from South Africa.

“I’ve always believed that with our DP World Tour co-sanctioned tournaments, and then the added Challenge Tour co-sanctioned tournaments, that we’re going to have a lot of South Africans making it onto the DP World Tour. We’re going to make an impact over there. We’ve got so much talent in this country and you just need the opportunity to get there, and for that door to open and to get that chance to get in there. I’m sure a lot of our players will stay on the DP World Tour for a very long time, and that we’ll also see a lot of South Africans coming through in the next five years that will be household names in Europe for a long time to come. It’s good to see the South African players making their presence felt on the DP World Tour. It’s exciting,” said Bekker.

Tickets for the Joburg Open are available at https://sunshinetour.com/.

MOSSEL BAY (26 October 2022) – Franschhoek amateur golfer Craig Whitson enjoyed a dream debut on the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series as he teamed up with Sunshine Tour professional Malcolm Mitchell to win the National Final of this prestigious pro-am series at the Pinnacle Point Estate on Wednesday, in what is quite aptly called “Iconic Mossel Bay”.

Whitson, a nine handicap who plays his golf at Pearl Valley, and Mitchell finished the 36-hole competition with 87 points and earned the title of 2022 Vodacom Origins of Golf champions, edging out Merrick Bremner and his amateur partner Marco dos Santos who finished second on 83 points.

“What a fantastic experience. This was my first experience of the Vodacom Origins of Golf and when we came off the golf course I actually said to Malcolm that I’ve got a tear in my eye about the fact that it had to end. As amateur golfers we were treated like professionals,” said a delighted Whitson.

“Malcolm was just wonderful to play with. We became like brothers over these two days. We had so much fun. The highlight for me was being exposed to what professional golfers are exposed to. It’s just an absolute treat to see up close how these professionals approach the game and the decisions they make on the golf course. It gives you newfound respect for them.”

Mitchell was equally thrilled to add his name to a long list of pro-am winners on this series, which dates back to 2004.

“The Vodacom Origins of Golf tournaments are always a pleasure to play, and this week was that much more special for me. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner this week than Craig. It was great,” he said.

This was the 18^th season of the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series on the Sunshine Tour. The National Final brought together the top five finishers from each of the previous regional tournaments played around South Africa this year in their quest to claim overall honours.

Photo: Amateur golfer Craig Whitson (left) celebrates with Sunshine Tour professional Malcolm Mitchell after they were crowned the 2022 Vodacom Origins of Golf national champions at the Pinnacle Point Estate. Credit: Perfect Exposure.

Charl Schwartzel hopes his intimate knowledge of the golf course at the Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate will boost his chances of joining the greats of South African golf and claiming the Investec South African Open Championship when it is played here from 1-4 December 2022.

“I’ve come close a few times and that victory has so far evaded me. It’s one that I would really like to be able to win before I put away the golf clubs,” said Schwartzel.

The former Masters champion is part of a strong South African challenge that will be back on local fairways in their national Open, including Dean Burmester, Dylan Frittelli, MJ Daffue, Brandon Stone, Erik van Rooyen, Thriston Lawrence, Oliver Bekker, Shaun Norris and defending champion Daniel van Tonder.

Schwartzel will certainly be one of the favourites, having once had a home at the Blair Atholl Golf and Equestrian Estate.

“I’m really looking forward to this year’s tournament. I lived there for a few years and I’m very familiar with the golf course having played it numerous times.”

The South African has predicted that the golf course will provide a strong challenge for the Sunshine Tour and DP World Tour co-sanctioned field.

“The course will be a tough challenge. It’s already one of the longest golf courses in South Africa, and if it gets some rain and is wet that week it will play extremely long. If it’s playing firm, you’ll see some big tee shots because the ball goes a long way there.

“But I’ve always felt that this golf course is a second shot golf course because the greens are the defence. They are big but you have to be very precise with your distance control coming into them. I would say good iron play will serve you very well that week.”

Schwartzel has come close to winning his national Open a few times but has yet to add his name to this historic trophy. He has twice finished second, in January 2005 and then again in 2015 when he lost in a playoff to England’s Andy Sullivan. He also finished fourth in 2010 in the Centenary edition of the tournament.

“I’ve always tried to play in the Investec South African Open Championship. From a historical point of view, it would be an amazing tournament to be able to win as the second oldest national Open in golf. As a South African it would be a privilege to have that under your belt. Any golfer wants to win their national Open and it would mean a lot to me,” he said.

Tickets for the Investec South African Open Championship can be purchased at www.sunshinetour.com.

An ordinary Tuesday morning in Mossel Bay turned into an extraordinary moment as the learners of Ridgeview Primary School were given a powerful message of hope before the start of this week’s Vodacom Origins of Golf Final on the Sunshine Tour.

The Sunshine Tour – which is hosting a tournament at Pinnacle Point Golf Estate this week – partnered with Vodacom, Eagle Towers, the Skills Development Corporation, and SAIL to sponsor rugby, soccer and netball balls provided by the Living Ball initiative for the school. But a single morning in a community where the poverty is obvious but the enthusiasm to dream big is just as resonant, touched more than just the learners in the school hall.

“I also grew up poor,” Sunshine Tour professional Hennie Otto, a multiple winner of professional tournaments around the world, told the audience. “I was raised by my ouma and oupa. My ouma used to darn the holes in my socks. The only jerseys I wore were the ones my ouma knitted for me. But I have realised my dream of becoming a professional golfer. I once even beat Tiger Woods. My message to you is to go out there and believe in yourselves no matter where you come from.”

Dr Ntombi Mhangwani, Executive Head: Marketing Vodacom Business, said they were proud to support a community that supports them as a business.

“These kids come from homes that support Vodacom. Their parents use Vodacom connectivity. We have a responsibility as Vodacom that whenever we move around with our partners on the Sunshine Tour, to make sure we are engaging with the communities that build us as an organisation. We need to make sure we are also building them as a community. Vodacom wants to be part of a community that hangs onto dreams and hope, and we want to build these kids.”

The simple gasps of joy from a child receiving a soccer or rugby ball certainly resonated with the other business leaders who were present.

“Hope is important for everybody in our country at the moment. I came from very humble beginnings as one of five children in a home in Jamestown near Stellenbosch. We planted strawberries and cleaned dams, fetched water ourselves. Our school didn’t have enough classrooms so we’d sit on logs in the pine forest. It was my job to carry the blackboard and lean it against a tree. But our parents instilled in us a sense of achieving our goals. I started my business in a room in my house. My dad was fortunate to see the legacy of all five of his children become working professionals before he passed away two months ago,” said Avril van der Rheede, CEO of Eagle Towers.

Jaco Beukes, the CEO of SAIL, said he was touched by what he experienced.

“It is so humbling to see all of these children so excited about the lives ahead of them and enthusiastic despite their circumstances. This message of hope from Living Ball doesn’t mean life will be easy, but it gives them the tools to overcome the challenges.”

Sharlton Groenewald, the school principal, expressed his gratitude for not only the donation, but the message the learners received.

“We are a no-fee school so we don’t have extra money to pay for balls for the kids to use in sport. The message for our learners that there is hope despite the circumstances they live in is such an important one. For them to hear from people who came out of similar circumstances and became a success is great motivation for them and we’re so grateful for this.”

And Thomas Abt, Commissioner of the Sunshine Tour, ended with a very simple message of his own to the learners.

“You now have soccer balls, rugby balls and netball balls, and I want to encourage you – take that ball and run with it. Just as you take your dreams and run with them.”

Photo Living Ball 1: Sunshine Tour professional Hennie Otto with some of the learners of Ridgeview Primary School receiving the Living Ball sports balls.