(George, South Africa) – South African cricket legend Barry Richards joins a locker room of talent at the Gary Player Invitational presented by Coca-Cola and hosted by Grand Slam champion Gary Player, which tees off at Links at Fancourt in George from 27-29 November 2009.
Also in the amateur mix are sporting legends Sir Clive Woodward and Grand Slam tennis champion Kevin Curren, top British entertainer DJ Spoony, BBC Sports presenter Sarah Stirk, Just Jinger rocker Ard Matthews and rising Ladies European Tour star Henni Zeul. Spanish supermodel and actress Inés Sastre completes the celebrity line up.
Dr. Hasso Plattner of SAP leads a veritable ‘who’s who’ list from the business world that also includes Dr Hans-Walter Peters and Hendrik Riehmer of Berenberg Bank, Stokes Land Group president Hugh Connerty and Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah, chairman of the Al Naboodah Group.
On the fairways and greens, the amateurs will share centre stage with the likes of two-time US Open winner Retief Goosen and reigning Masters Champion Angel Cabrera and rub shoulders with leading players from the senior circuit including Marc McNulty, Tony Johnstone, Bertus Smit, John Bland and Bill Longmuir.
Recent PGA Tour graduate Garth Mulroy, Thomas Aiken, Omar Sandys and Tjaart van der Walt will fly the South African flag alongside Goosen, while the leggy LPGA Tour player Sandra Gal and the winner of the Sunshine Tour’s Coca-Cola Championship complete the regular Tour line-up for this year’s field.
This is the interesting mix which has always given the Gary Player Invitational its unique character and the reason why Richards is travelling across the Pacific this late in the year.
Well-known for his own contributions to charity, Richards has embraced the opportunity to support Africa’s premier charity event and is excited to join in the 10th anniversary celebrations with the Black Knight.
“I was honoured to receive an invitation from Marc Player to return to the Gary Player Invitational and support this quest to raise money for underprivileged children,” said the Durban native, who now lives in Perth, Western Australia.
“Like Gary, hard work paid off for me too and now it is our responsibility to give back. We all have to do our bit to lift people from poverty, to raise education and ensure a better future for the children of the world.”
Richards was one of the finest batsmen produced by South Africa, even though the apartheid system prevented him from showing his talents on the world stage.
He played in only four Tests against the Australians in 1970, but scored 508 runs at an average of 72.57. He played for Natal from 1964 to 1983, and also for Hampshire and Western Australia. He scored an amazing 28 358 runs in his first-class career for an average of 54.74.
Richards was earlier this year inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame, the highest honour for cricketers.
The Gary Player Invitational series has raised more than R250-million for charities worldwide and the 10th anniversary of the South African edition is set to continue the success story with this star-studded line-up of Champions and Regular Tour golfers, as well as top business people and celebrities from the world of entertainment.
Eight teams, each comprising of a regular Tour professional, a Champions Tour professional, a celebrity and business man, contest two round in a Fourball Alliance with the best two scores to count while the two professionals in each team combine in a Betterbal Medal competition for R250,000 prize money.
Tickets to South Africa’s premier charity tournament can be purchased from Computicket at a cost of R75 each and there is free parking for spectators near the Links Clubhouse.
Contact:
Marc Tudhope, Managing Director, Black Knight International
E: marc@garyplayer.co.za or T: +27 21 671 5159
Jo Hone, GPI Event Director, Black Knight International
E: jo@garyplayer.co.za or T: +27 21 671 5159
Jen Fonseca, Program Director for The Player Foundation
E: jen@garyplayer.com or T: +1 561 624 0300
