(George, South Africa) – Spanish actress Inés Sastre is thrilled to have earned a return invitation to the 2009 Gary Player Invitational presented by Coca-Cola and hosted by Grand Slam winner, Gary Player.
The UNICEF ambassador is set to make her third appearance at the 10th anniversary of Africa’s premier charity event, which tees off at The Links at Fancourt in George from 27-29 November 2009.
“I’m telling you, I must be doing something right to keep getting an invite to come back,” the former supermodel joked.
“It definitely can’t be the way I play. After hacking my way around the course in 2004, I expected to be put on the ‘never invite again’ list. But they let me back last year and no-one complained about the state of the grass, so I guess it’s safe for me come back to Fancourt again.”
Despite making light of her first two appearances, Sastre has twice been in the winning team of the Fourball Alliance completion, first in 2004 and last year when she partnered with Retief Goosen, Costantino Rocca and business man Alan Pearson.
Sastre, who speaks four languages, has a degree in French literature and has enjoyed a successful career as an actress and model. The Spanish star featured in her first commercial at the age of 12. She soon became one of the most sought after faces for magazines such as Vogue, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and GQ, as well as the face for Chanel, Michel Klein, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Fendi and Lancôme.
Her dazzling good looks have not only graced magazine covers, but the greens. Despite spending time on the course to improve her handicap to 36, she insists that she just doesn’t get enough time to practice. Although her career keeps her from spending as much time as she would like working on her game, it has not dampened her enthusiasm for golf, especially when it is for a good cause – cause – raising money for underprivileged children.
“It is such an honour to be invited to support the Gary Player Invitational,” she said. “It gives me the chance to meaningfully contribute to helping children have a better life.
“This is one of the best ways to raise much needed funds and I will keep coming back as long as the organisers still want me to play.”
Sastre said she enjoyed the experience of playing at The Links last year. “This year I hope to be able to contribute even more to my team on the course and finish all of the holes. As long as I improve on last year I’ll be happy.”
LPGA Tour player Sandra Gal, rising European Ladies Tour star Henrietta Zuel and BBC Sports presenter Sarah Stirk complete the female line-up for this year’s event, which also features reigning Masters champion Angel Cabrera and two-time US Open winner, Retief Goosen.
The 32 participants will combine in eight fourballs consisting of a senior professional, a professional, a celebrity and a businessman. The teams will compete over 36 holes in a Fourball Alliance with two scores to count in the charity pro-am event while the two professionals in each group will also compete in a separate Betterball Medal competition for first prize of R250,000.
Contact:
For further information, please 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
