Gary Player and the team from Black Knight International are gearing up for another successful stop in the UK to raise funds for underprivileged children’s education. The 2011 Gary Player Invitational (GPI) will be held at the historic Wentworth Golf Club, the long time home of the World Match Play and the current home of the BMW PGA Championship recently won by World Number One, Luke Donald.
“I have so many wonderful memories of the World Match Play events and am very proud of the Edinburgh Course that we co-designed in the late 1980’s. I am thrilled that we are bringing our Gary Player Invitational event back to such a fantastic venue,” said Gary Player. “Our GPI events have been able to raise millions to help children and I can’t say enough about just how important that is. Our friends and corporate partners have been very supportive and we always have a fun event. I am really looking forward to it,” he added.
English football star Dwight Yorke, known as the “Smiling Assassin,” Cricket great Alan Lamb and a strong field of tour pros, celebrities and businessmen will join the competition. This year’s event will also mark the first meeting between Gary Player The World’s Most Traveled Athlete® and Fred Finn known as “The World’s Most Traveled Man.” Between the two they have traveled more than 30 million miles.
Callaway, Rolex, SAP, Berenberg Bank, Verizon Business and Davenport Lyons are supporting the event.
Event details:
Date: July 17th – 18th
Location: Wentworth, Surrey, England
July 17th – Welcome reception and cocktail party
July 18th – Breakfast, Gary Player Golf Clinic, Golf Tournament and Gala Dinner and Auction
For more information please visit www.garyplayerinvitational.com/europe
For further information please contact Alison Lurie, Event Manager, +27 21 671 5159, or
alison@garyplayer.co.za
About The Player Foundation
The Player Foundation was established in 1983. What began as an effort to provide education, nutrition, medical care and athletic activities, for a small community of disadvantaged children living on the outskirts of Johannesburg, South Africa has now blossomed into an organization that circles the globe bringing aid to underprivileged children and impoverished communities.
The Foundation is funded primarily by four Gary Player Invitational events presented through Black Knight International. Pairing celebrities and professional golfers from the PGA and Champions Tours with businessmen and international sports figures, the annual tournaments are staged in the United States, China, Europe and South Africa. The proceeds of these tournaments and other special events provide funding for an ever- expanding number of institutions around the world, including the Blair Atholl Schools in South Africa, the Pleasant City Elementary School in Palm Beach, the Masizame in Plettenberg Bay, South Africa, and AIDS infected children in Baoshan, a drug-infested city located on the China-Burma border. Since its establishment, The Player Foundation has donated over $35 million dollars to the support of children’s charities, the betterment of impoverished communities and the expansion of educational opportunities throughout the world.
Gary Player, acknowledged as a world class humanitarian, believes that the strength of our future depends upon the abilities of our children. “I have found that the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others does not thrust itself upon us,” Player says, “But we do not need to look hard for it either. When you spot the chance to give back to the world, act on it. You will have made life better, for others, and for yourself.”
The Gary Player Foundation is a non-profit 501 C (3) organization managed by Black Knight International in Palm Beach, Florida.
For further information on The Player Foundation, Gary Player, Gary Player Design, Player Real Estate or Black Knight International, visit www.garyplayer.com or contact Debbie Longenecker at debbie@garyplayer.com telephone +1-561-624-0300.
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