JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA – Former England and Manchester United football star Andy Cole and U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell will join the Black Knight in this year’s November’s Gary Player Invitational presented by Coca-Cola at Sun City’s Lost City Golf Club from November 24-27.
This is the final leg of the 2016 Gary Player Invitational charity golf series, which plays a major role in the Grand Slam champion’s quest to raise $100 million for charity.
Both Cole and Campbell will make their Gary Player Invitational debut, which this year has expanded to six tournaments worldwide all raising funds for The Player Foundation’s various charitable projects supporting underprivileged children.
“I’m really excited and feel privileged to be taking part in the Gary Player Invitational tournament,” said Cole. “I’m also looking forward to spending more time in beautiful South Africa.”
The two stars will be joined by South African Olympic golfer Paula Reto and European Tour winner Haydn Porteous, who are part of the first wave of participants named for this prestigious charity tournament.
“I’m so pleased that Andy and Michael will be joining us for the first time, and would also like to welcome two of our brightest young South African stars in Paula and Haydn,” said tournament host Gary Player. “The fact that they have taken time out of their busy schedules to contribute to our goal is very humbling.”
Cole’s glittering football career includes playing for Arsenal, Newcastle United, Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and others. But he is most remembered for his time with Manchester United, including his historic five goals in the club’s 9-0 win over Ipswich Town in 1995. He also made 15 appearances for England’s international team.
Campbell won the 2005 U.S. Open in a career which featured 15 professional titles and also included the 2005 HSBC World Match Play Championship.
Porteous claimed his maiden European Tour title at the 2016 Joburg Open, while Reto heads to Sun City as a LPGA Tour campaigner, as well as one of South Africa’s first Olympic golfers under the captaincy of the Black Knight.
As golf’s global ambassador, Player has set the target of raising $100 million for children’s charities through The Player Foundation bolstered by this series of tournaments in the United States, United Kingdom, China, Japan, South Africa and the UAE. The Foundation has already raised more than $62 million, and Player believes the goal of $100 million is within reach.
“We have so many people around the world who are seeing what we are doing for charity and want to support us with donations to help us reach our target,” Player said. “We have golf stars, businessmen, athletes and movie stars all supporting our cause. As a result we’ve been able to help so many children in need.”
The Gary Player Invitational presented by Coca-Cola, which finds itself in its 17th year as the
South Africa’s premier charity event, has helped The Player Foundation raise more than R800 million across the world in an effort to help sustain the worthy causes. All proceeds raised from the event will go to various selected charity beneficiaries including, Wings and Wishes and Wildlands.
For more information on the Gary Player Invitational, visit www.garyplayerinvitational.com and follow @GPInvitational on Twitter and Instagram – #GOLFandGIVING.
CONTACT
Meagan Fester – Black Knight International
meagan@garyplayer.co.za
+27 21 448 7777
Bo Wood – Black Knight International
b.wood@garyplayer.com
+ 1 864 477 2720
ABOUT BLACK KNIGHT INTERNATIONAL
Established in 1983 by Marc Player, Black Knight International is a global holding company for The Player Group and the constantly expanding family of Gary Player® brands. With a powerful presence in North and South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, Black Knight is a multicultural and multilingual company offering branded services for the leisure and real estate industries. This rapidly growing firm is diverse and infused with the same tenaciousness and drive as Gary Player, world renowned iconic golfer. The holding company divisions include: Gary Player Design, Player Real Estate, Black Knight Enterprises, Black Knight Solutions, Black Knight Capital, Gary Player Academies, and The Player Foundation.
ABOUT THE PLAYER FOUNDATION
The Player Foundation was established in 1983 by Marc Player. 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 six 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 more than $60 million 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.
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