South Africa to Host Golf’s Tournament of Hope for Next Ten Years

October 2, 2012

The Tournament of Hope, ampoule a newly created golf tournamnet, order will tee off in South Africa from 21-24 November 2013 after new contract was agreed.

The deal for the $8.5 million Tournament of Hope has been officially finalised between the International Federation of PGA Tours, event promoter SAIL and the Sunshine Tour, with the tournament secured in South Africa for 10 years.

It will also make for a thrilling close to the 2013 season in South Africa, with the South African Open, the Nelson Mandela Championship and the Alfred Dunhill Championship – all co-sanctioned by the European Tour and Sunshine Tour – following immediately after the Tournament of Hope.

The host course will be announced at a later date.

“The Tournament of Hope had long been agreed to in principal, but now that we have a signed contract with the International Federation of PGA Tours, confirming our 10-year hosting of the event, we can begin our preparations in earnest,” said Michelle van Eyden from SAIL, the Tournament of Hope promoter in collaboration with the Sunshine Tour.

Selwyn Nathan, the Executive Director of the Sunshine Tour, detailed the make-up of the field: “The Tournament of Hope field will comprise a maximum of 72 of the world’s top players who will be drawn from the top 50 players on the Official World Golf Ranking, the top eight available players from the European Tour Race to Dubai, the top eight available players from the previous season’s final PGA Tour FedExCup points list, as well as those with eligibility similar to that of the Majors and four existing World Golf Championship events, and supplemented by the individual money lists and Orders of Merit of the various Tours that make up the International Federation of PGA Tours.

According to an independent economic impact study conducted by Grant Thornton, R700- million in PR and media value is expected to be generated for the country, province, host city and tournament sponsors by the global television broadcast.

In addition to this, the province that hosts the 2013 Tournament of Hope is expected to benefit from an economic injection of between R530 and R903-million, depending on the geographical location of the host province.

This will be generated from local and international spectators, operational spend in the province as well as job creation around a major international event.

“Our vision is to ensure that this tournament becomes globally recognised as one of the top tournaments in the world and successfully positions South Africa to an international audience,” said Brand de Villiers, Chairman of SAIL.

“South African golf has long been one of the great success stories in the history of the global game. We now have the opportunity to match the success of our players with the staging of a major tournament that will keep this country at the forefront of international golf, and right in the minds of the almost 100 million television viewers worldwide who will be watching it,” said De Villiers.