South Africa to Stage ‘World’s Richest Golf Event’

The World Golf Championship (WGC), described as the world’s richest golf event, will be hosted in South Africa from next year after a US$10m event featuring the sport’s top 70 players was unveiled yesterday, April 12.

The event will be called the Tournament of Hope and will be used to create awareness of poverty and AIDS in Africa, although host cities and dates are yet to be confirmed, in an announcement made just two days after South African Charl Schwartzel won the 75th edition of the Masters in Augusta, Georgia.

Sunshine Tour commissioner Gareth Tindall said the five-year deal to stage the WGC event was clinched after meetings with representatives of the US PGA Tour and the International Federation of PGA Tours in Augusta last week, stating: “This is without doubt the most significant milestone in the history of professional golf in South Africa.What is even more significant is that we have the commitment that we will host this World Golf Championships event for a period of five years.”

Tindall added that organisers will look at the first weekend of December for the event even though that would clash with Tiger Woods’ Chevron Challenge and when asked about the possible clash, Tindall said: “They will have to move it.”

The Tournament of Hope will be only the second WGC event outside the United States after the HSBC Champions in China.