This is quite interesting news and honestly was bound to happen at some point.
The largest winning purse in modern golf is going to be competed for right here in Sunny SA.
Here’s a bit of info:
The Sunshine Tour will make leading golfers choose between the world’s richest tournament in South Africa and Tiger Woods’ charity event in California from next year.
A new $10 million World Golf Championships event to be hosted by the tour was heralded by Sunshine commissioner Gareth Tindall on Tuesday as the launch of “a world tour” and “the most significant thing that has happened to South African golf in its history.”
Tindall, emboldened by Charl Schwartzel’s Masters victory on the 50th anniversary of Gary Player’s first green jacket, said the Tournament of Hope underlined the shift in player power away from the United States.
“The significance of what we’ve done is potential, and the U.S. tour might slag me for this, but essentially we are starting the world tour,” Tindall said. “It’s been a matter of time.
“I think what we’ve done could potentially create the impetus to start a world tour because Australia are certainly going to do what we’ve done, and Europe are going to have to do what we’ve done.”
The date and venue for the new WGC event — just the second outside the U.S. after Shanghai’s HSBC Champions — had not been finalized, Tindall said, but organizers were looking at the first week of December.
I received an interesting email yesterday about a group in North America called Nikela who have started a movement to save South African Wildlife.
I’m not 100% sure I agree with every sentiment in the video below but it’s a great thing to see a foreign country start an organisation to help another nations resources out of the goodness of their heart.
Charl Shwartzel moved a country and instantly became a household name by winning the 2011 Masters championship yesterday.
I was watching and unfortunately went to sleep about an hour before the final stroke. Shwartzel birdied the final four holes to crack in an amazing -14 to win the title.
Eight different players took the lead on Sunday at the Masters.
Here’s a quick little quote from a well written story over at ESPN:
Never before has the green jacket gone to a player who finished in such fashion, a stunning end to an incredible day at the 75th playing of the year’s first major championship.
The quiet, unassuming Schwartzel, 26, knocked in a chip shot for a birdie at the first, holed a wedge shot for an eagle at the third, then played steady golf through a pulsating day that then saw him roar to the end with birdies at the 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th holes and a final-round 66.
In the process, the South African passed the likes of Tiger Woods and Australians Adam Scott and Jason Day on the leaderboard, and was the unlikely winner of a major championship he was playing for just the second time.
“As always, it happens on the back nine on Sunday, just like you dreamt it,” said Schwartzel’s caddie, Greg Hearmon.
There is a great video on the ESPN story if you missed the event.
Apparently Shwartzel is the second Els Foundation graduate to win a major tournament in the last 3 major tournaments played.
