The Nelson Mandela Invitational was a charity golf tournament which took place annually in South Africa from 2000 until 2006. It was named in honor of former South African President Nelson Mandela, and hosted by South Africa's most successful professional golfer Gary Player. Player and Mandela appeared at the event almost every year to accept proceeds on behalf of the Children's Fund and the Player Foundation who were equal beneficiaries.
Just prior to the 2007 edition, the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund withdrew their support citing concerns over Player's involvement with the design of a golf course in Burma. Both Mandela and Desmond Tutu subsequently accepted Gary Player's position and statement on Burma and requested that the event continue, however the Children's Fund CEO refused to do so and thus forfeited on the name and future charitable funds raised through the tournament. The event continued as the Gary Player Invitational until 2013.
The field was made up of eight teams of four, each consisting of a senior professional, a regular tour professional, a celebrity and a businessman. The teams competed for the Alliance Medal, in which the best two scores of the four players counted on each hole. A second better-ball competition for the professionals was staged, with the best score of the two counting on each hole.
Winners Pro-Am Team Tournament (2000–2013) Gary Player Team Invitational: (4 player team) YearWinners 2013 Retief Goosen, Herschelle Gibbs, Anthony Leeming, Mike Dladla 2012 Tim Clark, Kenny Dalglish, Alex Maditsi, Doug Jackson 2011 Wessel Witthuhn, Shaun Pollock 2010 John Cook, Sergio García, Sinead Kenny, Dwight Yorke 2009 Thomas Aiken, Vincent Tshabalala, DJ Spoony, Abdullah Al Naboodah 2008 Retief Goosen, Costantino Rocca, Ines Sastre, Alan Pearson 2007 Luke Donald, Sally Little, Alex Maditsi, Marc Player
Nelson Mandela Team Invitational: (4 player team) YearWinners 2006 Sandy Lyle, Omar Sandys, Ashleigh Simon, David Lyons 2005 Gary Player, Trevor Immelman, Ahmad Rashad, Alex Maditsi 2004 Lee Westwood, Simon Hobday, Inés Sastre, Doug Jackson 2003 Lee Westwood, Simon Hobday, Mark Boucher, Carl Ware 2002 Hugh Baiocchi, Deane Pappas, Gary Lineker, Dave King 2001 Simon Hobday, Martin Maritz, Nick Mallet, Doug Jackson 2000 Gary Player, Don Gammon, Julius Erving, Dave King
Winners Professional Tournament (2000–2011) Gary Player Invitational YearWinners 2011 George Coetzee and Mark James 2010 John Cook and Sergio García 2009 Ángel Cabrera and Tony Johnstone 2008 Bobby Lincoln and Garth Mulroy 2007 Sally Little and Luke Donald
Nelson Mandela Invitational YearWinners 2006 Bobby Lincoln and Retief Goosen 2005 Vincent Tshabalala and Tim Clark 2004 Vincent Tshabalala and Ernie Els 2003 Lee Westwood and Simon Hobday 2002 Hugh Baiocchi and Deane Pappas 2001 Simon Hobday and Martin Maritz 2000 Retief Goosen and Allan Henning
References
External links Gary Player Invitational – South Africa (Past Results)