Gary Player - The Legend

Proceeds from Gary Player Invitational Exceed 5 Million Dollars

Mar 16, 2004 | Filed Under: The Player Foundation   

The Eighth Annual Gary Player Invitational, held March 7th and 8th at the Floridian in Palm Beach, Florida raised in excess of half a million dollars, bringing the grand total to over $5 million for the eight years of this event’s existence. Proceeds will be distributed to local and international charities in support of underprivileged children’s education, with the major beneficiary being the Gary Player Foundation.

This year’s tournament inspired a great deal of positive feedback from celebrity and businessmen participants alike. Baseball legend and avid golfer George Brett remarked, “The Gary Player Invitational beats all other charitable golf tournaments that I participate in around the country.” Several corporate executives from companies like Lexus, Coca-Cola, MBNA, MasterCard, Citigroup Private Bank and Callaway Golf commented on the event and its exclusivity, stating “the rare opportunity to play at the Floridian with Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros and Bernhard Langer was an absolute thrill.”

Typically, the event attracts sports icons like Dr. Julius Erving, Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Wade Boggs, Bob Griese and other sporting legends, but this year’s event saw quite a few familiar faces from the television and film industries. Names like Leslie Nielson, Ahmad Rashad, Pattrick Duffy and John O�Hurley were among the record 24 celebrity guests that teed up on Monday morning. Joining Gary Player in the field of professionals included current PGA Championship winner, Shaun Micheel and Tommy Armour III. Gold level foursomes had the unique experience of playing a full round with the pros, while enjoying other VIP privileges throughout the day.

An extra special launch and live auction, sponsored for the first time by Coca-Cola, included the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play golf with Gary Player and spend a day on Robben Island with Nelson Mandela for a private tour of the prison cell where he was incarcerated for 27 years. Appropriately coined the “Freedom Walk,” the ten top bidders (opening at $100,000) will share this unique experience with Player and Mandela in November of this year.

The MBNA-sponsored awards dinner came to a perfect finish with a serenade by Michael Bolton. Bolton appeared on the balcony of the clubhouse and sang four all-time favorites to a crowd of fans below, including When a Man Loves a Woman, which Bolton dedicated to Mrs. Marti Huizenga.

The Gary Player Invitational is the first event of this year’s Nelson Mandela Series - four global charity golf events hosted by Gary Player and sponsored by Coca-Cola. The Series will wrap up this November in South Africa for a grand finale at the Nelson Mandela Invitational. The next event, entitled the Gary Player Invitational will be held on July 12th at The Grove in London. For additional information, please contact .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address), Media Director, Gary Player Group USA.

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