South Africa partners Delhi firm for expat golf tourney
By IANSThursday, October 14, 2010
NEW DELHI - The expatriate population of golfers from 36 countries will prove their putting skills during a daylong golf tournament, the Expat Cup, Oct 16 in Gurgaon.
Altogether 160 participants, including ambassadors, attaches, embassy crew, foreign employees of multinational corporations, non-Indian professionals and Indian golfers, from 36 countries will take part in the sixth edition of the Expat Cup at the ITC Classic Golf Resort. The event is a collaboration between the government of South Africa and Sports & Leisure Worldwide, a golf promotion body.
“The South African deputy minister of sports and recreation Gert Oosthuizen will inaugurate the tournament. Ambassadors of at least 30 nations including those Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Mongolia, Burnei, Zimbabwe, Bhutan, Singapore, Venezuela, Oman - along with the South African minister - will vie for the cup. The South African deputy minister, who is a keen golfer, will play in the nine-hole segment,” Anil Dev, the managing-director of the Sports & Leisure Worldwide, told IANS.
Dev is also the director-general of the Asian Golf Course Owners’ Association.
The South African High Commission led by Harris Majeke will coordinate the event on behalf of the South African government.
The winner will be awarded a trophy and a paid leisure trip for four to South Africa, Dev said. The practice rounds will begin in Gurgaon Oct 15.
The tournament which will be played in the regular 18-hole category has a special “hole-in-one” jackpot for those who manage to tee with precision in the second and 11th hole. The successful putters will win a slot in the one million USD (Rs 4.5 crore) Dream Shot Tournament (hole-in-one) in Las Vegas in January 2011.
“This is the first time we have tied up with the Dream Shot Hole-in-One Tournament in Las Vegas,” Dev said.
The company is also in talks with the South African government for a World Peace Cup tournament based on the Ryder Cup (played in Europe and US).
“The peace tournament will be dedicated to the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela, the tallest political figures binding India and South Africa,” Dev said.
The Expat Cup will be supported by several international corporate groups, including the Volvo and FirstRand Ltd, one of the largest financial institutions in South Africa.
