Top field for Mandela Invitational
Brad Morgan
11 September 2007
The Nelson Mandela Invitational golf tournament has raised R20-million for charities over the past seven years, and the 2007 event is set to continue the success story with a star-studded line-up due to tee it up at the Arabella Country Estate outside Cape Town from 23 November to 25 November.
Hosted once more by South Africa's sportsman of the century, Gary Player, the tournament features golf stars from champions and regular ours, as well as top business people and stars from the world of entertainment.
SA challenge
Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman will spearhead the South African challenge out on the fairways and greens. Goosen is a two-time major winner, while Immelman won the prestigious Rookie of the Year title on the US PGA Tour last year.
The SA pair will, however, not be the highest ranked golfers in the field. Although both are in the world top-20, Luke Donald – a first-timer at the event –
holds the highest ranking of fourteenth.
The Englishman has won on both the European and PGA Tours and claimed the WGC-World Cup of Golf with Paul Casey in 2004.
Senior competitors
Seniors competitors always play a popular part in the Nelson Mandela Invitational and this year's event will include some well-liked drawcards. Bobby Lincoln and John Bland will fly the South African flag, while Zimbabwe will provide a couple of players who were previously real forces on the Sunshine Tour.
Mark McNulty, now an Irish citizen, has an enviable record on South African soil, including a sensational year in 1986 when he captured seven Sunshine Tour titles and the Nedbank Challenge at Sun City.
Since joining the Champions Tour, he has won six times and, added to his regular Tour victories, McNulty has 61 victories in his career.
Tony Johnstone, like McNulty also enjoyed plenty of success in South Africa, including winning the South
African Open twice. He was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2004 and thought he would never play golf again. He has since made a remarkable recovery and returned to tournament play in 2006.
Australia's Rodger Davis brings a fine pedigree into the NMI. He won seven times on the European Tour during his career and recorded 19 wins on the Australian Tour.
Other sports stars
Other sports stars in the field include rower Sir Steven Redgrave, the only man to win gold medals in five successive Olympic Games, and former Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright who awarded an MBE in 2002. Since retiring from football he has carved out a successful career in television.
Cheech Marin, who is best known for his roles in the Cheech and Chong movies, as well as for his roles in the animated blockbusters "The Lion King" and "Cars", will also be in the field.
A who's who of top business people can also be expected to take part in the
prestigious event and further big names are sure to be added to the list of competitors by the time the event comes around.
The course
The Arabella course will provide a different challenge this time around, with the course having undergone some design changes, thanks to the tournament host Gary Player.
Most of the changes occur on the opening holes, with new tees, bunkers, water hazards, and widened fairways having been added. As a result, the overall length of the course has increased. The aim is to make it a greater challenge for good players, while also ensuring maximum playability for all levels of golfers, especially women.
Two charities will benefit from the money raised, the Nelson Mandela Chidren's Fund and the Player Foundation.
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