Women's professional golf in South Africa is
preparing itself for a ground-breaking season and, thanks to the
support of leading South African bank Nedbank and MasterCard, will
feature players from
the Evian Ladies European Tour.
In conjunction with officials from the South African Ladies Professional
Golf Tour (LPGT), Nedbank and MasterCard have played key roles in
the formation of the Nedbank Ladies Tour and will help to attract
players from the Evian Tour to South Africa for the first time.
With five events in the inaugural season and over R1,725,000 in
prize money, the Nedbank Ladies Tour will visit some of the finest
courses in South
Africa and offer a competitive environment and learning curve for
local and European professionals.
"Without any shadow of doubt, 2001 will be the most significant
season in the history of the women's game here in South Africa and
I applaud Nedbank and MasterCard for sharing our vision for the
future," said Erica Roodt,Executive Director, LPGT.
"All the elements for a successful Tour are already in place
and I'm
confident that the Nedbank Ladies Tour will unearth a number of
highly
talented individuals in the next few seasons.
"The sponsorship deal has effectively allowed us to create
a career path for
local players, and at the same time it provides an incentive for
the more
established pros to stay at home rather than travel abroad in search
of
playing opportunities."
Pete Backwell, General Manager, Nedbank Retail Banking, says: "Ladies
golf
in South Africa has enormous potential. Nedbank's sponsorship of
the Tour
will help to uplift the game and benefit both players and supporters,
and at
the same time help to create role models for our youth."
The Tour tees-off with the Nedbank MasterCard Classic (February
21-23) in
Johannesburg and comes to a close at Sun City with the flagship
Nedbank
MasterCard SA Ladies Masters (March 23-25), a co-sanctioned tournament
with
the Evian Tour.
With more than R1 million on offer at the Nedbank MasterCard SA
Masters, it
features as the fourth stop of the 2001 Evian Tour and offers local
professionals their first opportunity to compete against some of
the finest
players from Europe.
Nedbank and MasterCard's combined investment of over R1million in
the Sun
City event also constitutes the largest ever sponsorship deal for
ladies
golf in South Africa.
In addition to its sponsorship of the Tour, Nedbank and MasterCard
have
committed to a series of golf clinics and golf days to help promote
and
develop the sport at grassroots level.
The Nedbank Ladies Tour is the brainchild of Erica Roodt and the
LPGT Tour
Director Tania Fourie.
"These are exciting times for women's golf in South Africa
and we look
forward to building on the playing opportunities for our members
in the next
few years," said Fourie.
"We also look forward to welcoming the Evian Tour to South
Africa for the
first time for what we hope will be the first of many co-sanctioned
tournaments."
In another first for the women's game in South Africa, followers
of the
sport will be able to watch the very best of the Tour action during
a
highlights package on SuperSport and Pitch and Putter.
Both Nedbank and MasterCard have helped to shape the face of golf
in South
Africa - Nedbank through the sponsorship of the prestigious Nedbank
Golf
Challenge, and MasterCard through the sponsorship of the MasterCard
Development Program and the MasterCard Golf Academy.
In 2000 MasterCard also sponsored South African players to the very
first
Ladies World Cup to Ireland.
