The Nelson Mandela Invitational was a charity

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

tournament which took place annually in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

from 2000 until 2006. It was named in honor of former South African President

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

, and hosted by South Africa's most successful professional golfer

Gary Player Gary James Player DMS, OIG (born 1 November 1935) is a South African retired professional golfer who is widely considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time. During his career, Player won nine major championships on the regular tou ...

. 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 The Nelson Mandela Children's Fund (NMCF) is a charitable organisation founded by Nelson Mandela, based in South Africa. Its mission is to help individuals from birth to age 22.Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. Both Mandela and

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

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) Nelson Mandela Team Invitational: (4 player team)

Winners

Professional Tournament (2000–2011)

Gary Player Invitational Nelson Mandela Invitational

References

External links

Gary Player Invitational – South Africa
(Past Results) {{Nelson Mandela Golf tournaments in South Africa Unofficial money golf tournaments