Sports stars gather in Sun City for Gary and Vivienne Player Invitational to raise money for charity

The 2024 Gary and Vivienne Player Invitational which got under way at Sun City on Saturday has attracted an array of Sunshine Tour professionals and current and former sports stars to raise money for charity. 

The annual tournament, which is being played on the Gary Player Country Club course for the first time, is raising funds to support the running of the Blair Atholl School near Lanseria that was founded by Gary and Vivienne Player. 

This means the star-studded field is playing the Gary Player Country Club course only a few weeks before it hosts the Nedbank Golf Challenge. 

“This year we will play the Gary Player Country Club course for the first time and I’m extremely excited about this,” said Player. 

“I think it’s going to be a phenomenal weekend on the fairways of one of the top golf courses in Africa and the home of the Nedbank Golf Challenge. The course will be in magnificent condition for our participants.

“The reason we have made this decision is that unfortunately the Lost City Golf Club has not received the required amount of rain in preparation for this tournament, and we would be placing the golf course and its maintenance staff under pressure if we played the tournament here.” 

This year’s field is one of the strongest in its history as it brings together titans from the world of rugby, football, cricket and boxing to join celebrities, business leaders and Sunshine Tour professionals in raising funds for charity. 

The rugby world will be represented by 1995 Rugby World Cup-winning captain Francois Pienaar and fellow Springboks Steven Kitshoff, Naas Botha, Butch James, Owen Nkumane, Odwa and Akona Ndungane, Siviwe Soyizwapi, Patrick Lambie, Robbi Kempson, Adriaan Strauss and Schalk Brits. 

Football is not left behind with Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish and former Bafana Bafana stars Shaun Bartlett, Jimmy Tau, Stanton Fredericks, Mark Williams and Brian Baloyi in attendance. 

South African cricket will be well-represented by Paul Adams and Herschelle Gibbs, while boxing great Brian Mitchell makes his return to the tournament. 

The 29-strong field of Sunshine Tour professionals includes the winner of August’s Gary and Vivienne Player Challenge, Daniel van Tonder, as well as the Tour’s leading transformation professionals.