Change of date for Women’s World Cup of Golf

Press release

(Johannesburg 21 October 2008) Officials from the Women’s World Cup of Golf, the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) and the Ladies European Tour (LET) have made a joint decision to pursue moving the date of the 2009 event to the end of the season instead of opening the season with it in January as has been tradition for the past three years. While the exact date for the 2009 event has not yet been finalised, the event organizers and the Tours will look to host the event towards the end of the season to create the best possible chance of attracting the world’s top players to South Africa.

Carolyn Bivens, Commissioner of the LPGA, said: “The LPGA is committed to making it as easy as possible for the top players to be available to participate and represent their countries at this prestigious event. The Women’s World Cup of Golf has a wonderful spirit along with a charitable component for the local community.

Alexandra Armas, Executive Director of the LET, said: “Playing in South Africa at the end of the season will provide a wonderful finale for both tours. The players love going to South Africa – the courses are world class and the players receive legendary hospitality.”

With the very best women players coming from all across the globe, the Women's World Cup affords top professional players from 20 different countries the opportunity to represent their countries in a team format With the top players in the world coming from countries such as Mexico, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, United States and Australia, this creates an opportunity for the best performing players to be crowned as a World Champions.

Previous winners have included Ai Miyazato and Rui Kitada from Japan in 2005, Annika Sorenstam and Liselotte Neumann from Sweden in 2006, Julietta Granada and Celeste Troche from Paraguay in 2007 and Jennifer Rosales and Dorothy Delasin from the Philippines earlier this year.

Tania Fourie, CEO of the Women’s World Cup of Golf, said: “This tournament gives us a wonderful opportunity to showcase the magnificence of South Africa as well as showcase some of the best golf in the world. The four-year-old tournament is gaining stature every year and becoming an indelible part of the global annual calendar.”

Regular and committed sponsors like Telkom Business and the North West Province have backed the event from its second year of existence and have now been joined by insurance giant, Santam, who have added their financial support. Margaret Massey of Santam said: “We are thrilled to be a part of this internationally acclaimed event, conceptualised and driven by South Africans with great vision, and which sees the beautiful Jenna Clifford ‘Rose’ trophy being lifted with pride.”

The event has certainly aided the growth of professional golf in South Africa with at least four players – Laurette Maritz, Ashleigh Simon, Stacy Bregman and Lee-Anne Pace – vying for the two spots in South Africa’s World Cup team for 2009, with Maritz and Simon having represented the host nation in the first four editions.

The Women’s World Cup of Golf financially supports Project Golf 2014, a programme aimed at teaching golf and life skills to previously disadvantaged South African children, with the express aim of having 2014 young girls playing the game with an official handicap by 2014, to celebrate twenty years of democracy.