Sun International has expanded its already extensive golf offering with the introduction of a major new corporate team golf tournament that will make its debut at Sun City this year.

The Corporate Masters, sponsored by the pan-African ICT service provider SEACOM in partnership with Sun International, will tee off at Sun City from 28-30 August and aims to become the premier corporate golf tournament in South Africa.

Companies will be represented by teams of two golfers competing in a 36-hole stableford competition at Sun City’s two championship layouts in the Gary Player Country Club and the Lost City Golf Course.

According to Rob Collins, Chief Strategy & Operations Officer of Sun International, the SEACOM Corporate Masters completes Sun International’s exposure to every major sector of South African golf.

“We are extremely grateful to SEACOM for seeing the potential of this tournament and partnering with us in this exciting new venture.

“As a company we are steeped in golf. We support women’s golf and have signed up a whole new series of professional tournaments here. We are busy doubling our exposure to tournaments on the men’s Sunshine Tour, and which obviously includes our flagship tournament in the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player. The corporate element, in the sense of a single tournament for all of corporate South Africa to compete in, was something that was missing until now.

“The Corporate Masters brings a fun element where you and your partner compete together, so we’re hoping for a Standard Bank or Investec or Anglo American team to sign up to compete against other corporate teams.”

The Corporate Masters has been sanctioned by the South African Golf Association (SAGA) and will be run according to the same professional standards as the major professional and amateur golf tournaments that have been hosted at Sun City for several decades.

For Grant Parker, Head of Business at SEACOM, the new tournament is a perfect fit for corporate South Africa’s competitive nature.

“This is an opportunity for corporates to stand up and be counted in South African golf. Golf is a huge part of corporate South Africa and it’s something we at SEACOM certainly want to be aligned with.

“We see this as creating a professionally-run event for amateurs and bringing them together in a highly competitive but still fun space. As a business SEACOM is all about healthy competition and having fun at the same time, and this can quite easily become the crème-de-la-crème for amateur golfers where the leaders of industry will come together every year and network while having fun on the golf course.”