Sun International has strengthened its hold on the South African golf market with the introduction of a major new corporate team golf tournament that has already stirred the competitive nature of big business in this country.

The new Corporate Masters tournament will complete Sun International’s exposure to every major sector of South African golf, and which extends to sponsorship of premier men and women’s professional tournaments on the European Tour, Sunshine Tour and Sunshine Ladies Tour.

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.

“As a company we are steeped in golf and a high-quality amateur tournament for corporate South Africa significantly enhances our golf offering,” says Rob Collins, Chief Strategy & Operations Officer of Sun International.

“We support women’s golf and have signed up a whole new series of professional tournaments on the Sunshine Ladies Tour.

“On the Sunshine Tour we are partners in the Investec Royal Swazi Open, the Lombard Insurance Classic and the Cape Town Open, and on the European Tour we have 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.”

Collins also confirmed that Sun City is busy undergoing a compete overhaul of its golf offering.

“We are driving our golf growth strategically and aligning it in terms of the reinvention of Sun City and making the golf experience that much bigger and better. This includes relooking our halfway house menus and their value for money, redoing the pro shops, and perhaps bringing in fulltime professional golf coaches for clinics. It’s a complete reinvention on our part to enhance the golf experience.”

The renewed focus on the golf market ties in with Sun International’s confidence that Sun City offers an unrivalled experience as a world-class golf resort and which has yet to reach its full potential.

“The golf experience at Sun City is unrivalled because Sun City comes alive at night as well. So yes you can have a great daytime golf experience but in the evening you have a culinary and entertainment feast that few other resorts can match. And we have a Big 5 game reserve right next door. So in my opinion Sun City has to be the number one golf experience in the country, and a major attraction for the international market as well,” says Collins.