Feb 10 (Reuters) – The inaugural Tournament of Hope,
widely proclaimed as the richest single event in golf, will be
held in South Africa late next year, the International
Federation of PGA Tours said on Friday.
To be played from Nov. 28-Dec. 1, the $8.5 million
tournament will become the sixth elite World Golf Championships
(WGC) event and will help raise awareness of HIV/AIDS prevention
and treatment.
“In addition to the Tournament of Hope, the promoters will
organise other awareness functions in South Africa and around
the world during the week of the tournament,” the International
Federation of PGA Tours said in a statement.
The 2013 edition will end on World AIDS Day and the
tournament will be staged on similar dates in future years.
Three of the WGC events are held in the United States, the
Accenture Match Play Championship, the Cadillac Championship and
the Bridgestone Invitational, while the HSBC Champions and World
Cup team competition are both staged in China.
The five individual WGC events bring together the best
players in the world, based on the official rankings, and are
widely regarded as one rung down from the majors.
The Tournament of Hope was first announced by Sunshine Tour
commissioner Gareth Tindall in April last year when he described
it as offering “the biggest prize money in professional golf”.
No date was mentioned at the time, though Tindall hoped the
inaugural event could be held at the end of 2012.
(Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by
Julian Linden)
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