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The colourful sculptured trophy of the inaugural �1 million (R11.54m) Nelson Mandela Championship that tees off at the Royal Durban Golf Club tomorrow.
The inaugural e1-million (R11.54m) Nelson Mandela Championship, that now tees off at the Royal Durban Golf Club on Saturday due to rain delays, boasts one of the most unusual trophies in world golf, but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
Co-sanctioned by Sunshine Tour and the first event on the 2013 European Tour’s international schedule in the 2013 Race to Dubai, the tournament in aid of the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund, has a colourful sculptured trophy of Mandela sitting on a chair with children around him.
“The field will this week be competing for what has to be one of the most remarkable trophies in golf #NelsonMandela|Champ,” read a Tweet from |the European Tour’s official Twitter account on Tuesday.
“Absolutely horrible” tweeted Glasgow-based golfer Stephen McTaggart (stavrosmct).
The assistant editor of Golfmagic in London, Alex Perry (@APGolf), tweeted: “Forget the Tiger Woods World Challenge. This is the most ridiculous trophy in world sport.”
Victor Nosi, the tournament promoter of the Nelson Mandela Championship, explained that the trophy was a gift given by an unnamed sculptor to the former president for his 80th birthday.
“Yes, it’s not like all the other trophies in world golf. It is as unique as we want the tournament to become,” he said.
“Everything is on track to deliver this inaugural tournament in Durban, despite the rainy weather.”
Duncan Cruickshank, the marketing director of the Sunshine Tour, said: “We hope the weather holds out. With 156 professional golfers participating, half of whom are from Europe, we really want to deliver a great event.”
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship was in danger of being cancelled after the first round was postponed again on Friday with much of the Durban Golf Club underwater after a huge overnight thunderstorm.
European Tour regulations state that a tournament must complete at least 36 holes to avoid cancellation and the prospects of further rain in Durban mean their 2013 season-opener is in doubt after a second day of no play.
“The further overnight rain, around 30 millimetres, and a huge thunderstorm has obviously set us back by a long way now,” European Tour Tournament Director Mikael Eriksson told reporters on Friday.
