Investec has announced the renewal of its partnership with the Sunshine Ladies Tour, which will see it continue to sponsor the South African Women’s Open for the next four years.
The financial services group is already invested in golf and currently sponsors four professional players – Lejan Lewthwaite, Nicole Garcia and Stacy Bregman from South Africa, and Stephanie Meadow from Ireland.
Next year’s Investec South African Women’s Open will take place from 9–12 March at Steenberg Golf Club in Cape Town and offer the largest Sunshine Ladies Tour prize pool at €280,000 (R4.84m).
The tournament became a co-sanctioned event between the Sunshine Ladies Tour and the Ladies European Tour in 2018.
Investec will also continue to sponsor the Order of Merit, along with the Investec Homegrown Award, which rewards a South African winner of the Investec South African Women’s Open with an additional prize of R100,000. The Order of Merit is based on a points system and the top three placed professionals on the final standings gain automatic entry into the 2023 Investec SA Women’s Open. In order to qualify for the Investec Order of Merit bonus prize, players must have competed in at least four events in the 2022 Sunshine Ladies Tour season. The winner of the Order of Merit receives a bonus prize of R200,000.
“When looking at our own sponsorship arena, it’s not just about the sportswomen of today, but the stars of tomorrow,” said Peta Dixon, Investec’s Head of Sponsorships. “Women golfers continuously face the same challenges, the same courses and the same high standards as their male counterparts, and the competition is equally as tough and rewarding for both players and spectators alike. For many years now, Investec has invested in the next generation of women, on their rise to the top. We proudly support local talent on a global stage and believe that our investment will go a long way towards affording more female golfers the opportunity to not only play and perform, but to earn well too.”
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“We are delighted to extend our partnership with Investec,” said Pauli van Meersbergen, Sunshine Ladies Tour General Manager. “Investec continues to break new ground in closing the equality gap, and we are honoured to partner with a company that consistently looks to create more opportunities for women, both on the course and in the workplace. Thanks to the collaboration between Investec, the City of Cape Town, the Ladies European Tour and the Sunshine Ladies Tour, the Investec South African Women’s Open has flourished and become a sought after, world-class event on the international calendar.”
In addition to Investec’s contribution to the increased prize pool for the SA Women’s Open, the group has also doubled the bonus prize on offer for the 2022 Investec Order of Merit to R200,000.
