The induction ceremony dubbed Knight of Hope on 6 November 2017, will be attended by representatives from the government and business world, as well as members of the local and international sports community.
Located at Sun City’s world class entertainment and convention hub, Sun Central the South African Hall of Fame Powered by Samsung opened in November 2016, providing an interactive exhibition hub where young and old are able to celebrate the country’s most memorable achievers.
A legacy project, it is the first of its kind in South Africa to acknowledge and celebrate South Africans who have achieved greatness across fields such as sport, arts, culture, the performing arts, science and technology.
“Player, one of South Africa’s most celebrated sportspeople, businessman and humanitarians, is indeed a most decorous icon to be incorporated into the South African Hall of Fame Powered by Samsung.
We are honoured to host the induction ceremony in the lead up to the 2017 Nedbank Golf Challenge which plays out on the Gary Player Golf Course for the 36th time in November,” says Rob Collins, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer Sun International.
At the age of 29, Player won the 1965 U.S. Open and became the only non-American to win all four majors, known as the career Grand Slam.
Player became only the third golfer in history to win the Career Grand Slam, following Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen, and only Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods have performed the feat since.
Player has won 165 tournaments on six continents over six decades and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1974.
Nicknamed the Black Knight, Mr. Fitness and the International Ambassador of Golf, Player is also a renowned golf course architect with more than 325 design projects on five continents throughout the world, including the Gary Player Golf Course and the Lost City Golf Course at Sun City.
He operates The Player Foundation, which has a primary objective of promoting underprivileged education around the world.
In 1983, The Player Foundation established the Blair Atholl Schools in Johannesburg, South Africa, which has educational facilities for more than 500 students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
