Pro-Am day on Friday ahead of this weekend's charity-driven Gary Player Invitational proved to be quite an eventful one at The Links at Fancourt.
The ever-energetic Player is, of course, the tournament host, but his foot slipped on a wooden walkway at the 15th hole in the pro-am and he crashed to the ground. He took a knock on the chin and hurt his hand rather badly.
"No problem," insisted the 73-year-old golfing legend.
"I'll just put ice on it and it'll be fine. If I wasn't so fit and strong it might be a problem. But I'm in great shape."
The nine-time Major champion certainly is, and just to prove a point, he birdied four of the last six holes he played.
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There was also some good golf from 63-year-old John Bland, who toured the intimidating par-73 links in five-under 68, although the round of the day belonged to a man who can seemingly do no wrong whenever he tees it up in South Africa - Garth Mulroy.
The KZN pro, who campaigns on the Nationwide Tour in the US, won the Coca-Cola Championship here at Fancourt's Outeniqua course earlier this week with a stunning 19-under-par 54-hole total of 197.
Yesterday, in his first outing on The Links which hosted the 2003 Presidents Cup, the KwaZulu Natal pro made eight birdies and two drops on his way to a 67.
This tournament, though, is not only about golf.
It's primarily about raising money for various charities aimed at the upliftment of underprivileged children and the target for today and tomorrow - when the pros team up with sporting celebrities and captains of industry - is between R4-million and R5-million.
Player has Lucas Radebe and Russia's gorgeous golf professional Maria Verchenova in his team, while Victor Matfield and Sally Little are in a fourball, as are Bland and Shaun Pollock.
Retief Goosen is paired with Costantino Rocca, Spanish supermodel Ines Sastre and businessman Alan Pearson. Corrie Sanders, Roland Schoeman, Kenny Dalglish and DJ Spoony are among the other celebrities.
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This article was originally published on page 25 of Pretoria News on November 29, 2008
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