2019 European Tour Tracker

OGIO is proud to announce its partnership as the official luggage supplier of the European Tour. Every tournament we will be bringing stories from around the world as OGIO carries the load across 5 continents, 31 countries and over 139,064 miles course to course. This unique partnership brings a great challenge but with the quality of the bags combined with the professionalism of the staff, we know we will continue to carry the tour from success to success year on year. 

This week: Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player

Who:

Clare Bodel, Senior Press & Communications Officer at the European Tour

What: European Tour Event: Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player
Where: Gary Player Golf Course
Miles Travelled:

7,328 miles

Gear:

Alpha Convoy 320 Backpack, Layover Travel Bag, Terminal Travel Bag

Short Description:
My Role This Week:

This week I’m the European Tour Press Officer at the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player.  Alongside my colleague Tom Carlisle, we’re on-site working alongside the promoters of the event, coordinating media requests from local journalists, arranging interviews for our broadcast partners and producing reports from the tournament.

This week Tom and I packed up our Ogio bags and travelled on the charter flight from the Turkish Airlines Open to the unmistakeable Gary Player Country Club in Sun City. It’s hard to believe that the season is almost over, and with plenty still to play for – including a $2.5million first prize – this promises to be another exciting week at the penultimate event on both the Rolex Series and the 2019 Race to Dubai. It’s certainly a picturesque location too, as you can see from this view from the host broadcaster’s well-appointed studio overlooking the putting green and with the surrounding hills in the background.

This week’s event is hosted by the legendary Gary Player, one of South Africa’s greatest sportsmen. Mr Player is very much involved in the event, and each year he hosts a Champion’s Dinner on Tuesday evening to get things under way. Here is on stage regaling the room with stories from his career, in the company of defending champion Lee Westwood and another former winner of the event, Henrik Stenson.

Yes, that is a tree covered in wool, and there are many more dotted around the course. It’s all part of a “yarn bombing” community project, whereby objects or structures in public places are covered with decorative knits as a form of street art. A team of residents from the village of Mahobieskraal in the Moses Kotane Local Municipality have knitted 144,000 running metres of wool to create the stunning yarn bombs this week. This one is on an already unique tree that grows in the centre of the players lounge terrace.

No trip to this event is complete without a visit to the neighbouring Pilanesberg Game Reserve for a safari. Everyone who travels to the event is excited about the prospect of seeing one of the big five. We joined a tour on Wednesday evening, and were privileged enough to catch a glimpse of elephants, rhinos and giraffes, with lions and cheetas also visible – although we had to squint to see them in the distance! I’m sure we’ll manage to squeeze in another trip around the park before we leave…

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