Canon South Africa has bolstered its support for the Sunshine Ladies Tour as the title sponsor of the Canon Ladies Tshwane Open at Pretoria Country Club – the kickoff event for the 2018 season. Canon South Africa first became associated with the Sunshine Ladies Tour as a sponsor in 2017 and has stepped up its support this year.

“We are thrilled to help bring to fruition the fifth season of the prestigious Sunshine Ladies Tour and contribute to the sustainability of women’s golf in South Africa. The Sunshine Ladies Tour has grown tremendously since 2014 to become the country’s most illustrious women’s golf circuit, attracting a high caliber of talent from South Africa and abroad. It is heartening to see the tremendous and growing enthusiasm for women’s golf in South Africa. We feel privileged to be part of it once again,” says Dana Eitzen, Corporate and Marketing Communications Executive from Canon South Africa.

Canon South Africa has a proud legacy of support for South African golf.

The company was the headline sponsor of the Canon South Africa Disabled Golf Open in 2017 and will continue to support Africa’s premier disabled golf championship in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Canon South Africa also sponsors the South African Disabled Golf Association’s (SADGA) First Swing Program, a development programme for children with disabilities.

The Sunshine Ladies Tour was launched to sustain the future of playing professionals in South Africa and the continued growth of women’s golf in the region. The first season featured eight events with prize money of just over R1-million. By 2017, the total bounty was just short of R4-million, with the top ten ranked professionals vying for a R1-million bonus pool. This year, thanks to continued backing of loyal sponsors, there is an unprecedented prize pool of nearly R4.5-million, as well as a R100 000 incentive prize for the Investec Property Fund Order of Merit winner.

Aside from these financial incentives, the Sunshine Ladies Tour offers female golfers the opportunity to compete against some of the very best in the world in world-class tournaments right here, on home soil. In 2017, the Sunshine Ladies Tour nearly 50 international players, triple the number of foreigners who competed in 2016, and around 70 top South African female golfers campaigned on the local circuit.

Sunshine Tour Chief Executive Selwyn Nathan says the growing interest from players and support from sponsors indicates that women’s golf in South Africa is healthy and thriving.

“The Sunshine Ladies Tour has grown tremendously over the years to become a prominent highlight on the annual golf calendar. Canon South Africa is delighted to see women’s golf go from strength to strength!”

The 2018 Sunshine Ladies Tour will feature seven events, starting with the Canon Ladies Tshwane Open from 23 to 25 January.

South Africa’s Carrie Park, who won the Sunshine Ladies Tour Classic sponsored by Canon, 2016 Ladies Tshwane Open winner Kiran Matharu from England, and European Tour Ladies champion Anne-Lise Caudall from France will be chasing the lion’s share of the R400 000 purse alongside the country’s top golf exports Lee-Anne Pace, Ashleigh Buhai, Stacy Bregman and Nicole Garcia at Pretoria Country Club.

Also look out for Swazi powerhouse Nobuhle Dlamini, and two of South Africa’s former top ranked, Chiara Contomathios and Texas State University graduate Lora Assad, in the season-opener.

This is followed by:

• Joburg Ladies Open from 31 January to 2 February at Modderfontein Golf Club (R500 000 in prize money).
• Cape Town Ladies Open from 6 to 8 February at Royal Cape Golf Club (R200 000 in prize money).
• Sunshine Ladies Tour Dimension Data Challenge (R500 000 in prize money) and Pro-Am (R100 000 in prize money) from 16 to 18 February at George Golf Club (16/17 February) and The Outeniqua Course at Fancourt (18 February).
• South African Women’s Masters from 22 to 24 February at San Lameer Country Club (R350 000 in prize money).
• SuperSport Ladies Challenge, presented by Sun International, from 28 February to 2 March at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club (R400 000 in prize money).
• Investec South African Women’s Open from 8 to 10 March at Atlantic Beach Golf Club (R2-million in prize money).

For more information please visit www.canon.co.za or follow Canon on Facebook, Twitter,Instagram or LinkedIn