Namibian pro golf goes big

MTC and the Namibia Professional Golfers’ Association (NPGA) have announced that their five-year partnership will extend for three more years.

MTC has also disclosed that this year’s prize money for the MTC NPGA Championship will amount to N$1 million, excluding the staging costs. MTC spokesman Albertus Aochamub said MTC has spent N$3,3 million, excluding the total staging costs of the tournaments over the past five years.NPGA President Adri Basson thanked MTC for renewing the sponsorship for a further three years. He said the staging of such an event in Namibia, with participating professional players from all over the world, would not be possible without the assistance of a partner and sponsor like MTC.The 2010 prize money will be N$1,2 million and there are plans for the next three years to encourage players to participate in international events and also to do more coaching in the rural and country areas, Basson said.Meanwhile, Basson said the 2009 edition of the MTC NPGA Championship, which prefaces the start of the summer swing of the Sunshine Tour, will move to the Rossmund Golf Club in Swakopmund and will run from November 12 to 16.Basson said the reason for changing this year’s venue to the coast was due to the uncertainty of whether Windhoek Country Club would be ready to stage the tournament after all the major construction changes that have been made to the course. ‘Also, the date available from the Sunshine Tour restricted us to change the venue. It is very difficult to obtain suitable dates to stage a tournament of this magnitude due to the various other tournaments taking place during this time of the year. These are tournaments such as the SA Open, Dunhill, Race to Dubai and others.’ The NPGA Championship has been at the coast some years ago and the players are looking forward to the change of venue for 2009.MTC is the leading sponsor of sport in Namibia. It spends one percent of turnover on social investment programmes annually.BACKGROUNDThe NPGA was formed during November 2003 with four members and has attracted players from various countries.Some of the finest players in the world have competed at the number one golfing showpiece in the country.Anton Haig was the winner in 2008 and he went on to win the Malaysian Open in the same year, while Hennie Otto, who patronised the tournament every year since inception, won the Italian Open.Keith Horne won the Namibian Open in 2007 and also came in second in the Malaysian Open.Thomas Aiken is doing exceptionally well in the United States of America, also won the Namibia Open in 2005.PRIZE BREAKDOWNThe prizes were given as follows for the previous winners:2004: Mark Murless – N$500,000.00 (-11 under par)2005: Thomas Aiken – N$500,000 (-15 under par)2006: Anton Haig – N$600,000 (-17 under par)2007: Keith Horn – N$700,000 (18 under par)2008: TC Charamba – N$1million (-14 under par)2009: N$1 million – Up for grabs.