European Seniors support Southern Cape youngsters

John and Sonja Bland (centre) hand over golf equipment to SAGDB players in George

Players from the European Seniors Tour have added their support to the SA Golf Development Board programme in the Southern Cape. An initiative led by well-known South African professional John Bland and his wife Sonja has collected clubs and clothes from tour players and donated them to the youngsters in the region.

"We were contacted by Sonja Bland a couple of weeks ago and she told us that she had clothes and clubs for us from players on the Senior European Tour," explains the SAGDB's development manager in the Southern Cape, Johan Erasmus. "John joined his wife to hand the equipment over to us at Fancourt."

The idea to collect the equipment came about when Sonja saw the coaching programme taking place in George and was impressed with what was being done. She also secured involvement from the Southern Cape Nomads, Sandra Lennox form George Golf Club and Lloyd Martindale from Fancourt.

"We will be using the clothes and clubs as prizes at our regional tournaments," Erasmus says. "This will serve as extra motivation for the players. About 50 youngsters will benefit from this generosity in the end."