Workington man wins big Gary Player pro-am comp
Last updated 19:27, Thursday, 04 December 2008
A WORKINGTON man has won one of the biggest Pro-Am golf tournaments in the world.
Alan Pearson was part of a four-strong team that lifted the Gary Player Invitational played on South Africa’s Fancourt course.
In his team were top-ranking professionals Retief Goosen and Costantino Rocca, and Spanish model and actress Ines Sastre.
They claimed an eight-stroke victory with an impressive 35-under-par score in the tournament’s fourball alliance competition.
Each team comprised two professional golfers, a celebrity and a business person.
And Pearson only made the tournament at the 11th hour, getting a late invitation from tournament sponsors Coca-Cola after someone else dropped out.
Pearson is the national supply chain manager for 560 convenience shops at petrol stations run by South African oil firm Engen, one of Coca-Cola’s biggest customers in the country.
The 52-year-old, who has a golf handicap of 12, said: “I was invited to play by Coca Cola when there was a last-minute cancellation.
“I deliberated for about five seconds.
“Playing with Retief and Rocca was awesome. They are such nice guys and hit it miles without any effort.”
Pearson, the son of retired police inspector Bill Pearson, who at 82 years still plays at Workington Golf Club, went to South Africa 26 years ago.
The childless divorcee went to Moorclose School, played rugby league for Seaton and was assistant manager at the Tesco store in Workington.
He said: “I love the lifestyle in South Africa – any place that you can be guaranteed to play golf almost every day can’t be bad.”
Also taking part in the tournament was former Liverpool and Scotland footballer Kenny Dalglish, Springbok rugby union player Victor Matfield and former South Africa cricket captain Shaun Pollock.
The Gary Player Invitational is in its ninth year and has so far raised nearly £1.5 million for charity.
