World number five Retief Goosen has confirmed he will be in action at the 2005 Limpopo Classic when it breaks new ground as the season-opening event on the 2005-2006 Sunshine Tour summer swing in November.

The R1-million Limpopo Classic will be hosted at the Polokwane Golf Club in Polokwane from November 17-20, 2005, a venue that has become a well-known lay-out both in South Africa and around the world, with the double US Open champion having grown up playing on its fairways.

Goosen has been instrumental in aiding golf development in the Limpopo Province, most notably with his part in founding the Goose Academy for aspiring juniors.

"The Limpopo Classic graduates to the summer tour this year and I am looking forward to join the Sunshine Tour in Pietersburg and be part of the celebrations," said Goosen.

"I will always treasure the support of the Polokwane Golf Club when I was an up-and-coming amateur and I am glad to be able to repay their support by kick-starting my season in South Africa at home."

Goosen last teed it up on the Sunshine Tour in 2002, finishing in the top five in the Vodacom Players Championship, SA Open and the dunhill championship before ending a highly successful run by winning the Dimension Data Pro-Am three days before his 33rd birthday.

He also secured the third spot on the final Order of Merit that year with earnings of R1 364 977.

The 36-year-old South African has enjoyed a successful 2005 with victories on three continents within a six-week stretch. He claimed The International on the PGA Tour, followed by back-to-back victories in the Volkswagen Masters in Asia and the European Tour's Linde German Masters.

He also featured strongly in all four Majors, narrowly missing four top-10 finishes after placing tied for 11th in the US Open.

Goosen's solid performances see him in third on the European Tour Money and eighth on the PGA Tour's Money List.

"We are thrilled that Retief has chosen to support our event, especially in its first year on the summer tour," Chief Executive Officer for Trade and Investment Limpopo, Joe Mathebula said. "Retief is playing exceptional golf at the moment and I'm sure his intimate knowledge of the course will stand him in good stead."

"We regard the Limpopo Classic as one of the most important opportunities in branding the Limpopo province as a preferred investment and tourism region in South Africa and we believe that Retief's participation will raise the awareness dramatically."

The Limpopo Tourism and Parks Board, the Limpopo Economic Development Enterprise (Limdev) and Polokwane Golf Club will join Trade and Investment Limpopo, the marketing body for the Limpopo Province Government, as the four main sponsors for this year's event.

The winner of this weekend's Bearing Man Highveld Classic, defending champion Bradford Vaughan and previous winners including Hennie Otto, Desvonde Botes, Marc Cayeux and James Kingston, as well as a host of Sunshine Tour players back from the international circuit will join Goosen in Polokwane.

"Retief's commitment to the Limpopo Classic is indicative of the man we have come to know," commented Sunshine Tour commissioner, Johan Immelman. "Our top players pledged their support if we could accommodate their schedules and his participation emphasizes that loyalty. We are elated that he has found a way to support the Sunshine Tour in his hometown."

"The Limpopo Classic increases this year's summer schedule from six to seven events, offering a total purse of R21-million, which marks a 23 percent increase over last year's offering of R17-million."

Following the Limpopo Classic, the Sunshine Tour will host a Summer Qualifying School at Kempton Park Golf Club from November 22-25.

Tour School will be followed by two special events under the Sunshine Tour's sanctioning — the Nelson Mandela Invitational presented by Coca-Cola and hosted by Gary Player at Arabella (November 26-27) and the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City (December 1-4).

Thereafter the Tour returns to Leopard Creek Country Club for the second playing of the European co-sanctioned dunhill championship from December 8-11, followed by the SAA Open Championship from December 15-18 at the home of the 2003 Presidents Cup, the Gary Player designed Links at Fancourt.

Royal Johannesburg and Kensington Golf Club will host the International Final Qualifier for The Open Championship in the third week of January 2006, opposite the Women's World Cup of Golf at Sun City.

The following week the Sunshine Tour travels to Sun City for the Dimension Data Pro-Am from January 26-29, followed by the Nashua Masters from February 2-5 at the Wild Coast Sun Country Club.

The Telkom PGA Championship follows from February 16-19 (venue to be confirmed) and the 2005-2006 Sunshine Tour season concludes with the Vodacom Tour Championship at Pretoria Country Club from February 23-26, 2006.