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Prime Minister Gillard is ninth world leader, and first woman, to serve in this role, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard has officially accepted an invitation to be Honorary Chairman of The Presidents Cup when the competition is played for the second time in Australia, at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Victoria, Nov. 15-20, 2011.Callaway Golf “Just as it is a privilege for Australia to be the first country ““ outside of America ““ to host The Presidents Cup for a second time, it is also truly a personal honour for me to be asked to serve as Honorary Chairman of the event in November,”� said Prime Minister Gillard. “The Presidents Cup is a spectacular showcase of golf’s best players that also provides a great deal of funding for charitable causes around the world. I am confident that Melbourne will serve as a worthy backdrop for this world-class event, and I look forward to taking part in the festivities.”� “We are honored that Prime Minister Gillard has accepted our invitation to be Honorary Chairman of The Presidents Cup when it returns to Australia for the second time in event history,”� said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. “The Presidents Cup has enjoyed the support and leadership of heads of state since the event’s inception in 1994, and Prime Minister Gillard’s participation not only continues that tradition, but also enhances the stature of the event in Australia and around the world. We look forward to welcoming her to The Presidents Cup in November.”�CA CHAMPIONSHIP Prime Minister Gillard, the first female prime minister in Australia’s history, joins a distinguished group of eight world leaders who have previously held the position of Honorary Chairman at The Presidents Cup. She is preceded by U.S. President Barack Obama, who was Honorary Chairman of the 2009 event in San Francisco, California. President Gerald Ford was the Honorary Chairman at the inaugural Presidents Cup in 1994 and was followed by President George H.W. Bush in 1996. Australian Prime Minister John Howard was Honorary Chairman in 1998 when the event was held in Melbourne, Australia, and was followed by President Bill Clinton in 2000. Thabo Mbeki, President of the Republic of South Africa, was Honorary Chairman in 2003 when The Presidents Cup was staged in Western Cape Province, South Africa. President George W. Bush served as Honorary Chairman in 2005 and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2007 when the event was held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Presidents Cup, a team match play competition featuring 24 of the world’s top golfers ““ 12 from the United States and 12 from around the world, excluding Europe ““ is held every two years, and since 1996 has alternated between United States and international venues. The Presidents Cup was developed to give the world’s best non-European players an opportunity to compete in international team match-play competition. The U.S.http://www.24hoursonlinegolf.com/ Team has won five of the eight previous Presidents Cups, and the only outright win by the International Team came at the 1998 event in Melbourne. The 2003 Presidents Cup ended in a tie. 24Hours Online Golf Players are not personally paid for their participation in The Presidents Cup; there is no purse or prize money. Each competitor, instead, designates charities or golf-related projects of his choice to receive a portion of the funds raised through the staging of each Presidents Cup. On behalf of the players, captains and captains’ assistants, more than $4.2 million was distributed to charitable causes from The Presidents Cup 2009. Additional donations were made to The First Tee of San Francisco and the Victorian Bushfire Appeal in 2009 and to the Premier’s Disaster Relief Appeal following the Queensland floods in March 2011. In total, more than $23 million has been raised for charity since the inception of The Presidents Cup in 1994.BRIDGESTONE INVITATIONAL The Presidents Cup will return to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, November 15-20, 2011, where it will be played at Royal Melbourne Golf Club.
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