News Release Detail | Corporate - The Cliffs Communities

June 23, 2008 -- After ten successful years in South Florida, the Gary Player Invitational charity event is moving to the Carolinas and will take place at The Cliffs, one of America’s premier collections of private residential communities. As the title sponsor of the event, The Cliffs will stage the Gary Player Invitational (“GPI”) on September 28th – 30th at two of their eight golf courses, Keowee Falls and Keowee Vineyards.

The Gary Player Invitational presented by The Cliffs is part of a 2008 GPI global series which begins in London next month, followed by Shanghai, China; The Cliffs in South Carolina; and culminating in Cape Town, South Africa in late November. The shared objective of all four events is to enrich the lives of children – be it through education or providing support in impoverished communities around the world. Proceeds from the Gary Player Invitational presented by The Cliffs will benefit The Player Foundation which supports charities focused on the wellbeing of the youngest generation, including Zest Quest, a non-profit organization founded by The Cliffs whose mission is to educate and help children achieve healthier lifestyles through in-school programming and wellness coaching. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, The Player Foundation has raised over $25 million for underprivileged children’s education.

Commented Gary Player: “We are extremely grateful to Jim Anthony and The Cliffs for supporting the 2008 Gary Player Invitational. It’s an exciting thing to be taking our event to such a beautiful part of the United States, and most importantly, teaming up to make a real difference in the lives of children.

“Jim Anthony and I are absolutely ‘on the same page’ when it comes to promoting the importance of a healthy lifestyle – and of course education must start with our youth. I try to encourage and influence people everywhere I go, as it truly breaks my heart to witness obesity and diabetes escalating among American children,” Player concluded.

”We are excited to partner with Gary Player to host this exceptional event,” stated Jim Anthony, Founder and CEO of The Cliffs Communities. “The culture of our communities can be summed up in the phrase, ‘Living well by doing good’. Gary himself exemplifies this, and the Gary Player Invitational’s impact on children over the course of the last quarter-century is nothing short of remarkable. The opportunity to raise awareness of the importance of children’s wellness is in line with our company’s and our property owners’ belief that health is the foundation for success.”

The traditional format of the Gary Player Invitational is to unite top businessmen, celebrities and TOUR professionals for two days of “golf & giving.” Festivities surrounding the Gary Player Invitational presented by The Cliffs will include a welcome reception/pairings party, an “Evening in the Blue Ridge Mountains,” an awards dinner and auction – and of course the main event – golf!

Kicking off the Gary Player Invitational presented by The Cliffs will be the Sassafras Mountain Climb on Sunday, September 28th. Mr. Player will join hundreds of Boy and Girl Scouts, First Tee program participants, and elementary school children involved in the Zest Quest wellness program for a 3K trek to the summit of Sassafras Mountain – South Carolina’s highest peak. This event will showcase not only the beauty of The Carolina Preserve – the scenic area surrounding The Cliffs’ communities encompassing over a million acres of protected parklands – but will also connect children with the outdoors.

On Monday, September 29th, guests will be treated to a one-of-a-kind Gary Player Clinic before teeing it up in the Pro-Am at Keowee Falls. Recently ranked among the Top 10 Best New Private Courses by GOLF Magazine, The Cliffs at Keowee Falls is one of two Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Courses at The Cliffs, featuring rolling, mountainous terrain and spectacular views. Located on the shores of Lake Keowee, the 160-acre Keowee Falls golf course marries a challenging par-72, 7,171-yard layout with the incomparable aesthetics of a pure, core golf experience.

The Celebrity Golf Tournament will take place the following day on the Keowee Vineyards course and will be made up of 18 fivesomes, each hosted by a celebrity. With eight of its eighteen holes along Lake Keowee’s shoreline, five showcasing spectacular views of the Blue Ridge Mountains, and five running adjacent to state park wilderness, The Cliffs at Keowee Vineyards golf course offers players breathtaking scenic views in a natural environment. This Tom Fazio design earned honors from Golf Digest as #7 among America’s Best Private Courses.

In past years, the Gary Player Invitational has included TOUR players such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Seve Ballesteros, Greg Norman, Sergio Garcia, Jesper Parnevik, Robert Allenby and others. The Celebrity guest list has included faces like Celine Dion, Julius Irving, Michael Bolton, Evander Holyfield, Tico Torres, Dan Marino, Alan Thicke, Ronde Barber, Maury Povich, Lawrence Taylor, Beverly Johnson, Marcus Allen, Jerry Bailey, Kevin “Hercules” Sorbo and a host of other well-known names.

Stay tuned to www.garyplayerinvitational.com for player announcements, sponsorship opportunities and general information on the event.

Gary Player and The Gary Player Group came together with The Cliffs in 2006 to announce a multifaceted alliance that includes Mr. Player’s serving as a global ambassador for The Cliffs Communities. This summer, the Gary Player Group North American Headquarters will open at The Cliffs at Mountain Park, in which a Gary Player Signature golf course is currently underway and on track for an opening in late 2009/early 2010. The Cliffs and Player Real Estate have also recently launched The Gary Player Estates at The Cliffs at Mountain Park, a luxury home neighborhood within the gated community.

About The Player Group
Black Knight International, the global holding company for all divisions of The Player Group, maintains a strong presence in North and South America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The recognizable Black Knight logo identifies all the companies of the Group, including the Gary Player®, Player® and Black Knight® brands. The Player Group provides a range of services and products that reflect a superior quality and commitment to excellence. The various companies under the group umbrella include: Gary Player Design, a leader in the golf course design industry which has more than 250 championship courses to its credit; Gary Player Enterprises whose focuses include luxury goods, apparel, event management and promoting Mr. Player as an ambassador for global companies; Player Real Estate which offers a broad spectrum of high-end real estate development services in association with Gary Player-designed courses; Gary Player Academies offering exceptional, three-dimensional golf instruction through the World of Golf performance centers, and The Player Foundation, which executes global charitable efforts in support of underprivileged children. This year the foundation celebrates its 25th anniversary, and in that time, has raised over $25 million globally.

About The Cliffs Communities
Established in 1991 along the southernmost edge of the Blue Ridge Mountains and in the heart of the Carolina Preserve, with communities bordering hundreds of thousands of acres of protected national forests and state parks, The Cliffs (www.cliffscommunities.com) stands among the nation’s most highly regarded and widely acclaimed names in premier lifestyle communities. Founder Jim Anthony has lived in these scenic foothills of the Carolina Preserve all his life, and as such his commitment to the land, the people and the communities he creates is deeply personal in nature. Each individual community has been carefully crafted with an eye toward both the sensitive and thoughtful management of the natural resources, as well as the long-term integrity and the value of each and every homesite. And all have been designed with one thing in mind—creating an environment where each and every resident can live a life of meaning, purpose and fulfillment. Homesites from the $300,000s to more than $3 million. Custom homes from the $700,000s to more than $5 million.

Media Contacts:

Gida Aden
Media Director
Black Knight International
gida@garyplayer.com
+1 561 624 0300
Jamie Prince
Director of Corporate Communications
The Cliffs Communities
jprince@cliffscommunities.com
+1 864 836 2227