The Jack Nicklaus-designed Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate is just a 40-minute drive from Johannesburg. It was there in late January where Zethu Myeki was unveiled as the fifth professional female golfer to be sponsored by Investec.

Myeki, 28, grew up in Mdantsane, a township in the Eastern Cape, that is 1,000 kilometres south of Johannesburg. She began playing golf at 13 when she saw some other girls hitting a small ball with sticks on a soccer field near her home. For years, she only had one club.

Her natural talent was noticed by the Ernie Els & Fancourt Foundation and Golf RSA. Founded in 1999 by Els, who was one of the top-ranked male golfers in the world, the foundation and the South African amateur golf group helped her to develop as a golfer.

As Investec head of sponsorships, Peta Dixon had been tracking her progress as she rose through the ranks. “Zethu only turned pro in 2020 after a stellar amateur career,” Dixon said. “She won two tournaments in 2021. She is an exceptional talent, and we knew she had no sponsors.”

Dixon said Investec decided to step in and make her the fifth leading female golfer that it sponsors globally, a list that includes Irish professional golfer Stephanie Meadow, who has in late January commenced her LPGA 2022 season.

“I felt honoured when Investec approached me because all I ever wanted was for a company to take a chance on me,” Myeki told reporters when Investec announced her sponsorship. “Now I can do what I love. I’m super excited to be part of the team.”

Myeki is ranked in 25th position on the Sunshine Ladies Tour, Africa’s premier women’s professional circuit, despite not being able to afford to play in all of the tournaments that she wanted to compete in, last year.

However, the Investec sponsorship will allow her to compete on a level playing field by providing her with the resources to travel to tournaments.

“With the financial assistance we are able to offer Zethu she will have the opportunity to really prove herself and make her dreams come true,” Dixon said.

“Last year as a professional in her second year there were a few tournaments she couldn’t participate in because she didn’t have the financial means to get there. Now we have removed those obstacles away from her and said you can plan your year, you can play your tournaments and focus on the business of golf.

Dixon went on to say: “We are getting in at the launch of her professional career and hoping to really help her reach her potential.

“With the financial assistance we are able to offer Zethu she will have the opportunity to really prove herself,” she added.

“Last year as a professional in her second year there were a few tournaments she couldn’t participate in because she didn’t have the financial means to get there. Now we have removed those obstacles away from her and said you can plan your year, you can play your tournaments and focus on the business of golf.”

“We have done our due diligence and we see the huge value and benefit in supporting women golfers and their rise in the professional game.”

“I am hoping that having the Investec brand behind her will mean additional sponsors will have the confidence to say, ‘let’s support her’.

For Investec, it is important to back female golfers on their rise to the top. Investec proudly supports local talent on a global stage and believe their investment will go a long way towards offering more female golfers the opportunity not only to play but to earn well too.

“We would like to be the Red Bull of the banking category sponsors,” she said. “Backing the underdog, showcasing our passion and determination as an organisation.” 

Supporting female golfers

Investec has supported Stephanie Meadow since 2016.

Sponsoring female golfers is important to Investec. It is the title sponsor of the Investec South African Women’s Open and financially rewards the country’s best female players via the Investec Order of Merit and Investec Homegrown Award.

Investec also sponsors three other South African golfers who compete on the Sunshine Ladies Tour and Ladies European Tour: Nicole Garcia, Lejan Lewthwaite and Stacy Bregman and has been the sponsor of Antrim-born two-time Olympian Stephanie Meadow since 2016 who is currently competing on the LPGA 2022 Tour.

As Investec was unveiling their sponsorship of Myeki in South Africa, Meadow was competing in the first event of the 2022 LPGA season at Gainbridge, Florida.

By supporting world talents like Stephanie Meadow and rising stars like Zethu Myeki, Dixon said Investec was doing its part in enabling more women to thrive.

At the beginning of Covid-19 restrictions and the postponement of the LPGA tour, in an interview with The Currency in May 2020, Meadow spoke about the importance of Investec’s support when competitive golf – like so much else – ground to a halt.

“Obviously, I have no tournament income, so Investec, Immedis and ATA have all said they’ll support me regardless of me not playing or not which is fantastic. It would be a scary situation if I didn’t have them,” Meadow said.

The backing by her sponsors paid off when golf resumed, and Meadow finished seventh in the Toyko Summer Olympics. Michael Cullen, the chief executive of Investec Ireland, said the company was delighted to sponsor her again in 2022. “Ireland’s female athletes had a superb 2021 and knowing Stephanie, she is committed to making 2022 her best ever year,” he said.

Meadow said “I am honoured to start my 6th year as an Investec brand ambassador. Time has flown by but over the last few years, I have had the privilege of meeting many of the community within Investec. Their energy and performance in their respective fields inspire me every day to be a better entrepreneur and to excel on the golf course. Investec thank you for your support and I am proud to represent such a wonderful company and community on the LPGA tour.

Dixon said Investec had initially hoped that Meadow would be able to compete in the Investec South African Women’s Open alongside the four South African female golfers it sponsors. Meadow already knew Nicole Garcia from competing with her in the US Open Championship, but she has yet to meet some of the other players.

“The timing was beautifully aligned for Stephanie to come down here but then our tournament was shifted by two weeks, so it clashed with an LPGA tournament,” Dixon said. “Unfortunately, Stephanie had to then cancel the trip to South Africa, but we are hopeful she will make it next year. She has our sponsor’s invitation for life.”

Bridging the gender pay divide

Zethu Myeki, 28, grew up Mdantsane, a township in the Eastern Cape in South Africa.

Investec is conscious of the gender pay gap in women’s golf and is striving to use its sponsorship funding to rectify that. It launched a Women on the Rise campaign focusing on the strength of female athletes and the need for gender equality.

This year their yet to be released campaign, ‘Same Game. Different winners’ asserts that the game of golf poses the same challenges to female and male players and female players should be celebrated and rewarded.

“Ideally we would have pay parity [in women’s golf]. When you have the conversation with female professional golfers, they don’t want to beat the same drum and say we want to earn the same, immediately. They understand male professional golfers get more TV viewership, more sponsorships and more investment especially in golf tech – but women’s golf needs to be on that journey to catch up and then pay parity can become a reality.”

“We are very proud to be the sponsors of the Investec South Africa Women’s Open,” Dixon said. “It has the biggest prize purse in South Africa.”

Dixon said Investec had agreed to sponsor the tournament for a further four years and it hopes to see the prize purse rise from €290,000 to €300,000 in 2022. “We are pushing the agenda of pay parity and gender equality in golf,” Dixon said. “We obviously have some way to go but we have significantly improved things.”

Dixon said female golfers wanted to be able to earn enough to be able to compete and show that they have the talent to attract more investment into the game. “Once there is a mass movement behind women’s sport then absolutely, they can earn the same,” she said. “But there is a lot still to do.”

By supporting world talents like Stephanie Meadow and rising stars like Zethu Myeki, Dixon said Investec was doing its part.

“To be a female golfer anywhere isn’t easy,” Dixon said. “To be a female golfer on the international stage is even harder. I am massively inspired by Zethu’s story and that of all of the female golfers we support.”

Investec is the sponsor of The Currency’s business podcast series. This article is supported by Investec in partnership with The Currency.  It provides a range of solutions, including specialist FX, Treasury, Corporate Finance and Lending services. For more information about Investec’s sponsorship of women’s golf visit www.investec.com/golf. Investec Europe Limited trading as Investec Europe is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Investec Private Finance Ireland Limited trading as Investec is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.