Ernie Els led a brief tribute to Nelson Mandela as play continued as scheduled at the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City in South Africa on Friday, one day after the death of the former South African president. Els paid his respects ahead of the resumption of the first round, halted by thunderstorms on Thursday, as a moment of silence was observed before play resumed at the Gary Player Country Club. We were sitting up front and then Mr Mandela came onto the plane last. It could have been so different in South Africa but he kept his head and kept everyone going forward." Live television coverage of the tournament, the highlight of the South African golfing calendar, was marked by sombre commentary and regular references to Mandela's death on Thursday at the age of 95.
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