Worldwide Golf Darren Clarke Issue by Worldwide Golf

Official Media Partner Middle East

ISSUE 128, SUMMER 2011

MIDDLE EAST’S No.1 GOLF MAGAZINE

140TH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

CLARKE GETS THE CLARET MAJOR FORCE

TOM WATSON 61 AND STILL MIXING IT

THE WINNING SWING Darren’s coach, Pete Cowen, analyses the swing that won The Open

WITH THE YOUNG GUNS

PAULA CREAMER DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MENA TOUR OMEGA DUBAI LADIES MASTERS GARY PLAYER

FOLLOW GREG NORMAN ROUND HIS SITE VISIT AT THE WAVE, MUSCAT

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GARY PLAYER The nine time Major Champion who has witnessed and been a part of some of the most historic and memorable golfing occasions reflects on the game today

Darren Clarke takes the opportunity to get in some vital links competition in typical challenging conditions, at The Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, Inverness, the week before The Open.

Y most sincere congratulations go to Darren Clarke on winning The 140th Open Championship at Royal St George’s. I think the whole golfing world must have been rejoicing on Sunday at Darren’s well-deserved and longawaited Major victory. He played precisely the right sort of game to suit the conditions. He kept the ball low and ran it onto the greens in true links fashion. He was playing a different kind of golf to the rest of the field and it paid off handsomely. His compact swing and his steady, composed attitude was just what was needed. Growing up on the wonderful windswept links courses of Northern Ireland provided the ideal experience for Darren to know just how to handle Royal St George’s. He was consistency itself. He could hear the cheers ahead of him as Phil Mickelson mounted a front nine challenge and Dustin Johnson started to close the gap but Darren just kept on going, with no fuss and nothing adventurous. True, Darren had his slice of luck, particularly on 15 where his approach shot only just skirted over the bunker, to a huge sigh of relief from Darren. But you need a little good fortune to win in this game. Meanwhile, Dustin Johnson went out of bounds on the 14th to effectively end his charge and Mickelson missed a short put on the 11th and went on to drop four shots in six holes to end his assault on Darren’s lead. What an amazing boost Darren’s win has been for Northern Ireland. Just think, for the province to have three Major winners in the last two seasons – three of the last six Majors – is remarkable for a ‘country’ of less than 1.4 million people. The effect this will have on

I COULDN’T UNDERSTAND WHY RORY McILROY DIDN’T PLAY THE WEEK BEFORE THE OPEN, CHOOSING TO TAKE A BREAK FROM THE GAME. WITH THE BARCLAYS SCOTTISH OPEN BEING PLAYED ON THE MAGNIFICENT LINKS OF CASTLE STUART IN INVERNESS FOR THE FIRST TIME IT ATTRACTED A LOT OF EUROPEAN TOUR PLAYERS EAGER TO HONE THEIR SKILLS ON THE LINKS. golf tourism for Northern Ireland will be tremendous. All three Ulstermen, Graeme McDowell (2010 U.S. Open Champion) Rory McIlroy (2011 U.S.Open Champion) and now Darren Clarke, The 2011 Open Champion have all honed their links skills on the links of Royal Portrush, the course where I won the third of my Senior Open Championships, to go with the six Senior Majors I won on the U.S. Champions Tour. Royal Portrush is a wonderful links course right at the top of Northern Ireland and when the wind blows you’ve got to walk at 45 degrees into it to stay upright. The region is blessed with many outstanding links courses and I’m sure that golf tourists from around the world will be making plans to sample the delights of the Irish links. Fred Daly was the last Ulsterman to win The Open back in 1947 at Royal Liverpool but now the province can boast three Major Champions who could well go on to win many more. I couldn’t understand

why Rory McIlroy didn’t play the week before The Open, choosing to take a break from the game. With The Barclays Scottish Open being played on the magnificent links of Castle Stuart in Inverness for the first time it attracted a lot of European Tour players eager to re-acclimatise to links golf . It was debatable whether Rory had made the right choice following his performance at Royal St George’s but I know it would have hurt me not to have been on the golf course the week before The Open. I predicted Rory’s misfortune at The Masters would be quickly overcome by him winning a Major and he proved the point by taking the U.S. Open at Congressional. Rory is only 22 years old but I was 23 when I won the first of my nine Majors and I wouldn’t have dreamed of missing a week’s golf prior to The Open. But what works for one man doesn’t always work for another and I’m sure Rory will add to his Major trophies before very long. ■ www.wwgolf.biz

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CONTENTS

4 32

Regulars GARY PLAYER INTRODUCTION

PETE COWEN SERIES

PETE COWEN SWING

DIVOTS NEWS ITEMS

CLUBHOUSE QUICKIES

OFFICIAL WORLD GOLF RANKING

GARY PLAYER COLUMN

ISSUE 128, SUMMER 2011

10 TOM WATSON: At the age of 61 the five-time Open Champion is still King of the Links. 20 ABU DHABI DOUBLE: A preview of the next two upcoming installments of the UAE’s best value golf event. 23 GREG NORMAN AT THE WAVE: The Great White Shark talks exclusively to Worldwide Golf during a site visit to The Wave, Muscat

140TH OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

THE RACE TO DUBAI

EUROPEAN TOUR NEWS

Features

Official Media Partner Middle East

MIDDLE EAST’S No.1 GOLF MAGAZINE

CLARKE GETS THE CLARET MAJOR FORCE

TOM WATSON 61 AND STILL MIXING IT

30 EMIRATES AIRLINE INVITATIONAL: The Golf Club at

THE WINNING SWING Darren’s coach, Pete Cowen, analyses the swing that won The Open

WITH THE YOUNG GUNS

PAULA CREAMER DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP MENA TOUR OMEGA DUBAI LADIES MASTERS GARY PLAYER

ON COURSE

CAN YOU MASTER THE 678 YARDS PAR-5 AT AL AIN EQUESTRIAN, SHOOTING & GOLF CLUB?

FOLLOW GREG NORMAN ROUND HIS SITE VISIT AT THE WAVE, MUSCAT

U.S. OPEN AND RORY McIILROY

ISBN 978-9948-15-427-3

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WORLD ROUND-UPS

TUTORIAL: STRETCHING

WOMEN’S GOLF MIDDLE EAST

ARABIAN GOLF

IN THE BAG: CLUB PRO

ISSUE No. 128, SUMMER, 2011 Published by: Worldwide Sporting Publications Ltd, 54 Alderley Road, Wilmslow, Cheshire, England, SK9 1NY mike@wspglobal.com alex@wspglobal.com Tel: +44 01625 535081 Fax: +44 01625 537487 Editor-in-Chief: Mike Gallemore Executive Editor: Gary Player

Official Publication of The Emirates Golf Federation & The Arab Golf Federation WWG_COVER_SUMMER_2011.indd 1

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FRONT COVER: Darren Clarke

THE OPEN: Darren Clarke produces a links masterclass to win The 140th Open Championship at the 20th attempt at Royal St George’s.

Brocket Hall is set to host the only ‘Golden Ticket’ Qualifier outside the Middle East for one of the most prestigious Pro-Ams in golf.

38 DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP: Tickets are now available and excitement is already growing ahead of The European Tour’s season-ending finale. 56 AL AIN EQUESTRIAN, SHOOTING & GOLF CLUB:

Mike Gallemore pays a visit to one of the Middle East golf circuit’s true hidden gems.

60 PAUL CREAMER: We catch up with golf’s Pink Panther who reveals her love of travel and playing with her puppy! 63 HRH PRINCESS HAYA grants her official patronage to the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters. 60 MENA GOLF TOUR: The venues and dates are released for the Middle East’s newest golf Tour.

Editor: Alex Gallemore Publisher: Mike Gallemore Senior Editor: Richard Bevan Editorial Assistants: Todd Staszko, James Reeves, Tabitha Florence Design Manager: Joanna Eardley Technical Manager: Mark Collinge Editorial Panel: Gary Player, Mike Gallemore, Alex Gallemore, Richard Bevan, Todd Staszko

Published in Dubai by: Prografix, PO Box 24677, Dubai, UAE (Tel) +9714 340 3785 Advertising & Marketing: David Burke davidb@wspdubai.com (009715) 05519363 Worldwide Golf specifies that post-press changes may occur to any information given in this publication and takes no responsibility for goods or services advertised.

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Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler’s (left) International Sports Management now boasts all three of this year’s Major Champions in Charl Schwarztel (The Masters), Rory McIlroy (US Open and now Darren Clarke (The Open). Last year’s Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen is also part of the ISM stable.

DARREN CLARKE celebrates in the locker room at Royal St George’s with his friend and Manager, Chubby Chandler, and the famous Claret Jug, after his links golf masterclass had sealed a sensational victory in The 140th Open Championship. RICHARD BEVAN reports on a dramatic four days in Kent

CLARKE’S GOT THE CLARET 4

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ORTHERN Ireland became the world’s smallest golfing super power when Darren Clarke followed up the achievements of, first Graeme McDowell and then Rory McIlroy, in the last two U.S. Opens by claiming an astonishing victory in The 140th Open Championship at Royal St George’s. Clarke became, at 42, the oldest Open Champion since Roberto de Vincenzo in 1967 after lifting the Claret Jug at his 20th attempt for an emotional first Major triumph at the 54th time of asking. It was a victory that tugged on the heartstrings of golf fans around the world as ‘People’s Champion’ Clarke completed a remarkable journey from the depths of despair in 2006 – when he lost wife, Heather, to cancer shortly before The Ryder Cup at the K Club – to becoming the toast of world golf. “It’s incredible – it really is,” said Clarke who finished three strokes clear of U.S. pair Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson

“I THINK SHE’D BE MORE PROUD OF MY TWO BOYS WITH THEM AT HOME WATCHING, MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE. IT’S BEEN A LONG JOURNEY TO GET HERE. AS I SAY, I’M 42 AND I’M NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER.” with a 5-under total of 275. “It’s for the kids. In terms of what’s going through my heart, there’s obviously somebody who is watching down from up above there, and I know she’d be very proud of me. “She’d probably be saying, ‘I told you so.’ But I think she’d be more proud of my two boys with them at home watching more than anything else. It’s been a long journey to get here. I’m 42 and I’m not getting any younger.” Clarke, who grew up playing the windswept links of Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, was imperious in the wind and rain at Sandwich as, one by one, his rivals were blown off course. After opening with rounds of 6868-69 he entered the final round with a one-stroke lead over the big-hitting Johnson who along with the impressive Rickie Fowler, two strokes further back, was spearheading the USA’s attempts to regain some Major championship pride. But, as the day developed, the first

went on to drop another three shots down the home stretch. “It was just a stupid mistake, just a dumb mental error,” said Mickelson afterwards, who nonetheless posted his highest ever finish in the event. “I just lost focus there and it hurts to throw shots away like that when I’m behind,” he added. Clarke undoubtedly got that little bit of luck you need to win a Major – Emotional moment as major threat to Clarke’s march to victory runner-up Phil Mickelson Mickelson’s uncharacteristic lapse of concentration on the 11th; Johnson’s came from a somewhat unlikely source congratulates Darren in the shape of Mickelson, who had Clarke after the Irishman wayward drive that effectively ended his challenge on 14 when his ball flew only once before finished inside the top resisted the American’s final round charge to out of bounds, resulting in a double 10 at The Open – when he took third be named Champion bogey; or perhaps most fortunate of place at Royal Troon in 2004. Golfer of the Year. all – when the Ulsterman’s approach Big Phil has never looked to the 15th skimmed over a fairway comfortable on British links courses, even less so when the elements turn nasty, but he made a lightening strike OPEN STATS ATTACK with a ‘best of the week’ front nine Clarke, at 42 years and 337 days is the of 5-under 30 which included three oldest Open Champion since Argentine birdies and a mammoth 30-foot putt for Roberto De Vincenzo (left), who was eagle on the seventh. When he added 44 years and 93 days when he beat th another birdie on the 10 he briefly Jack Nicklaus by two strokes to win in drew level with Clarke having started 1967. Clarke is the oldest European Tour player to win a Major Championship. the day five strokes behind him. But at the par-3 11th, it all began to go Darren Clarke’s Open Prior to his Open win horribly wrong for the lefty – who, up Championship win puts Darren Clarke had failed until that point, looked to have finally him sixth on The Race to to finish in the top 10 in a Dubai with €1,303,927. Major since the 2001 Open cured his problems on links greens – Championship at Royal when he missed a routine tap in for par. European Tour players have Lytham and St Annes, As he berated himself walking off the won the last six Majors where he finished tied third green there was a feeling that the links going back to Mickelson’s behind winner David Duval demons were perhaps beginning to win at the 2010 Masters. and runner-up Niclas Fasth. creep in – and creep in they did as he www.wwgolf.biz

bunker and ran up on to the safety of the green. But make no mistake, Clarke’s was a masterful performance. The 15-foot putt to save par on the first as the roars for Mickelson’s charge down the front nine up ahead of him were echoing around the course was huge. The long birdie putt at the par-4 second, was massive. The 25-foot putt for eagle on the same hole Mickelson had eagled – the seventh. Gargantuan. Dungannon’s finest was not for turning and it was clear that destiny was on his side. Five-time Open champion Tom Watson had told him as much when he arrived at the course at the start of the week and was handed the same locker as 1993 winner Greg Norman. “When we got to St George’s we were given Greg Norman’s locker and we always felt it was meant to be this week,” said Clarke’s caddie John

“I STILL FEEL AS IF I CAN COMPETE WITH THE BEST PLAYERS IN THE WORLD, AND THAT’S WHAT I WANT TO DO.” Mulrooney, who took on Clarke’s bag in May immediately prompting a victory at the Iberdrola Open. “Tom Watson said it could be a lucky locker for us. It made a massive difference getting that locker.” Clarke was on auto pilot down the stretch, steadily knocking off hole after hole with solid, no frills links golf. He could even afford the luxury of dropping a shot on 17 and three-putting for bogey at the last and still win with ease. “It is just incredible. I’m a bit speechless,” he said. “I played OK today. I did what I had to do and over the last few holes, when I was far ahead, I just tried not to do anything stupid. “I’ve been very calm all week. I won six weeks ago and the more you put yourself in winning positions the more comfortable you get. I was very comfortable with my game this week. “I could hear the roars going up for Phil on the way round but I was hitting some good shots and doing OK, too.” Clarke has always been capable of playing exceptional golf. Perhaps in recent years he’s lacked the self belief required to win golf’s greatest prizes – but his ‘ordinary bloke’ persona has made him a hero to golf fans and weekend hackers around the world. When he won his 13th European Tour title in Majorca recently he flew back to Ireland on budget airline, Easy Jet, and celebrated his win by buying everybody on board the flight a drink. It wasn’t an act of showmanship – it was pure Clarke. A man perfectly at ease among the world’s finest players on the golf course

but equally comfortable alongside the man on the street. It’s that quality, along with the roller-coaster life and career that has played out in front of the world, that makes him the most popular Open Champion of the modern era. “I like to go the pub and have a pint, jump on Easy Jet, fly home, buy everybody a drink – I’m just a normal guy playing golf, having a bit of fun,” said Clarke as he addressed the media following his victory – a pint of the black stuff on one side and the Claret Jug on the other. Having waited so long for his Major breakthrough Clarke, who is engaged to former Miss Northern Ireland, Alison Campbell, could be forgiven for riding off into the sunset to enjoy the trappings of his success, which include a £2 million bonus from clothing supplier Dunlop to add to his £900,000 winner’s cheque. But the man himself has other ideas. “You know, the bad times in golf are more frequent than the good times,” he

said. “There have been been times when I’ve been completely and utterly fed up with the game. But now, can I say ‘that’s it, I’m going to retire now?’ I can’t. I’ve got to keep on playing. To be The Open Champion is just incredible. I’ve got to go back now, reassess and set some more goals. To win another couple of these. “I still feel as if I can compete with the best players in the world, and that’s what I want to do.” With that the cigar-chomping ABOVE: Darren Clarke toasts his win with a pint favourite of the fans left to continue of Ireland’s ‘black stuff’ – his celebrations, and it was a party that many more followed but lasted through the night and into the boy did he deserve it! following day. When he re-emerged he revealed that the revelry had only died TOP: Darren acknowledges the late down “about half an hour ago’” But if anyone deserved his night of great Seve Ballesteros whose impact on The glory, it was Darren Clarke. When he European Tour was finally woke up after the mother of honoured at Royal St all parties, the sight of the Claret Jug George’s. adorning his mantelpiece was surely enough to cure even the most brutal of hangovers. ■

TOM LEWIS ARRIVES ON THE WORLD SCENE IN STYLE ENGLAND’S Tom Lewis stole the limelight when he became the first amateur since Michael Bonallack in 1968 to lead The Open Championship after round one when he fired a sensational 5-under 65 playing alongside the man he was named after, five-time Open Champion Tom Watson. The stylish 20-year-old from Welwyn Garden City, who won the 2009 British Amateur Championship, then revealed his ambitious plan to chase down the record of another Welwyn old boy – Sir Nick Faldo! “Nick Faldo has won six Majors,” said Tom, who went on to win the Silver Medal as the leading amateur after finishing tied 30th on 9-over. “I would love to win seven because I’m from the same golf club as Sir Nick and it would be great to go down as the best player from the club, but I’ve got to a long way to go. I played well. We got a lot of cheers for Tom, but I think it was for Tom Watson, and then towards the end I was playing well, so I think they were cheering for me as well. “I was really grateful and I had a great time out there. I think on the first tee, to play with Tom Watson, no matter what I shot, was going to be excellent. “I was more concerned about making sure I didn’t embarrass myself in front of him. To shoot 65 in front of Tom was just excellent, and he was just a great man to play with.” www.wwgolf.biz

TOM’S 2011 CHAMPIONS TOUR STATS

“I HIT A 4-IRON. IT WAS INTO THE WIND, ABOUT 160 YARDS. OLD GUYS HIT 4-IRONS 160 YARDS INTO THE WIND. THE KIDS ARE HITTING 6-IRONS.”

In 33 previous Open Championships the master of the links had never accomplished a hole-in-one. But at 61, he showed the modern day big gunners how to do it. During the second round at Royal St. George’s, on the 163-yard sixth hole, the five-time Open Champion aced it with a four iron into the wind – one bounce and straight into the hole.

Driving Distance Driving Accuracy Percentage Greens in Regulation Percentage Putting Average Eagles (Holes per) Birdie Average Scoring Average (Actual) Sand Save Percentage Total Driving (Combining 1&2) All-Around Ranking

286.0 68.49% 74.84% 1.747 306.0 4.76 70.12 52.00% 67 209

11th 56th 11th 23rd 54th 4th 22nd 28th 18th 14th

TOM WATSON talks exclusively to Mike Gallemore about his love of links golf and the two weeks he spends in the UK each year playing The Open and the Senior Open – and his views on the challenges facing the modern game.

MAJOR TOM’S

A BIG HIT - AGAIN! W

HEN Tom Watson walked down the 18th fairway at Royal St. George’s on the final day of The 140th Open Championship he was treated by the packed galleries to the sort of tumultuous welcome reserved for those who are about to collect the claret jug. The five times Open winner had enthralled the rain-sodden yet still enthusiastic spectators with an immaculate display of links golf throughout the four days in finishing tied 22nd with ultra consistent rounds of 72, 70, 72, 72 for a 6-over total of 286. Along the way the 61-year-old, who had come within a shot of winning The Open at Turnberry in 2009 when he was beaten in a playoff by fellow American Stewart Cink, took the time to offer a few words of advice and encouragement to 20-year-old amateur Tom Lewis, his playing partner for the first two rounds, who went on to win the Silver Medal as The Open’s top amateur.

“I was flattered to hear that Tom had been named after me,” said Watson. “It’s a change from people naming their cats or dogs after me. We had a few nice conversations on the way round. I was very impressed with his game and he’s quite a refined player for his age. To shoot 65 to tie the lead at the end of the first day of The Open is something he’ll always remember.” Watson was enjoying himself in the tough conditions, rolling back the years to produce a links masterclass. On the Friday be parred the first five holes, aced the sixth on the second bounce, birdied the seventh and parred the eighth to make the turn in 2-under 33. It was back to his golden days again on Saturday when he didn’t drop a shot until the 11th hole, picking up a birdie on the seventh along the way. His putting was out of this world and he was having fun knocking it in from all angles and distances. “It was a great day on the greens for me,” he said. “I just had that feel for some odd reason. I’ll remember this day.” From St George’s in Kent he made the short journey to Walton Heath Golf Course in Surrey for the Senior Open Championship, an event he had won three times before. 4

TOM’S OPEN FACTS Watson’s magnificent performance at the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry where he was defeated in a play-off by fellow American Stewart Cink earned him exemption to The Open for a further five years. Watson has won The Open five times among his eight Majors, but it was his epic battle with Jack Nicklaus when he triumphed in the ‘Duel in the Sun’ at Turnberry in 1977 that will go down in history as one of the greatest of all time. Tom has also won three Senior Majors in the U.S. and three on the European Senior Tour. Tom is pictured left with Jack at Turnberry. Watson, aged 61, closed his account at Royal St George’s with a final round 72 to share 22nd place with Tom Lehman and Anders Hansen – one shot better than Rory McIlroy, aged 22!

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He was returning to the scene of The 1981 Ryder Cup as leader of the Order of Merit on the European Senior Tour, courtesy of winning the US Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla beating David Eger in a play-off earlier in the year. “It was good to win my sixth Senior Open, making three in the States and three on the links of Turnberry, Royal Aberdeen and Muirfield. “For a guy who decided that links golf was not for me after playing the opening round of my first Open at Carnoustie in 1975 I guess I must have got accustomed to the links.” (at Carnoustie Watson finished level with Jack Newton on the Sunday and then defeated him in an 18 hole play-off on Monday to win the first of his five Open Championship titles and went on to become, arguably, the finest links player of his generation). “I just couldn’t come to terms with seeing a really good shot getting a bad bounce and ending up in trouble. That really bothered me. But my hatred of links golf soon changed. I came to the realisation that there was no good fighting it. Instead, I changed my attitude and decided the only way to win was to just get on with it and take the rough with the smooth. “I was a shy kid growing up but despite that, I just loved playing golf and I loved playing in front of a crowd. I’d like to impress my dad or my brother with my golf and I got a real kick – and still do – if I hit a good shot and the crowd applaud or shout encouragement. I’ve never been badly affected by crowds. They’ve always been an inspiration for me to play well. “I went through a tough period of my golf career when I just couldn’t win. You hear players talk about how you have to learn to win. Well, it’s true. That really is the case. Once you’ve got that knowledge you can go on and win, and keep on winning. I realised that I just had to win. Nobody remembers who came second or third. The only thing that mattered was winning. “Golf has been my career for a long time and I still love the game with a passion. I’ve learned to take the failures with the successes and enjoy what I’m

Ace in the hole: Tom Watson is congratulated by young playing partner Tom Lewis after the American’s superb ace, which slamdunked into the hole on the second bounce.

doing. If I didn’t think I had the chance to win I wouldn’t be here. I enjoy playing in the UK and I look forward to this two weeks in the UK every year. “Golf is part of the fabric of life in the UK, whereas that’s not the case in the US. Golf is struggling in the US with the recession. We tend to do things to excess in the States and we have produced more golf courses than is sustainable, so we are now having to pay the piper. “The added problem is that people don’t seem to have the time to play golf in the US and the kids would rather spend their time gazing into a TV screen playing video games or tied up with Twitter or Facebook or some such thing. Or they’re forever on their cellphones, reading, calling or texting. “It’s a social trend that concerns me greatly. People don’t get much exercise these days and we’re seeing a generation of overweight youngsters growing up who don’t seem so interested in playing sport. I was talking to a friend of mine recently who’s a

“THE ADDED PROBLEM IS THAT PEOPLE DON’T SEEM TO HAVE THE TIME TO PLAY GOLF IN THE US AND THE KIDS WOULD RATHER SPEND THEIR TIME GAZING INTO A TV SCREEN PLAYING VIDEO GAMES OR TIED UP WITH TWITTER OR FACEBOOK.”

prominent American football coach and he said it gets progressively harder every year to recruit new, young players, because they have this obsession with video games, television and computers.” Despite that, Watson believes the professional game at the highest level is in good shape. “I like what I see in pro golf,” he says. “Right now the golf world is waiting for someone to take control at the top after the Tiger Woods era and with European Tour players at the head of the queue we’ll soon see a Champion who can win Majors - and go Super Senior: Tom Watson proudly hoists on winning Majors. the replica Claret Jug “I played at The Open at Royal St after winning the Senior George’s to win and I wouldn’t be Open Championship playing in any tournament if I didn’t for the third time at believe I could win. I’m still enjoying my Muirfield in 2007. golf and I’m still competing. There’s an old saying, ‘Swing with ease into the breeze’. A lot of times you can see these young kids out there trying to hit it really hard into the wind. Hitting low stingers, you don’t have to hit it that hard. You can just flight it by swinging it a little bit easier and that will take the height off the ball. I can’t swing that hard these days, so the ball is flighted naturally.” ■

“I PLAYED AT THE OPEN AT ROYAL ST GEORGE’S TO WIN AND I WOULDN’T BE PLAYING IN ANY TOURNAMENT IF I DIDN’T BELIEVE I COULD WIN.” www.wwgolf.biz

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PETE COWEN

STRAIGHT FROM THE SHOULDER

Worldwide Golf begins a fascinating series of interviews by Mike Gallemore with the inimitable coach PETE COWEN, who has renewed his association with The Academy at Emirates Golf Club, Dubai. Pete is credited with the success of Lee Westwood, Louis Oosthuizen and Graeme McDowell (below) and in Darren Clarke’s acceptance speech after winning The Open, Darren thanked Pete for his help.

’m looking forward to working with The Academy at Emirates Golf Club again, talking to the PGA teaching pros and making sure that they want to progress as coaches and want to improve themselves and the coaching they are delivering. That’s what I want to achieve with Dubai Golf. I want to move our coaching up a level. I’ve not had an Academy in the Middle East for two years now so I’m pleased that I’ve got the opportunity to make the Academy at Emirates Golf Club something really special. For the past couple of years I’ve put people on to Mark Gregson-Walters, who used to work for me there. I’ve been contacted by a lot of people recently who want to come over to my Academy in the Middle East. I guess my name has suddenly become widely recognised worldwide to a different, amateur audience and not just the Tour pros. People I’ve talked to in India and throughout Asia say it would be easier for them to come over to Dubai than to have to travel to Europe to be coached the Pete Cowen way. It’s certainly going to be easier to cultivate the Asian, South African and Australian market by having the Academy at Emirates Golf Club, that’s for sure.

PETE COWEN is, by worldwide acclaim, the best and most successful coach in the game. The fact that The European Tour can boast the top four players on the Official World Golf Ranking isn’t a coincidence. Pete has been working with so many European Tour players for so many years it was inevitable his knowledge, expertise and guidance would pay off and it – with dividends over recent seasons. He was deservedly bestowed with the honour of Coach of the Year for 2010 at the UK Coaching Awards. Pete Cowen pictured with Christopher May, General Manager, Dubai Golf (left) and Andrew Whitelaw, Club Manager, Emirates Golf Club.

Recognised The fact that I’ve had so much success in coaching The European Tour players over the last 15 years – and particularly in the last few years – has made a significant difference to me and, of course, to the players. In golf, like so many things, it’s the results that count, and no other coach has had better results than I’ve had. With the players I’ve coached having won well over 100 tournament victories on the major Tours, I’ve become more recognisable by the global golfing public. I’ve always been recognised within the golfing industry, particularly by the players and their management companies, but to gain wider recognition worldwide has been a big benefit. It has obviously enhanced my name and reputation as a coach, which helps a lot. So I must be doing something right. Building up a team of first class PGA coaches at Emirates Golf Club, of course, is my goal and it

will be important for the Academy. I believe that teaching golf is not a definable art. There are certain things in the golf swing where you could take extremely bad shots out of the equation and that’s what it’s all about – success and winning golf tournaments at whatever level you play. You’ve got to get your pupils to start understanding the technique. First of all you need to work on improving people’s bad shots, not their good shots. You’ve got to start from the other end. Everybody says they want to make their driving longer and better. But they’ve got to learn that it’s not their good driving that’s getting them into trouble it’s their bad shots. So let’s sort out the really poor shots first. Having understood that, it pushes everything up to another level. They can then start to figure out why they’re losing three balls on certain holes. They can realise that it’s those three bad

holes in the round that are the ones that are really spoiling their score. I prefer to concentrate on the bad shots because I know the good shots will take care of themselves. Once you can put that into practice, you can work on the rest of their game. You’ve got to look at playing golf from a totally different angle. My method is first to find out what players want for themselves. It’s often not what you say but more the case of what you don’t say that makes their game that much better.

‘Not a lot wrong’ My pupils, whether it’s the World No.1 or a 24 handicapper, quickly get used to the fact that if I’m quiet when I’m watching them hit shots on the range, then there’s not a lot wrong. If there’s something wrong you’ve got to get down to the nitty gritty and address the fault and start working really hard on correcting it. Most of that work probably means doing it away from the golf tournament. In next month’s issue of Worldwide Golf I’ll describe how I work with the world’s best players and the fundamentals that must be followed to improve your game. ■

Pete Cowen has been working with current World No.2 Lee Westwood for most of his professional career. Heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pictured here on the driving range at Leeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s home course at Worksop Golf Club.

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DARREN CLARKE

SWING

F R A M E B Y F R A M E A N A LY S I S O F T H E O P E N C H A M P I O N ' S W I N N I N G S W I N G

Set-up: The set up should be all about athletic balance. With this you can see the logo on the back of the spine.

Good left shoulder left arm position, ready to deliver the club slightly from the inside. A slight draw should follow.

Move away: Try and keep the width on the take away. If you were slightly critical, this club should be a little bit lower.

Normally you would expect the club to be in line with the hands at this point. But as Darren is trying to keep the width you can excuse this!

Impact: His hips are about 20 degrees open and shoulders are square,.The perfect impact position. No hand manipulation.

Great extension with the body working to stabilise the club through impact.

BY PETE COWEN PGA MASTER PROFESSIONAL THE ACADEMY AT EMIRATES GOLF CLUB in Association with PETE COWEN PETE COWEN HAS BEEN WORKING WITH DARREN CLARKE FOR MOST OF HIS CAREER

Good right arm and shoulder support at this point with wrist and left arm setting on plane. The right is straight but it's got torque in it â&#x20AC;&#x201C; so it's OK.

Continuing from number 9. The body is still in control of the club with no flip of the club face.

Top of Swing: Great position. Right angle between the two arms, club face and left wrist in perfect alignment.

The left leg has pressure down it which stabilises the left foot and prevents Darren from spinning open.

Down Swing: Start of down swing with good down force into the feet to keep stability. This is to allow the upper body and arms and club to get into the delivery position.

Finish: Good flow to balance finish.

Open Champ!

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Abu Dhabi

DOUBLE6 SEPTEMBER 29TH - SAADIYAT BEACH GOLF CLUB ACCOMMODATION – RADISSON BLU HOTEL, YAS ISLAND 30TH - YAS LINKS GOLF CLUB DIVISIONAL PRIZES THE Abu Dhabi Double events have grown into some of the most talked about and enjoyed amateur tournaments in the region and Worldwide Golf readers have been given another chance to play in what will be the sixth instalment, which takes place on September 29th and 30th. Abu Dhabi Double 6 will see competitors battle it out on two of the UAE’s newest and finest world-class courses as Saadiyat Beach and Yas Links once more provide the venues for two unforgettable days of golf and fun. Throw into the deal one night’s accommodation on September 29th at the magnificent, luxurious Radisson Blu Hotel on Yas Island and it’s scarcely believable that the whole package is available for just AED 999!

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Greg Norman points out some minor changes to The Wave to Greg Norman Golf Course Design Senior Vice President Chris Campbell and Dan Grassi on Gregâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s site visit earlier this month.

FAIRWAY FOCUS

The Wave Muscat

Worldwide Golf Columnist GREG NORMAN shakes hands with WSP Global Editor-in-Chief, Mike Gallemore, during Greg’s extensive examination of all 18 holes of The Wave course and subsequent Press conference.

ONE OF THE BEST I HAVE EVER DESIGNED I

T was a rewarding experience for me to revisit The Wave Muscat earlier this month and I’m proud of what we’ve been able to achieve there. I can say that The Wave is one of the finest golf courses I have ever designed anywhere in the world. I couldn’t be more pleased with the progress we’ve made since I was last there. We’ve got 12 holes grassed and the remaining six holes are well advanced but right now it’s difficult to estimate when it will be open for play, although completion later this year or early next year could be a possibility. It’s always an exciting proposition and an interesting challenge to work with a blank canvas and that’s exactly what we had at The Wave – a flat, featureless, rectangular strip of land on the ocean front with the Hajeer Mountains in the distance inland. When I first went to look at the site five years ago I viewed it from various different angles to try to visualise how I wanted the course to be. I could see it in my mind’s eye – on a clear blue-sky day and at sunset. I wanted it to be a mirror-image of a natural golf course. I wanted to keep and enhance the panorama of the ocean and highlight the spectacular vista of the Hajeer Mountains, while at the same time taking out the view over towards the airport. On a clear day you feel you could almost touch the mountains.

I like to imagine the layout from a golfer’s perspective first and from a designer’s point of view second, and then decide what is both feasible and affordable. I always design a course from the beginning but with the end in mind.

Unique characteristics I believe that the true test of a golf course is that you should be able to remember every hole. Each hole should have its own unique characteristics and the course should have as wide a variety of holes as is possible. I think we have achieved that at The Wave. The night before playing a big tournament I used to visualise each hole and imagine how

I was going to play it. I’d work out the strategy in my head and decide where to play to and which clubs to use. But I could only do that on golf courses that had 18 memorable, individual holes. If I couldn’t remember each hole it was usually because there weren’t enough memorable ones – and it wasn’t a top-class Championship course. That won’t be the case at The Wave. I’m sure that golfers of all levels will remember all 18 holes at The Wave. I don’t subscribe to the practice of identifying so-called ‘signature’ holes but one of my favourites is the 11th. It’s a spectacular hole. It’s not often you get the chance to create a hole going straight out into the ocean but that’s what we’ve been 4

I BELIEVE THAT THE TRUE TEST OF A GOLF COURSE IS THAT YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO REMEMBER EVERY HOLE. EACH HOLE SHOULD HAVE ITS OWN UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS AND THE COURSE SHOULD HAVE AS WIDE A VARIETY OF HOLES AS IS POSSIBLE. I THINK WE HAVE ACHIEVED THAT AT THE WAVE.

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Álvaro Quirós and JB Holmes are leading are their respective Tours in Driving Distance as of 4/30/11. © 2011 Callaway Golf Company. RAZR Hawk, Forged Composite, the Chevron Device and Callaway are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Callaway Golf Company.

FAIRWAY FOCUS

The Wave Muscat

“We have created a magnificent Championship-standard golf course worthy of hosting a prestigious world-class tournament, perhaps a European Tour event.” able to do at The Wave. Holes 12 and 13 are also stunning holes but, then, I rate all 18 holes as stunning. I appreciate that many golf courses are judged on the events they host but I’m a great believer in building golf courses for the local community first and for visitors, tourists and professionals second. Having said that, we have created a magnificent Championship-standard golf course worthy of hosting a prestigious worldclass tournament, perhaps a European Tour event, in the near future. I’m aware that Oman does not have a long tradition of golf and that the Sultanate will have to grow its own golfers. There isn’t a considerable section of golf-playing expats as there is in a place like Dubai. But there is a growing band of Omanis who are taking up golf. There’s also a number of Omani golfers who grew up playing on the sand courses who are now enjoying playing on the grass.

I’M PLEASED THAT THE MOUNTAIN-SHAPED, GRASSED SAND DUNES THAT RUN THE LENGTH OF THE COURSE ON THE INLAND SIDE HAVE WORKED PERFECTLY IN MASKING THE VIEWS TOWARDS THE AIRPORT, ENHANCING THE GOOD VIEWS AND NULLIFYING THE NOISE FROM THE HIGHWAY.

Junior Golf Programmes Another advantage is the dedicated, enthusiastic individuals on the Oman Golf Committee who are totally committed to using every means at their disposal to encourage golfers at all levels. I’m aware of what they are doing in supporting and initiating junior golf programmes in the schools of Oman and making it a fun sport for the kids. In bringing the youngsters into the game they are also enticing parents and former golfers to start playing. New golfing nations are emerging all around the world and I see no reason why Oman should not become a golfing country and golf tourism destination in the near future. Oman has a lot to offer visitors and tourists. The Wave will have everything – excellent high-end residential villas and apartments next to the ocean, two world-class luxury hotels, an excellent 43 –berth marina, plus, of course, a spectacular golf course, just 15

“The original site was devoid of plant life so we brought in as many indigenous plants, bushes, trees, cacti and shrubs we could find. The effect is quite stunning and with the lakes and streams we have introduced, a wide variety of birdlife and creatures are making their home on the golf course.” minutes from Oman International Airport and Muscat city centre. The golf course is the centrepiece of the development and it’s important to me, and our design team, to make our golf courses as eco-friendly as we possibly can. The original site was devoid of plant life so we brought

in as many indigenous plants, bushes, trees, cacti and shrubs that we could find. The effect is quite stunning and with the lakes and streams we have introduced, a wide variety of birdlife and creatures are beginning to make their home on the golf course. I’m pleased that the mountain-shaped, grassed sand dunes that run the length of the course on the inland side have worked perfectly in masking the views towards the airport, enhancing the good views and nullifying the noise from the highway. Being able to visit The Wave at this stage of its development has helped me enormously 4 www.wwgolf.biz

Swing & Swim this summer at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club Make the most of the summer months at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. Enjoy a round of golf on the championship course between 1st July and 30th September and receive complimentary swimming pool access for you and a friend on the day that you play. Play 18 holes at weekends for AED 295 or midweek for just AED 250, inclusive of cart fee and range balls. Subject to availability, terms and conditions apply. For reservations please contact +971 4 380 1234 or email golfbooking@dubaigolf.com dubaigolf.com

FAIRWAY FOCUS

The Wave Muscat in fine-tuning our design. As a result of what I saw, we’re going to make some minor alterations to the 12th hole by reworking the tees. We’re also going to tweak a few things here and there and make some slight changes to the 18th to make it an even more spectacular finish. The great thing about our design team is that I can stand on the tee with Chris Campbell, our Senior Vice President of Greg Norman Golf Course Design and Dan Grassi and all our guys and picture just how the hole should be – and they’re with me on the same wavelength. That means a lot to me and is a big advantage in moving the project along. As with all our golf courses The Wave will become a demanding challenge for the world’s best players but it will also be enjoyable for all levels of golfer. By having a variety of tees to suit all standards the course will be playable for both high and low handicappers. We want to work with the Oman Golf Committee in bringing as many people as we can into the game. With the Academy and the Par-3 course for beginners and with the longestablished experience Christopher May and Dubai Golf have gained in more than 20 years of managing the Emirates Golf Club, Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club and now the floodlit Faldo course, the future for The Wave looks good. In managing the golf course and combining their efforts with Michael Lenarduzzi and his team I have no doubts that they will take The Wave to the highest level. This is an exciting project for me and our Design Team. Taking on a piece of land that has absolutely

Greg Norman at The Wave Muscat Press Conference with Michael Lenarduzzi, CEO of The Wave Muscat and Christopher May, General Manager of Dubai Golf, who manage the golf club.

nothing but off-course views is a totally different proposition to designing a natural course in picturesque surroundings, such as Doonbeg in Ireland. There, it was a case of being spoilt for choice. I could have taken 32 different routings, the terrain was so good. The Wave was a much tougher challenge but when you see the end product it’s certainly more rewarding. We’ve managed to make a diamond out of the rough and I, along with our Golf Course Design Team, are justifiably proud of the outcome. ■ For further information and enquiries please contact: golf@thewavemuscat.com

THE WAVE WAS A MUCH TOUGHER CHALLENGE BUT WHEN YOU SEE THE END PRODUCT IT’S CERTAINLY MORE REWARDING. WE’VE MANAGED TO MAKE A DIAMOND OUT OF THE ROUGH AND I, ALONG WITH OUR GOLF COURSE DESIGN TEAM, ARE JUSTIFIABLY PROUD OF THE OUTCOME.

GREG NORMAN FACT FILE

GREG NORMAN has earned more than $1 million five times on the U.S. PGA Tour, including three Arnold Palmer Awards as the Tour’s leading money winner -- 1986, ‘89 and ‘94. He was also the first person in Tour history to surpass $10 million in career prize money earnings. But his crowning glories are his two British Open Championship wins in 1986 at Turnberry and 1993 at Royal St George’s. In total, Norman has won 91 professional events around the world, including 20 U.S. PGA Tour titles. He is also one of the most respected and sought-after golf course designers with 36 golf course design projects currently in progress worldwide. 91 Career Victories (20 PGA TOUR, 71 International and Others) 331 Weeks at World No. 1 2001 World Golf Hall of Fame Inductee

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DIVOTS

NEWS SNIPPETS FROM AROUND THE GOLFING GLOBE

GARCIA THOUGHT OF QUITTING SPAIN’S Sergio Garcia was so fed up with his torrid run of form that he considered quitting the game at the end of last year. “It crossed my mind not to come back but when I started out this year I started to feel different,”

MCILROY CAN WIN THE OPEN…. IF THE WEATHER IS NICE US OPEN Champion Rory McIlroy who endured a torrid time in adverse weather conditions at Royal St Georges during the 140th Open Championship believes he does have the game to win golf’s oldest Major…providing the weather stays fine! McIlroy finished 7-over-par, 12 shots behind Darren Clarke but he insisted he wouldn’t be changing his game to accommodate the extreme wind and rain that added an extra challenge at The Open. “I’m not a fan of golf tournaments that the outcome is predicted so much by the weather,” said McIlroy who posted disappointing weekend rounds of 74 and 73 to finish tied 25th. “ “It’s not my sort of golf. Yeah, I’m disappointed with the way I finished obviously, but I’ll just have to wait until next year to try and make a good run at this tournament. “It’s either that or just wait for a year when the weather is nice. “I mean, my game is suited for basically every golf course and most conditions, but these conditions I just don’t enjoy playing in really. That’s the bottom line. I’d rather play when it’s 80 degrees and sunny and not much wind. “There’s no point in changing your game for one week a year.”

NEW PRIZEFUND AND CLUBHOUSE FOR SENIOR EVENT THE stars of the European Senior Tour will compete for an increased prize fund of £285,000 when the Tour tees off at Woburn Golf Club for the Travis Perkins Senior Masters plc from September 2-4. The overall pot is up £25,000 from last year and with £42,750 up for grabs for the winner, the event will have a significant impact on the Order of Merit. The players will also have a have a revamped clubhouse to relax in after a multi-million refurbishment. Andy Stubbs, Managing Director of the European Senior Tour, said: “The Travis Perkins plc Senior Masters has rapidly developed into one of the most popular events on the Senior Tour Schedule with our Members, who always relish testing themselves over the world famous Duke’s Course. This year the new clubhouse should add an extra dimension to an already special tournament, so we’re all looking forward to getting to Woburn in September to see it for ourselves.”

WIE TARGETS THIRD TIME LUCKY IN DUBAI

MICHELLE Wie has confirmed that for the third time she will join the field at the Emirates Golf Club for the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters when the season-ending Ladies European Tour event gets underway from December 12-17. The 21-year-old Hawaiian has become a regular sight at the tournament over the past three years. She came close to victory on her first visit in 2009, finishing runner-up to fellow LPGA player In-Kyung Kim of South Korea, and last year she rallied with a bogey-free final round of 67 to take a share of fifth place. “Obviously, my number one goal is to win the tournament, but I can’t really control all of it,” she said of the Dhs 2.7 million tournament. “What I can do is to have fun out there and just play the best I can. “I’m really looking forward to getting to Dubai, an extremely hospitable place where the people and the tournament organisers treat the players so well. I can tell from experience, the level of competition is pretty high there, the (Majlis) course is great and the Arabian hospitality is second to none.” .

QUOTE OF THE MONTH

DARREN CLARKE

“I’m on Weight Watchers tomorrow morning. I’m at Chubby’s apartment, so I’m going to eat and drink as much as I want tonight and he’s going to help me on it tomorrow. He might give me an extra day off if I’m nice to him tonight.”

SHOT OF THE MONTH

ROUND OF THE MONTH

Darren Clarke’s 25-foot eagle putt on the seventh after nearest challenger Phil Mickelson had eagled the same hole sent out a defiant message of intent.

English amateur Tom Lewis hit the headlines with his awesome display in the opening round of The Open Championship at Royal St Georges, sharing the lead after round one following a blistering 5-under-65 that included seven birdies and two bogeys.

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WORLD CLASS: Lee Westwood, Ross McGowan, Michael Vaughan and Emirates Airline Invitational Host Abdullah Al Naboodah in action at Yas Links Golf Club in Abu Dhabi.

GOLDEN CHANCE TO PLAY WITH THE STARS

K golfers are to get a golden opportunity to play with the stars when the Emirates Airline Invitational Golden Ticket Qualifier gets underway at the beautiful Golf Club at Brocket Hall in Hertfordshire this summer. The hotly anticipated event, in aid of the Jude Brady Foundation, takes place on August 22nd. Not only will amateurs get the chance to play at one of the most prestigious venues in southern England for an unbelievably low entry fee, they will also line up alongside a host of celebrities, including DJ Spoony and ex West Ham and Celtic goalkeeper Allen McKnight, to compete for a truly mouthwatering prize, while raising valuable funds for a great cause. The Emirates Airline Invitational Hosted by Abdullah Al Naboodah is one of the most esteemed Pro-Ams in world golf. Taking place in the United Arab Emirates in January 2012, the event attracts the cream of The European Tour for a unique day of golf played in a competitive yet friendly and fun atmosphere. This year’s tournament featured the then-World No.1 Lee Westwood, 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell, double Major champion Retief Goosen and a wealth of talent from The European Tour and around the globe who flocked to Abu Dhabi to play in an event that has become

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the unofficial ‘curtain raiser’ for the Tour’s Middle East Swing. “It’s a great event that Abdullah puts on and I really enjoy it,” said McDowell. “Obviously, with Emirates Airline and all the other great sponsors they have – they just keep raising the bar for the tournament year after year.” The event is followed by a glittering Gala Dinner attended by all the players and celebrities as well as their lucky amateur playing partners.

Sought after

Amateur places in the Invitational are among the most sought after tickets in world golf and entry is on a strictly ‘invitation only’ basis. But Worldwide Golf is running a series of ‘Golden Ticket’ Qualifying events, culminating in a Grand Final where the leading adult amateur will receive a place in the Invitational. The Emirates Airline Invitational Golden Ticket Qualifier at The Golf Club at Brocket Hall, the only event in the series taking place outside the Middle East, will see amateurs compete alongside the celebrities to win a place in the Grand Final. Travel and accommodation will be included. The Qualifier will be followed by a sumptuous twocourse buffet meal in The Golf Club’s spectacular Oak Room and Piano Lounge. There will also be special prizes for Longest Drive and Nearest the Pin. Perhaps the most

FUND-RAISING AND FUN: Peter Brady, DJ Spoony, James Bowring, Kieron Dyer, George Gros and Tony Qaja at a recent Jude Brady Foundation golf event .

BMW PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

tantalising aspect of the event is the cost. A standard green fee for The Golf Club at Brocket Hall, with no added extras, ordinarily costs £130, but this wonderful charity event is being charged at just £75. The Emirates Airline Invitational Golden Ticket Qualifier is open to all players with a valid handicap certificate (maximum for men 18; women 28).

LUKE IS A WORLD FORCE

Entry fee includes: • • • • • • •

Tea, Coffee, Orange Juice and Bacon Rolls on arrival. Use of the Palmerston Golf Academy warm up facilities. Complimentary Welcome Pouch including Brocket Hall logo golf ball, pitchfork, ball marker, tees and pencil. Complimentary Course Planner. 18 holes of golf on the Championship standard Melbourne Course. 2-course lunch. Complimentary Buggy Hire.

UK Golden Ticket Qualifier Details To enter please visit: www.judebradyfoundation.co.uk/events Look out for further updates on: www.wwgolf.biz; www.brocket-hall.co.uk or www.judebradyfoundation.co.uk For more information about the Emirates Airline Invitational Hosted by Abdullah Al Naboodah please visit: www.emiratesairlineinvitational.com *Approved by the R&A for the payment of expenses – Rule 4-2g RA/27/2011

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PLAYER QUOTES JOKES WORD OF THE MONTH CARTOONS

CLUBHOUSE QUICKIES

‘If I could just putt. I might just scare somebody, maybe me.’

– Jack Nicklaus talking after the second round of the 1986 Masters, which he went on to win for a record sixth time.

‘In ﬁshing terms, this was a mackerel in the moonlight – shining one minute, smelly the next.’ – Greg Norman reﬂects on his ‘ugly’ 1-over-par victory in the 1993 PGA Grand Slam.

‘Of all the hazards, fear is the worst.’ – Sam Snead

‘My family were so poor they couldn’t afford kids. The lady next door had me.’ – Lee Trevino.

I’M HOPING TO DO BETTER GREEN GOLF BALLS A GOLFER goes into the proshop and looks around frowning. Finally, the pro asks him what he wants. “I can’t find any green golf balls,” the golfer replies. The pro looks all over the shop, and through all the catalogues, and finally calls the manufacturers and determines that sure enough, there are no green golf balls. As the golfer walks out of the door in disgust, the pro asks him, “Before you go, could you tell me why you want green golf balls?” “Well, that’s obvious – because they would be so much easier to find in the bunkers!”

“What’s your golf score?” the country club interviewer asked the prospective new member. “Well, not so good,” replied the golfer. “It’s 69.” “Hey, that’s not bad. In fact, it’s very good.” “Glad you think so. I’m hoping to do even better on the next hole,” the golfer confided.

THE SCOTSMAN’S CADDIE One day, a Scotsman went playing golf. After standing a while on the tee he asked the boy standing beside him: “Are you my caddie for today?” “Yes,” answered the boy. “Are you good at finding lost balls?” “Oh yes, I find every lost ball!” “Okay, boy, then run and search for one, then we can start!”

NEW WIFE – OLD CLUBS THE wife of a long-time golfer asks: “What would happen if I died, would you get another woman?” The golfer replies: “Eventually I probably would, but it would take some time” His wife then asks: “Would she live here in our house?” He replies: “yes I’m sure she would” She asks: “Would she sleep in our bed with you?” He replies: “Yes I’m sure she would” She then asks: “Would you take her to play golf?” The man replies: “Yes I would hope so” Finally the wife asks: “Would you let her use my Clubs?” To which the husband replies “No, she’s left handed...”

O F F I C I A L

W O R L D

G O L F

R A N K I N G

AS OF MONDAY JULY 18, 2011

AROUND THE WORLD ON THE EUROPEAN TOUR & US PGA TOUR

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Luke Donald Lee Westwood Martin Kaymer Rory McIlroy Steve Stricker Phil Mickelson Dustin Johnson Matt Kuchar Jason Day Nick Watney Graeme McDowell Charl Schwartzel K.J. Choi Bubba Watson Paul Casey Ian Poulter Adam Scott Hunter Mahan Robert Karlsson Tiger Woods Retief Goosen Jim Furyk Francesco Molinari Alvaro Quiros Ernie Els Martin Laird David Toms Miguel A Jimenez Matteo Manassero Darren Clarke Zach Johnson Justin Rose Kim Kyung-Tae Louis Oosthuizen Y.E. Yang Tim Clark Ryan Moore Edoardo Molinari Bo Van Pelt Gary Woodland Anders Hansen Peter Hanson Robert Allenby Geoff Ogilvy Brandt Snedeker Rickie Fowler Sergio Garcia Bill Haas Rory Sabbatini Ryan Palmer

Eng Eng Deu Nir USA USA USA USA Aus USA Nir Saf Kor USA Eng Eng Aus USA Swe USA Saf USA Ita Esp Saf Sco USA Esp Ita Nir USA Eng Kor Saf Kor Saf USA Ita USA USA Dnk Swe Aus Aus USA USA Esp USA Saf USA

Pts. Avg

Tot. Pts

Events

9.64 8.48 7.38 7.16 7.05 6.38 5.86 5.46 5.37 5.31 5.29 5.29 4.76 4.75 4.70 4.53 4.12 3.85 3.84 3.78 3.74 3.71 3.70 3.63 3.59 3.57 3.56 3.51 3.40 3.38 3.32 3.30 3.29 3.23 3.14 3.10 3.04 3.01 3.01 2.98 2.94 2.92 2.92 2.86 2.85 2.83 2.78 2.74 2.66 2.65

510.90 398.41 354.27 365.33 288.95 299.86 287.31 284.03 236.44 270.57 285.62 285.56 252.37 223.03 206.90 231.00 197.57 204.01 184.49 151.36 201.83 181.69 199.57 188.82 193.87 192.89 174.46 189.31 136.03 179.09 169.48 178.17 177.79 168.16 169.35 127.17 151.81 162.40 162.35 119.14 155.74 146.05 157.55 142.92 153.75 152.99 136.19 147.98 143.76 142.84

53 47 48 51 41 47 49 52 44 51 54 54 53 47 44 51 48 53 48 40 54 49 54 52 54 54 49 54 40 53 51 54 54 52 54 41 50 54 54 40 53 50 54 50 54 54 49 54 54 54

Pts. Gained 338.56 173.75 173.68 207.57 179.64 174.02 168.53 152.32 166.45 195.63 85.33 195.64 177.15 143.08 70.38 88.50 89.68 100.87 69.59 42.80 71.68 42.05 59.87 123.86 28.84 118.20 134.66 81.36 79.41 138.56 74.03 82.22 63.63 54.59 106.34 28.13 82.38 40.53 75.73 121.30 103.95 74.10 58.67 47.50 116.03 74.71 100.04 83.65 113.92 74.09

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

Jonathan Byrd Webb Simpson Ryo Ishikawa Aaron Baddeley Lucas Glover Ben Crane Mark Wilson Anthony Kim Ross Fisher Fredrik Jacobson Thomas Bjorn Padraig Harrington Jeff Overton J.B. Holmes Charley Hoffman Simon Dyson Vijay Singh Steve Marino Raphael Jacquelin Yuta Ikeda Hiroyuki Fujita Kevin Na Brendan Jones Jason Dufner Nicolas Colsaerts Robert Garrigus Chris Kirk Camilo Villegas Richard Green Stewart Cink Fredrik Andersson Hed Angel Cabrera Gregory Bourdy Charles Howell-III Scott Verplank Spencer Levin Thomas Aiken Ricky Barnes Davis Love-III David Horsey Pablo Larrazabal Alexander Noren John Senden Johan Edfors Brian Davis Tommy Gainey Tetsuji Hiratsuka Jamie Donaldson Stephen Gallacher Heath Slocum

USA USA Jpn Aus USA USA USA USA Eng Swe Dnk Irl USA USA USA Eng Fji USA Fra Jpn Jpn USA Aus USA Bel USA USA Col Aus USA Swe Arg Fra USA USA USA Saf USA USA Eng Esp Swe Aus Swe Eng USA Jpn Wal Sco USA

Pts. Avg

Tot. Pts

Events

2.62 2.61 2.52 2.52 2.50 2.50 2.43 2.38 2.37 2.37 2.36 2.34 2.33 2.25 2.24 2.23 2.22 2.17 2.11 2.10 2.07 2.07 2.05 2.03 2.02 2.00 2.00 1.98 1.90 1.87 1.86 1.86 1.84 1.83 1.81 1.79 1.79 1.75 1.75 1.73 1.72 1.72 1.72 1.70 1.69 1.69 1.66 1.64 1.62 1.62

141.37 140.76 136.32 133.48 117.62 124.80 131.00 116.71 118.57 123.11 120.26 126.47 123.43 112.37 121.16 120.57 106.39 116.95 113.96 113.64 111.78 111.64 84.05 105.55 101.03 102.21 99.84 106.85 87.34 91.42 98.54 78.03 99.46 99.03 74.13 96.88 96.41 94.63 83.94 91.87 93.06 93.05 92.79 85.00 91.41 91.08 89.66 81.85 74.45 87.26

54 54 54 53 47 50 54 49 50 52 51 54 53 50 54 54 48 54 54 54 54 54 41 52 50 51 50 54 46 49 53 42 54 54 41 54 54 54 48 53 54 54 54 50 54 54 54 50 46 54

Pts. Gained 115.92 121.67 47.36 125.27 82.17 36.88 128.69 46.48 37.55 94.48 89.95 33.11 50.23 63.80 48.31 63.60 77.55 89.72 72.01 25.41 27.17 63.37 28.87 74.02 79.09 73.64 73.38 24.46 24.54 42.25 46.33 41.02 59.67 71.48 36.02 77.10 64.67 47.44 52.46 47.44 79.32 67.88 48.36 53.24 36.93 68.73 21.66 42.82 34.32 24.37

Over 100 destinations worldwide

WWGCOLUMNIST

GARY PLAYER IS A TRUE LEGEND OF THE GAME. THE SOUTH AFRICAN IS ONE OF ONLY FIVE PLAYERS TO HAVE WON A CAREER GRAND SLAM OF ALL FOUR MAJORS. HE HAS WON A TOTAL OF NINE MAJORS AND NINE SENIOR MAJORS, AMONG 167 TOUR EVENTS WORLDWIDE.

I’M DELIGHTED FOR DARREN W HAT a fascinating Open Championship this has been, mainly for Darren Clarke’s wonderful victory and also for all the other happenings during the four days at Royal St George’s. It was a truly amazing triumph for Darren to become the third Ulsterman to win a Major Championship over the past two seasons but for his manager at ISM, Chubby Chandler, to have three Major winners, plus the World No.1 for 22 weeks, Lee Westwood, in his stable together is quite something. South African Louis Oosthuizen started the run by winning The Open at St Andrews last year, then Lee hit the World No.1 spot in October, another Springbok, Charl Schwartzel, won The Masters in April, Rory McIlroy triumphed in the U.S. Open last month and now Darren is the Open Champion – four Major winners in 12 months and all three Major Champions so far this season.

Father Figure Chubby is more like a friend and a father figure than a manager to his players. He’s certainly got an eye for talent but he knows the game well enough, having played himself on The European Tour, to appreciate that success in golf can take a mystical route. I wrote in my Column in Worldwide Golf last month that I was so pleased to see Darren winning again after a threeyear drought on The European Tour. His victory in the Iberdrola Open in Mallorca, Spain, was his 13th win on The Tour and it often happens that a long-awaited win can suddenly spark a surge of confidence and bring more victories. Darren is one of the nicest men in the game and he’s done so well to overcome the tragic loss of his wife, Heather, through cancer. He’s taken good care of his two sons, Tyrone and Connor, and now engaged to Alision his life is now looking good again. His 36

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mother and father, Hetty and Godfrey, have been a huge support to him and Darren was quick to thank his family and Chubby for all their support over the years. It was typical of Darren that after his win in Spain, on the flight back from Mallorca on budget airline, Easyjet, he bought every passenger on the plane a drink to toast his success. I suspect the celebrations after The Open were a little more expansive than that. The fact that European Tour players currently occupy the first four places in the Official World Golf Ranking and currently hold all four Major trophies is a great thing for the game globally. They have broken the dominance previously enjoyed by the Americans, which is encouraging youngsters to

compete and make a career of golf. It was wonderful to see 20 year old Tom Lewis play so well in The Open. To shoot an opening round 65 to tie the lead with Thomas Björn and go on to win the Silver Medal for being the leading amateur was a huge achievement. To have the honour of playing the first two rounds with fivetime Open winner Tom Watson is also something he will always remember. It was an achievement in itself for Tom Lewis, the 2009 British Amateur Champion, to finish three shots ahead of the 2010 U.S. Amateur Champion Peter Uihlein, sharing 30th place with Anders Hansen and Tom Lehman, who put in a fine performance ahead of playing in The Senior Open at Walton Heath a few days later. Apparently, his

ABOVE: Darren Clarke salutes the huge galleries at Royal St George’s and soaks up the atmosphere of the greatest moment of his career after sinking the winning putt that made the Northern Irishman the 140th Open Champion.

RIGHT: Chubby Chandler, Darren’s friend and Manager at ISM, gets the chance to hold the Claret Jug as the celebrations begin, following Darren’s momentous Open Championship victory.

RIGHT: Darren’s major support group, mother and father, Hetty and Godfrey, with Darren’s fiancée, Alison Campbell, are all smiles by the 18th at Royal St George’s after Darren’s Open Championship triumph.

ABOVE: David Toms shakes hands with Charlie Wi on the 18th green after winning the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial Country Club. LEFT: Darren Clarke receives the trophy from Celia Jaume of Iberdrola after victory in the Iberdrola Open at Pula Golf Club, Mallorca, Spain.

golfing parents named Tom Lewis Tom, after their hero Tom Watson, so it was an even greater occasion for young Tom. To play so well in front of such huge galleries at Royal St George’s will stand him in good stead for his forthcoming professional career. I wish him luck. American Potential The professional game is in a healthy condition and it’s encouraging to see so many talented young players coming to the fore. America has potential Major winners in Dustin Johnson, the colourful Rickie Fowler, Anthony Kim, Nick Watney, Gary Woodland and Hunter Mahan and the rest of the world have an increasing band of twenty-something-year-olds who are already winning Majors like Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer and

others such as Alvaro Quiros, Francesco Molinari and Matteo Manassero. After all the drama of The Open I’d like to resurrect a long-time campaign of mine against long-distance golf courses. We really have got to start creating shorter golf courses. It’s the opinion of most people in the golf industry that we’ve got to find a way of taking up less time to play a round of golf, so shorter courses must be part of the answer. Reducing the flight of the golf ball for professionals has to be another goal. Darren’s playing partner in the final round, Dustin Johnson, driving the ball with a 340-yards carry and more, which took most of the bunkers out of the equation. It’s all right for amateurs to use the existing long-distance balls and clubs but we should limit the distance

for the Tour pros. I’ve said many times before but it is more and more the case that our most treasured, old-established Championship golf courses around the world, which have difficulties in moving tee boxes backwards and greens forward, will soon become redundant if the Pros can continually blast their way out of trouble. People seem to have less and less time for golf these days so we need to take note of how the game is changing. We’ve had a lot of excitement in the world game already this season with the Major successes of Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy and now Darren Clarke so it will be all eyes on the US PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club next month. Will it become a Major clean sweep for The European Tour? ■ www.wwgolf.biz

DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

TICKETS ON SALE

ALL-STAR LINE UP TAKING SHAPE FOR THIRD DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AS TICKETS GO ONLINE

ITH yet another all-star line-up for the third staging of the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World, tickets are now available online for the US$15 million finale of The Race to Dubai. To be held at the Greg Norman-designed Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates from December 8-11, the tournament sees the top 60 players on The European Tour fight it out for a share of US$7.5 million in prize money, a bonus pool of a further US$7.5 million plus the considerable prize of becoming European Number One. Spectators can get their general admission season tickets by visiting the official website www.DubaiWorldChampionship.com. Once registered, fans will be entitled to two complimentary season tickets for a tournament that will see World Number One Luke Donald, 2011 Open Champion Darren Clarke, U.S. Open Champion Rory McIlroy, Masters Champion Charl Schwartzel and 2010 U.S. Open Champion, Graeme McDowell looking to follow in the footsteps of 2009 winner Lee Westwood, who spent 22 weeks as World Number One from October last year, and the defending champion Robert Karlsson. The tournament was a huge success in both 2009 and 2010 with more than 50,000 spectators attending on each occasion to watch the

dramatic final round in The Race to Dubai. When the top 60 players descend on the Earth course in December, spectators will once again be able to watch some of the world’s biggest golfing names, while revelling in one of Dubai’s biggest social events of the year. “The standard of golf, the quality of the players and the amazing atmosphere help make this an outstanding Grande Finale to the golfing season,” said Colin Smith, European Tour Director International Business Development Middle East & Asia.

50,000 Attendance “We’ve seen attendances break the 50,000 mark at each of the past two editions and we will be aiming to once again provide an unforgettable experience for fans off the course as well as on the course at a venue befitting the world’s best players.” The first six months of the season have seen some world-class performances from European Tour players all around the world with South African Schwartzel picking up his first Major with a Green Jacket victory at Augusta National; 22 year-old McIlroy demonstrating his mercurial talent with his maiden Major win at Congressional by a record-breaking eight-shot winning margin and his evergreen countryman Darren Clarke

finally clinching his first Major at The Open Championship at Royal St George's. Those wins plus the storming start to the season by Englishman Donald – currently leading The Race to Dubai – means all four are assured of a place at the Dubai World Championship, while former World Number Ones Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer, big-hitting Spaniard Alvaro Quiros and Ryder Cup stars Ian Poulter, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Francesco Molinari are also almost certain to be in the 60-man field. “While there is still a long way to go until we reach the 52nd and last tournament of the year, we can already get a feel for the line-up from The Race to Dubai standings,” said Nick Tarratt, Director of European Tour International – Dubai Office “Last year, the 60th and final qualifier made it into the tournament with around €500,000 in prize money so we can gauge how the stars of this season are doing by looking at how well they are faring in The Race to Dubai so far.” On the 2011 European Tour International Schedule, The Race to Dubai features 52 tournaments in 29 different destinations worldwide culminating in the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World. To qualify players must have played a minimum of 12 European Tour events before the week of the Dubai World Championship. Last year, the curtain came down on The 2010

“WHILE THERE IS STILL A LONG WAY TO GO UNTIL WE REACH THE 52ND AND LAST TOURNAMENT OF THE YEAR, WE CAN ALREADY GET A FEEL FOR THE LINE-UP FROM THE RACE TO DUBAI STANDINGS.”

World Number One, Luke Donald, in action at last year's Dubai World Championship at the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

– Nick Tarratt, Director of European Tour International – Dubai Office

Race to Dubai with Kaymer of Germany finishing European Number One, succeeding Westwood as winner of the Harry Vardon Trophy, while Karlsson defeated Poulter in a dramatic play-off for the prestigious title of Dubai World Champion. “The Dubai World Championship is firmly established as one of the UAE’s biggest sporting events but is the only one offering complimentary tickets allowing spectators to see Major winners, Ryder Cup stars and many of the world’s top ten in action at what is a celebration of golf,” added Smith. “European Tour players currently occupy the first four places on the Official World Golf Ranking and we’ll be marking the Finale of The European Tour season with a golfing festival here in Dubai that will reflect the occasion and appeal to spectators of all ages and nationalities. “Away from the action on the course, there will be something for everyone in the Championship Village as well as a host of F&B outlets, live musical performances, an even bigger kids’ zone and a variety of entertainment options.”

HOSPITALITY PACKAGES In addition to complimentary general admission tickets, organisers have also released details of their premium hospitality packages, which include a number of exclusive benefits. For those looking to watch the season-ending finale in style, adjacent to the 18th green is the Hospitality Pavilion, the premium location for watching the world’s top golfers at close range as they tackle the last hole of Greg Norman's Earth course. Offering gourmet refreshments, luxurious surroundings and a climate controlled environment, the Hospitality Pavilion is the ideal place to network and entertain VIP guests while enjoying the best in world-class sporting action. The package includes course and Hospitality Pavilion admission, access to contemporary lounge and dining facilities overlooking the 18th green, premium food and drinks served throughout the day, large TV screens to watch the action from around the

course, priority car parking, official tournament programme and daily drawsheet and the services of a dedicated Guest Management Event Team. The price per person per day ranges from AED 2,600 (Thursday, 8th December) to AED 2,800 (Friday 9th and Saturday 10th December) and AED 3,000 (Sunday 11th December) with a weekend package of both Friday and Saturday (9th and 10th) costing AED 5,200. Smith added: “With this year’s European Tour season already looking as strong in terms of Majors as 2010, interest is sure to be very high so we would advise spectators to book their places now to avoid disappointment by contacting Hospitality@DubaiWorldChampionship.com This month’s Open Championship won by Darren Clarke was the 31st tournament on The Race to Dubai – and with the players now well into the “back nine” of the calendar it promises to be quite a charge to the all-star finish line in the golfing capital of the UAE. ■

w w w.DubaiWorldChampionship.com

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As of July 18, 2011

THE EUROPEAN TOUR R ACE TO DUBAI R ANKING Rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50

Name DONALD Luke SCHWARTZEL Charl McILROY Rory KAYMER Martin WESTWOOD Lee CLARKE Darren HANSEN Anders QUIROS Alvaro COLSAERTS Nicolas JIMÉNEZ Miguel Angel LARRAZÁBAL Pablo POULTER Ian BJÖRN Thomas AIKEN Thomas YANG Y. E. NOREN Alexander JACQUELIN Raphaël MANASSERO Matteo DYSON Simon LEVET Thomas GARCIA Sergio HANSON Peter MOLINARI Francesco GOOSEN Retief ROCK Robert FOSTER Mark CASEY Paul OOSTHUIZEN Louis BOURDY Grégory OLESEN Thorbjørn EDFORS Johan HORSEY David McDOWELL Graeme ANDERSSON HED Fredrik COETZEE George JAMIESON Scott ELS Ernie DONALDSON Jamie WHITEFORD Peter CABRERA-BELLO Rafael LAWRIE Paul FISHER Ross HAVRET Grégory COLES Robert CHOWRASIA S.S.P MOORE Ryan MOLINARI Edoardo DAVIES Rhys MARTIN Pablo KJELDSEN Søren

Country

Tournaments Played

Prize Money

Rank

ENG RSA NIR GER ENG NIR DEN ESP BEL ESP ESP ENG DEN RSA KOR SWE FRA ITA ENG FRA ESP SWE ITA RSA ENG ENG ENG RSA FRA DEN SWE ENG NIR SWE RSA SCO RSA WAL SCO ESP SCO ENG FRA ENG IND USA ITA WAL ESP DEN

8 13 10 13 12 15 15 14 14 17 19 11 13 15 9 17 16 12 17 14 8 13 12 13 21 15 11 13 17 19 15 16 10 16 17 17 9 13 20 19 14 12 17 17 14 6 11 17 17 16

€3,156,696 €1,896,485 €1,764,085 €1,601,55 €1,511,803 €1,303,927 €1,153,004 €845,869 €839,071 €815,403 €779,410 €756,591 €752,452 €718,902 €708,630 €662,564 €654,233 €651,273 €642,840 €630,419 €620,651 €620,604 €617,610 €614,798 €578,195 €577,016 €567,442 €536,222 €535,582 €531,627 €523,312 €508,917 €506,435 €506,276 €482,142 €462,538 €414,752 €412,085 €391,773 €391,681 €389,588 €385,831 €382,526 €380,091 €370,593 €368,936 €358,800 €356,044 €349,233 €343,955

51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100

Name

Country

LOWRY Shane AGUILAR Felipe CABRERA Angel WOOD Chris WALL Anthony RAMSAY Richie KARLSSON Robert LUITEN Joost ROSE Justin KINGSTON James FRASER Marcus GONNET Jean-Baptiste LYNN David GAGLI Lorenzo LAWRIE Peter NOH Seung-yul DERKSEN Robert-Jan WIEGELE Martin GONZALEZ Ricardo GALLACHER Stephen DREDGE Bradley LARA José Manuel HOEY Michael VAN ZYL Jaco GREEN Richard FINCH Richard OTTO Hennie TULLO Mark MORRISON James STORM Graeme BOYD Gary MAYBIN Gareth NILSSON Christian MONTGOMERIE Colin HARRINGTON Padraig WILLETT Danny WATTEL Romain HOWELL David JONZON Michael KHAN Simon BRIER Markus ELSON Jamie LEE Danny FLOREN Oscar SINGH Jeev Milkha ZIONS Matthew KRUGER Jbe VELASCO Alvaro KAPUR Shiv JAIDEE Thongchai

IRL CHI ARG ENG ENG SCO SWE NED ENG RSA AUS FRA ENG ITA IRL KOR NED AUT ARG SCO WAL ESP NIR RSA AUS ENG RSA CHI ENG ENG ENG NIR SWE SCO IRL ENG FRA ENG SWE ENG AUT ENG NZL SWE IND AUS RSA ESP IND THA

Tournaments Played 13 16 4 16 17 16 7 16 7 15 7 15 14 14 13 15 15 19 11 16 15 17 16 13 12 17 16 15 17 19 15 15 14 13 9 17 18 15 18 14 16 13 10 14 18 17 11 16 17 15

Prize Money €335,694 €326,462 €318,963 €318,310 €314,055 €311,768 €309,185 €302,793 €298,434 €291,222 €280,128 €276,835 €276,310 €273,691 €273,550 €269,469 €266,357 €260,367 €259,572 €246,222 €242,354 €240,066 €238,035 €235,009 €230,918 €228,194 €227,311 €223,256 €222,282 €219,244 €218,531 €213,980 €208,651 €206,865 €205,151 €201,612 €196,260 €192,555 €191,690 €189,210 €188,819 €187,951 €186,308 €185,956 €185,084 €178,734 €178,330 €174,221 €169,892 €169,118

E X P L A N AT I O N O F T H E E U R O P E A N T O U R R A C E T O D U B A I 2 0 1 1 The Race to Dubai on The 2011 European Tour International Schedule will feature 50 tournaments in 29 destinations, including new events in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Malaysia and Sicily, culminating in the Dubai World Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The curtain came down on The 2010 Race to Dubai with Sweden’s Robert Karlsson finishing the year in style by winning the Dubai World Championship presented by DP World while Martin Kaymer secured The Harry Vardon Trophy by finishing European Number One ahead of Ryder Cup colleague Graeme McDowell. The third edition of The Race to Dubai will again conclude with the Dubai World Championship and will again carry a prize fun of $7,500,000 while The Race to Dubai Bonus Pool remains at $7,500,000 to be divided between the leading 15 players at the conclusion of the season. THE RACE TO DUBAI BONUS POOL BREAKDOWN 1 US$ 1,500,000 2 US$ 1,125,000 3 US$ 750,000 4 US$ 600,000 5 US$ 525,000

6 US$ 450,000 7 US$ 412,500 8 US$ 375,000 9 US$ 337,500 10 US$ 300,000

11 US$ 262,500 12 US$ 243,750 13 US$ 225,000 14 US$ 206,250 15 US$ 187,500

NEWS

EUROPEAN TOUR NEWS

LUKE DONALD WINS SHOT OF THE MONTH LUKE Donald won The European Tour’s Shot of the Month Award May for his brilliant recovery shot from the trees during the third round of the BMW PGA Championship. The stunning shot, through a small gap in the trees, saw him find the back of the green and kept his title challenge on track as he chased down the title on day three. It was the kind of daring play reminiscent of the late, great Seve Ballesteros and it helped keep the Englishman’s challenge alive as he got up and down to save par before going on to win the title, beating Lee Westwood in a play-off the following day. “I felt like Seve,” said Donald. “I was in trees, leaves all

over my back. I was dropping balls in high grass and escaping from everywhere. “It was an easy chip out and I could have played five,” he said of the shot at the 13th, “and there was a fairly narrow gap. The trees were about 20 yards ahead of me with probably about a six-foot gap to get through. “But I had a reasonable lie where I felt like I could get it through and create some left-to-right spin on it. I hit the shot perfectly and made a great up-anddown for four, and that kept the momentum going. Sometimes you just have to take risks. Fortunately, that one paid off.”

500 NOT OUT FOR PAUL McGINLEY PAUL McGinley became the third Irishman to reach the landmark of 500 European Tour appearances when he teed it up at The Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart in Inverness. The Dubliner, who has won four European Tour titles and amassed more than €10 million in prize money, follows in the footsteps of Eamonn Darcy (610) and Des Smyth (594). “I’ve missed quite a few events due to injury but I’ve always

McILROY GOLFER OF THE MONTH RORY McIlroy’s sensational eight-stroke US Open win at Congressional, not surprisingly, earned him The 2011 Race to Dubai European Golfer of the Month award for June. The Northern Irishman’s jaw-dropping performance saw him break a host of records including beating the tournament record score by four strokes with his 268 as he became the youngest European Tour Major Champion in history at 22 years and 46 days. “It's always nice to win any award for playing good golf but this Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Month Award has to go down as an extra special one given that I won the award due to my performance at Congressional. I hope this will not be the last Golfer of the Month Award I receive after winning a Major Championship!”

bounced back,” said McGinley. “I guess it could have been even more than 500 appearances had it not been for the injuries. I’ve had seven surgeries over a 20 year period but I came into the game with a knee problem. It initially happened when I was playing Gaelic Football at the age of 19. I had to have surgery before I came on Tour and then I had six while on Tour. “It’s a difficult injury for a golfer as you are always rotating on that left knee. I’ve had a lot of physio over the years but I’ve always bounced back. I’d like to think I can go on to make 600 appearances.”

MARSHALLS WANTED FOR DUBAI WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP ORGANISER’s of The European Tour’s star-studded season-ending Dubai World Championship are once again recruiting volunteer marshals for the event, which takes place at the Greg Normandesigned Earth course from December 8-11. Recently appointed Chief Marshal Jenni Hoskins will co-ordinate the team of volunteers who will play a vital role in ensuring the smooth running of the event which will feature the likes of newly crowned US Open champion Rory McIlroy and World No.1 Luke Donald. “I am excited to be heading up the Volunteer Marshal operation for 2011,” said Hoskins, a member of both Emirates Golf Club and Bearwood Lakes in England. “Buddy Morin and his team have set high standards over the past two years. Last year, we attracted more than 300 volunteer marshals from Dubai, the UAE, the Gulf region and many from

overseas as well as 25 volunteer TV support scorers. “Attendance figures have been high for the past two years so we will need at least the same number of marshals as last year. We look forward to welcoming back last year’s volunteers as well as new volunteers who want to enjoy the tournament from a working perspective that is also fun and rewarding.” Those looking to becoming part of the Volunteer Marshal operation during the tournament as well as the curtain-raising Pro-Am on December 6 should contact Hoskins on jennih51@yahoo.com. Among the marshal benefits are Dubai World Championship clothing, caps, tournament passes, car parking and invitations to 200 volunteers to a Volunteers’ Appreciation Golf Day played over the Earth course, or a Green Fee voucher.

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2010 Open Champion

Schwartzel 2011 Masters Champion

World No 1 - 31 October 2010

McIlroy 2011 U.S. Open Champion

Clarke 2011 Open Champion

ISM specialises in the commercial representation of world famous sports stars including golfers Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen and Darren Clarke and cricketers Andrew Flintoff, Michael Vaughan, Steve Harmison and Paul Collingwood, to name but a few. In addition, our expertise in the sports industry enables us to offer inventive consultancy solutions, player sponsorship opportunities and bespoke events that are tailor-made to fulﬁl the individual company’s objectives. For more information, the latest news or to sign up for ISM’s E-Magazine visit www.sportism.net Follow us on www.facebook.com/TeamISM and our twitter link which is @TeamISM

WORLDROUND-UPS

SKY’S THE LIMIT FOR RORY RORY McIlroy made amends for his Masters disappointment when he won his maiden Major title at the U.S. Open at Congressional in June. In what is traditionally the most difficult Major of the them all, McIlroy set the all-time mark for the lowest 36-hole score, lowest 54-hole score, lowest 72-hole score and, most significantly, most strokes under-par. Every time he made a birdie on the final day he extended the record even further and eventually signed for a 16-under-par total, eight clear of Australian Jason Day whose 8-under-par total would have been doubly impressive had it not been for the brilliance of of the 22-year-old Northern Irishman. “The whole week was incredible – I could not have asked for anything 1 2 T3 T3 T3 T3

R. McIlroy J. Day K. Chappell R. Garrigus L. Westwood Y.E. Yang

-16 -8 -6 -6 -6 -6

65 71 76 70 75 68

66 72 67 70 68 69

more and I was so happy to take that famous trophy,” said McIlroy. “Now with Darren winning The Open it’s pretty special for such a small nation to win two U.S. Opens in a row and then The Open. When Graeme (McDowell) won the U.S. Open last year he said there would be some serious celebrating. There was – and now we’ve had two more sets of celebrations.” McIlroy left the field in his wake at Congressional with opening rounds of 65 and 66 and then weekend rounds of 68 and 69, to obliterate the memories of Augusta National where he let his 54-hole lead and The Masters title suddenly slip away. 68 65 69 68 65 70

69 68 66 70 70 71

RORY’S CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOUR:

268 276 278 278 278 278

RORY’S MAGIC STICKS: DRIVER: Titleist 910D2 (8.5°) FAIRWAY WOODS: Titleist 906F2 (13.5° & 18°) IRONS: Titleist MB (3-9) WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design (48°, 54°, 60°)

Greens in Reg: 62/72 (86.1%)

Sand Saves: 3/5 (60%)

Fairways Hit: 36/56 (64.29%)

DRIVING DISTANCE: 310.6 YARDS

“NOTHING THIS KID DOES EVER SURPRISES ME. HE’S THE BEST PLAYER I’VE EVER SEEN. I DIDN’T HAVE A CHANCE TO PLAY WITH TIGER WHEN HE WAS IN HIS REAL PRIME, AND THIS GUY IS THE BEST I’VE EVER SEEN, SIMPLE AS THAT.” – GRAEME MCDOWELL

PUTTER: Titleist Scotty Cameron prototype BALL: Titleist Pro V1x

Tournament: Memorial Tournament

02 – 05 June 2011

Venue: Muirfield Village Golf Club, Dublin, Ohio

WINNER: STEVE STRICKER CHEQUE: $1,116,000

STRICKER HANGS ON TO WIN MEMORIAL STEVE Stricker won his tenth US PGA Tour title with a one-stroke victory over Ryder Cup team-mate Matt Kuchar and Brandt Jobe at the Memorial Tournament in Ohio. Stricker began the final round with a three-stroke lead and signed for a 4-under 68 for a 16-under-par total to win by one from Kuchar and Jobe who both shot 7-under 65s. After an opening nine of 6-under 30 Stricker’s closing stretch began with pars from holes 10-14 before a bogey on the par-5 15th set up a nervy finish. He then parred 16 and 17 to remain one shot clear before a tense bogey on the 18th saw him seal the victory. “I think I put so much energy into the whole week that I didn’t let myself think about winning too much,” Stricker said after struggling to hold back tears during the presentation ceremony from tournament host Jack Nicklaus. “But when it’s finally over and all that emotion, I think, comes out and you have this guy called Jack Nicklaus congratulating you as you walk off,

it’s pretty special – it’s a pretty cool time.” Stricker played the back nine in 4-over par for the week but was 20-under for the front nine and was in prime position to make the tournament a procession before he made the turn on Sunday and coming home with a stutter. “You’re just trying to finish off the tournament – you don’t want to give it away, and that’s a hard way to play,” said Stricker, who moved up to No.4 on the Official World Golf Ranking after the victory to become the highest ranked American in the world. “It’s a little bit easier if you’re coming from behind, but if you have that three, or four-shot lead, it’s tough.” Fellow Ryder Cup player Dustin Johnson shot a superb 65 to finish alone in fourth place on 12-under with Rory McIlroy one shot back in fifth outright after a 68. Big-hitting American Gary Woodland finished on 10-under while there was a six-way tie for seventh place on 8-under which included World No.1 Luke Donald.

IN THE BAG Driver: Fairway Woods: Hybrid: Irons (3-pw): Wedges: Putter: Ball:

Titleist 909D3 (8.5°) Titleist 906F2 3-wood (13°) Titleist 909H (19°) Titleist AP2 Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled (54° and 60°) Odyssey White Hot #2 Titleist Pro V1x

WINNING SCORE: 16-UNDER-PAR – 272 (68, 67, 69, 68) RUNNER-UP: MATT KUCHAR, BRANDT JOBE (273)

FACT FILE

Steve Stricker became the seventh player over the age of 40 to win the Memorial Tournament. Kenny Perry is the oldest winner of the event, while Stricker is the fourth oldest, aged 44. Sticker’s win took him momentarily to fourth in the world – the highest ranked American.

02 – 05 June 2011

Tournament: Saab Wales Open Venue: The Celtic Manor Resort, City of Newport, Wales

WINNER: ALEX NOREN CHEQUE: €344,358

NOREN EASES TO WELSH OPEN VICTORY SWEDEN’S Alex Noren won his second European Tour title at the Saab Wales Open at Celtic Manor with a solid final round 1-underpar 70 for a two-stroke win over Grégory Bourdy and Anders Hansen. Noren dropped just one shot in a consistent final round to finish on 9-underpar for the tournament in difficult conditions in South Wales. Indeed, Noren picked up just one stroke over the weekend rounds as his rivals failed to cope with the conditions and his solid play from tee-to-green was rewarded with a €344,358 winner’s cheque. “My driving has been the best it’s ever been,” smiled Noren after lifting his first trophy since the 2009 Omega European Masters. “I never really believed I could do well on tough courses, but now we play them all the time. I’ve proved to myself that I can hit a lot of

greens and not just rely on my short game.” Noren’s only blip came when he had a three-stroke lead on the driveable par-4 15th. His 3-wood off the tee leaked left and kicked off a bank into a hazard. His bogey saw his lead cut to two but he overcame the mistake with steady pars to seal the victory. “Alex played very solid,” admitted Anders Hansen, who had to settle for his third runnerup finish of the campaign. Two of Noren’s compatriots – Johan Edfors and Peter Hanson – finished on 6-under in a share of fourth place along with Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez and Spaniard Pablo Lazrazabal. Wales’ best hopes of a home winner came from Jamie Donaldson but his charge at the title was halted by double bogeys on holes 1 and 13 as he finished with a 2-over 73 and a 4-under-par total for a share of eighth place.

WORLDROUND-UPS Tournament: BMW Italian Open

09 – 12 June 2011

Venue: Royal Park I Roveri, Turin, Italy

WINNER: ROBERT ROCK CHEQUE: €250,000

ROBERT’S ROCK SOLID IN TURIN ROBERT Rock finally won his maiden European Tour title with a convincing wire-to-wire victory at the BMW Italian Open. The Englishman, who has been a regular on Tour for nine years, carded a final round 5-under 67 to finish on 21-under, one clear of Gary Boyd and Danish youngster Thorbjørn Olesen who had earlier shot a 10-under 62 to post the clubhouse target. “I’m very surprised to finally win, but once I got started today I felt quite comfortable and I figured that this was as good a chance as I was ever going to have,” said Rock, after winning on his 209th European Tour appearance. “I was surprised to see Thorbjørn shoot 10-under so that got me thinking that I needed to make a few birdies to win but right now it feels great. “I thought I would eventually get that elusive win. It’s taken longer than planned but it’s incredibly hard to win on this Tour. There are so many great players already out here and new ones arriving all the time like we saw today with Thorbjørn, so my best weeks have just not quite been quite good enough before. “I’ve had some good results but I’ve

come up short. Finally, it’s all gone my way.” Rock began the day with a twostroke lead but as he was teeing off Olesen had just gone out in 29 to pile on the pressure and it took its toll as the Englishman bogeyed the third hole. However, Rock reeled off four birdies in a row and further birdies on holes 10 and 11 took him ahead of Olesen who had signed for his 62 and set the target at 20-under. A wayward drive on 17 put Rock in trouble but he held his nerve to sink a 12-foot clutch putt for par and then parred the par-5 closing hole to seal the win. Boyd shot a 66 to finish on 20under while Scotland’s Peter Whiteford claimed his third top-ten in a row with a fourth place finish, one stroke further back. “Three top tens are unlike me,” said Whiteford. “Normally, it’s two missed cuts, but the form is there. I was on the Challenge Tour for five years and also played the EuroPro Tour – I’ve served my time, I won’t look back.” Holland’s Joost Luiten finished 18under with Swedish pair Niclas Fasth and Michael Jonzon on 17-under in a share of sixth place.

IN THE BAG Driver: Fairway Wood: Hybrids: Irons (3-PW): Wedges: Putter: Ball:

TaylorMade R11 (9º) Callaway RAZR Hawk 3-wood (13º) TaylorMade Rescue 11 TP (18º, 21º) Callaway X-Forged Callaway X-Tour Forged (52º); Cleveland CG16 (58º) Odyssey Black Series i #1 Titleist Pro V1x

WINNING SCORE: 21-UNDER-PAR – 267 (64, 68, 68, 67) RUNNER-UP: THORBJØRN OLESEN, GARY BOYD - 268

FACT FILE

Robert Rock’s wire-to-wire victory at the BMW Italian Open was the second victory of the season on The European Tour by an Englishman following Luke Donald’s victory at the BMW PGA Championship. With his maiden win Rock becomes the 82nd different Englishman to win on The European Tour.

Tournament: FedEx St. Jude Classic

09 – 12 June 2011

Venue: TPC Southwind, Memphis, Tennessee

WINNER: HARRISON FRAZAR CHEQUE: $1,008,000

FRAZAR DOWNS KARLSSON TO KEEP HIS CARD US PGA Tour journeyman Harrison Frazar defeated Robert Karlsson in a sudden-death play-off at the FedEx St Jude Classic in Memphis on his 355th start on the US circuit to earn his biggest pay-cheque and a twoyear exemption. Frazar had been playing on a medical exemption after major hip surgery last summer and had missed the cut in six of his first ten appearances this season but found form at just the right time as he pipped the Swedish Ryder Cup star to the title. “This was the first time I’d won and I’m delighted – I didn’t know what to do,” he said. “I was not quite sure really what was happening. The only tournament that I won before was in Q-School – you walked in, signed your card in the scoring trailer, and they gave you a pat on the back, ‘Good job.’ You walked out the door. That was that.”

The American made it tough for himself by bogeying the final hole in regulation to tie with Karlsson who had just sunk an 8-foot clutch putt to save par and sign for a 13-under-par total. The duo then parred the opening two play-off holes before Karlsson’s chip to the par-4 12th trundled 15 feet past the hole and after missing the par putt coming back Frazar tapped in for par to clinch the title. For Karlsson the result was bittersweet. “It was a great match but someone has got to win and someone has got to lose,” he said. “This time it was me. I’m very, very proud of the way I played and handled myself.” Colombian Camilio Villegas shot a finalround 64 to finish in a tie for third place on 8-under-par alongside Retief Goosen, Charles Howell III, Ryuji Imada and Tim Herron. www.wwgolf.biz www.wwgolf.biz

45 45

16 – 19 June 2011

Tournament: Saint-Omer Open presented by Neuflize OBC Venue: Aa Saint Omer Golf Club, Lumbres, France

WINNER: MATTHEW ZIONS CHEQUE: €100,000

MATTHEW ZIONS STORMS TO MAIDEN TITLE MATTHEW Zions romped to a seven-stroke victory at the windswept Saint-Omer Open in France to take home his first European Tour title and dismiss any lingering thoughts he had about quitting the sport to pursue a different career. “There’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of separation and much heartache from this game, and sometimes it plays with your head so much it makes you want to pack it in and find a regular job,” admitted Zions, who finally fulfilled the potential he first showed in 2006 when he successfully negotiated Qualifying School. “The stress and the downtime in this game are hard to take sometimes.” The 32-year-old Australian carded a final round 69 for an 8-under total, seven clear of Daniel Denison, Peter Gustafsson and Craig Lee who were the only other players in the field to shoot under par. “I couldn’t have dreamed of getting this far without the

support of my wife,” he said after collecting the trophy. “She is the best wife in the world and not many women would do what she has done, looking after our kids with me being away on Tour all the time. I’m very lucky.” The victory sealed Zions’ place on The European Tour for the remainder of this season and the whole of 2012 and he’s looking forward to a period of stress-free golf at some of the biggest tournaments on the Tour schedule. “Before the final round I was chatting to my best mate, James Morrison, who won his first tournament last year in Madeira, and he told me to just keep doing what I’ve been doing, stay relaxed and keep believing in yourself,” said Zions. “So now I’m looking forward to having a few beers with him and chatting it through. This win has opened many doors.”

Tournament: Travelers Championship

23 – 26 June 2011

Venue: TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Connecticut

JACOBSON FINALLY WINS ON US SOIL FREDRIK Jacobson won his first US PGA Tour title on his 188th start at the Travelers Championship with a fine one-stroke victory over Ryan Moore and John Rollins. The Swede carded a final round 4-under 66 to sign for a 20-under total, one clear of the American duo who both carded closing 63s. “It’s been haunting me,” Jacobson said, after admitting that he had promised his 5-year-old daughter that he would win a trophy this season. “I’ve finished high on the leaderboard a few times and I’ve been asked so many times from the kids, ‘Did you get a trophy this week daddy? Did you get a trophy this week?’ Nope, no trophy. So, I’m excited that I’m not breaking that promise for her.” Jacobson didn’t disappoint. He played solid golf from tee to green all week, dropping just one stroke throughout the tournament on the tenth hole of the final round, as he stepped into the winner’s circle for the first time since the 2003 Volvo Masters at Valderrama on The European Tour.

“Obviously it means a great deal to me,” said Jacobson. “I came over in ‘03 after having won in Europe, and I had my eyes on the PGA Tour, and obviously after winning a couple of times that year, I felt pretty good about winning but I didn’t know it was going to take this long before I won one. But whoever waits for a long time – it’s all the more sweeter when it finally comes together.” It could have been very different for Jacobson as both Moore and Rollins made late birdie runs and Moore could have piled on the pressure by making his par on the 18th to finish on 20-under. As it was, his 4-foot par putt missed right and his bogey meant Jacobson was left with a simple two-putt for par and the victory. “I’m not beating myself up over that putt,” said Moore. “That happens in golf. It was a pretty simple leftof-centre putt, and I pushed it right into the middle of the hole and it just slipped by the side.” Rollins did birdie the last but it was too little too late as Jacobson closed out confidently.

IN THE BAG Driver: Fairway Wood: Fairway Wood: Irons (3-9): Wedges: Putter: Ball:

WINNER: FREDRIK JACOBSON CHEQUE: $1,008,000

Callaway Diablo Octane Tour (8.5º) Callaway Big Bertha Diablo 3-wood (13º) Callaway Diablo Octane Tour 5-wood (18º) Callaway Diablo Forged Callaway X-Forged (48º, 52º and 58º) Odyssey Black Series i #1 Callaway Tour i(z)

WINNING SCORE: 20-UNDER-PAR – 260 (65, 66, 63, 66) RUNNER-UP: JOHN ROLLINS, RYAN MOORE – 261

FACT FILE

With his maiden win on the US PGA Tour, at the Travelers Championship, Fredrik Jacobson became the seventh Swedish-born player to triumph on the Tour, joining Jesper Parnevik, Daniel Chopra, Gabriel Hjertstedt, Carl Pettersson, Richard S. Johnson and Henrik Stenson.

WORLDROUND-UPS Tournament: BMW International Open

23 – 26 June 2011

Venue: Golfclub Munchen Eichenried, Munich, Germany

WINNER: PABLO LARRAZABAL CHEQUE: €333,330

LARAZZABAL UPSETS GARCIA IN GERMANY PABLO Larrazabal defeated his Spanish counterpart Sergio Garcia with a birdie at the fifth play-off hole to win his second European Tour title at the BMW International Open in Munich. Both players were looking for their first win since the 2008 season and it was Larazzabal who triumphed after Garcia three-putted the 18th green for par. “Beating one of my heroes when I was growing up is just a dream,” said the 28-year-old before adding: “Last week we lost my granddad, the captain of the family, so this win is for him.” Garcia had two-putted for birdie on the final hole in regulation to finish with a 68 for 16-under-par and level with Larrazabal who was in the clubhouse after also shooting a 68. The pair then went back down the 18th twice and both halved in birdies – much to the delight of the galleries. They couldn’t be

separated at the short holes 12 and 17 but finally Larrazabal prevailed with another birdie on 18. “He’s still, for me, one of the best players in the world, maybe top-10 or top-5 players in the world when he’s in form,” said Larrazabal of his compatriot. “So I knew to have a chance, I needed to make birdies every time we played the 18th.” It was his first win since he won the 2008 Open de France and the victory earned him a spot in the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai. South Africans Retief Goosen and George Coetzee shared third place on 14-under-par alongside Englishman Mark Foster, Scotland’s Scott Jamieson and Dutchman Joost Luiten. Robert Coles and Ross Fisher took eighth and ninth place on 13-under and 12-under respectively.

Tournament: AT&T National

30 June – 3 July 2011

Venue: Aronimink Golf Club, Newtown Square, Pennsylvania

WATNEY PIPS CHOI FOR FOURTH TITLE NICK Watney outlasted playing partner K.J. Choi in the final round of the AT&T National in Philadelphia to win by two strokes and collect his fourth US PGA Tour title the day before July 4th – America’s Independence Day. The Californian shot a final round 66 to extend his overnight lead and beat Choi who finished with a 67 to take outright second place. “I’m overjoyed to stand here as the winner,” said Watney. “It was a very difficult, long day. K.J. played great golf, and he kept coming and coming, and that makes it even more rewarding. “It’s a very addictive feeling to be out there under the gun. To be able to hit good shots and good putts is why I play, really.” Watney played flawlessly as he went out in 3-under-par 32 to stretch his lead to three strokes at the turn. However, Choi came back with birdies on holes 11 and 12 before another on the 14th helped him pull level alongside Watney. Despite the hot streak Choi then made a costly error on the par-4 15th. After failing to hit the green in three shots he duffed his delicate chip from the rough and wound up with a double bogey six. Watney’s par meant he took a two

shot lead into the closing holes and that’s how it stayed after both players finished birdie-par-par. “Today I was able to perform, but there have been times in the past when maybe I was a few shots back and I was trying too hard to make a charge,” said Watney, who sealed his second win of the season following early success at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship at Doral. “So I think it’s a process, but I really do love being in the last group and playing when it really matters. I think I’m getting more and more comfortable, but I only have four wins. There are guys out here with 30-40-50 under their belt – Tiger’s got 70 plus, so I’ve got a long way to go.” Charles Howell III played a bogey-free final round of 4-under 66 to tie for third place with Adam Scott (68) and Jeff Overton (67) on 9-under and Howell picked up the added bonus of a spot in The Open Championship as the highestplaced non-exempt player for the third Major of the season. Robert Allenby and Chris Stroud finished on 8-under in a share of sixth place while a best-of-the-day 6-under 64 helped Chris DiMarco up 33 places and into a share of 13th.

IN THE BAG Driver: Fairway Wood: Hybrids: Irons (3-PW): Wedges: Putter: Ball:

WINNER: NICK WATNEY CHEQUE: $1,116,000

Titleist 910 D3; 10.5º Titleist 910F 15º Titleist 910H - 21º Titleist 712 AP2 Titleist Vokey Spin Milled 54º & 60º Scotty Cameron Newport Fastback Titleist Pro V1x

WINNING SCORE: 13-UNDER-PAR – 267 (70, 69, 62, 66) RUNNER-UP: K.J CHOI – 269

FACT FILE

Nick Watney came alive for the weekend of the AT&T National, shooting rounds of 62 and 66 on Saturday and Sunday to go to 12-under for the final 36 holes. He had posted a level-par 70 during the opening round went one better with a 69 on the Friday.

www.wwgolf.biz www.wwgolf.biz

47 47

30 June – 3 July 2011

Tournament: Alstom Open de France Venue: Le Golf National, Paris, France

LEVET SEALS EMOTIONAL HOME WIN THOMAS Levet produced a superb final round display to win the Alstom Open de France some 25 years after he first teed it up at his ‘home’ Open. The 42-year-old former Ryder Cup player took advantage of a late slip by Danish rookie Thorbjørn Olesen to win by one stroke and collect a cheque for €500,000 in front of rapturous Parisian home crowd. “I’ve played this tournament, I don’t know how many times, but now I can play for another ten years or something like that. So it’s just absolutely crazy,” smiled Levet. “All of my friends were here in the crowd. It’s always nice to win in front of your home crowd. The way it went today was just like in a dream.” Levet signed for a 1-under-par 70 to finish on 7-under-par, one clear of Olesen who bogeyed the treacherous final hole to finish on 6-under. “It was great to be out there and the French crowd was amazing,” said Olesen. “I know they were cheering for Thomas, but still, it was nice. He’s a really nice guy and so we had a lot of fun out there. “This is the first tournament I’ve played in front of such a big crowd so it

WINNER: THOMAS LEVET CHEQUE: €500,000

was a really good experience for me and, hopefully ,next time I can go out and do a little bit better and win.” Foster, who held the overnight lead, had made 11 consecutive pars before disaster struck at the 12th with a double bogey six. He then bogeyed the 13th and closed out with pars to sign for a 74 and a share of second place alongside Olesen. Le Golf National will host the Ryder Cup in 2018 after the announcement at Wentworth in May and Levet believes that this year’s Alstom Open de France is a good advert for what is to come in seven year’s time. “If you have ever been to a Ryder Cup you know the atmosphere is incredible, so imagine what it is going to be like when we have six times more people on the course,” he beamed. Germany’s Martin Kaymer, winner of the event in 2009, finished in outright fourth place on 4-under-par with Englishman Simon Khan and Scotland’s Richie Ramsay sharing fifth place on 3-under. England’s James Morrison, South African Hennie Otto and American Brendan Steele shared seventh place on 2-under.

IN THE BAG Driver: Fairway Woods: Hybrid: Irons (3-pw): Wedges: Putter: Ball:

Titleist 901D3 8.5º Titleist 910F 3-wood 13.5º Titleist 910H 18º Titleist MB Titleist Vokey Design Spin Milled 54º and 60º Scotty Cameron Studio Select Newport 2 Titleist Pro V1

WINNING SCORE: 7-UNDER-PAR – 277 (70, 70, 67, 70) RUNNER-UP: MARK FOSTER, THORBJØRN OLESEN – 278

FACT FILE

Thomas Levet became only the second ‘home’ winner of the Alstom Open de France since The European Tour began in 1972 as he follows in the footsteps of Jean-François Remesy who won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. Le Golf National near Versailles is within 30 minutes’ drive of central Paris

Tournament: John Deere Classic

07 – 10 July 2011

Venue: TPC John Deere Run, Silvis, Illinois

WINNER: STEVE STRICKER CHEQUE: $792,000

STRICKER MAKES HIS HAT-TRICK IN ILLINOIS STEVE Stricker made a sensational birdie on the final hole of the John Deere Classic to deny youngster Kyle Stanley a maiden professional victory. Having watched Stanley in the group ahead miss his par putt to drop to 21under-par Stricker, who was teeing off on the same score, drove into the fairway bunker. With an awkward stance he superbly clipped his 6-iron out of the sand and it sailed over the lake and on to the fringe at the back of the green. He then proceeded to sink his unlikely birdie putt from 25 feet for his 11th US PGA Tour title and his third win in-a-row at the John Deere Classic. “It was an unbelievable week and an unbelievable finish,” Stricker said after birdies on the two closing holes saw him sign for a 2-under 69 and a 22-under-par total. “I still can’t believe I’m sitting here.”

For Stanley, the topsy-turvy finish was tough to take but he admitted he can take plenty of positives from how he played all week. “This tournament is really a contest of birdies and it’s all wedges and putting,” he said after making seven birdies and two costly bogeys on holes 9 and 18. “I can take a lot of confidence in just knowing that I’m working on a lot of the right things. “I haven’t been doing this long. Last year was my first year on the Nationwide Tour and this is my first season on the PGA Tour and it’s my highest finish in any professional event – I’ve got to be pleased with that.” Canadian Matt McQuillan finished with a 7-under 64 to take a share of third place on 17-under, alongside former Masters Tournament winner Zach Johnson who shot a 65.

WORLDROUND-UPS Tournament: The Barclays Scottish Open

07 – 10 July 2011

Venue: Castle Stuart Golf Links, Inverness, Scotland

LUKE DONALD SEALS VICTORY AT RAIN-SHORTENED SCOTTISH OPEN TORRENTIAL downpours in the Highlands forced Tournament Officials to reduce The Barclays Scottish Open to 54 holes but the damp weather didn’t deter Luke Donald as he romped to a four-stroke victory with a 19-under-par total. Donald continued his stellar campaign with his third victory of the season thanks to two rounds of 67 and then a final round 63 for a comfortable win. “It’s nice to get another victory - I can get used to this. To do it on a links course is even better and when I play well I tend to do reasonably well the next week,” he said, in reference to The Open Championship at Royal St George’s which followed. After a succession of planned starts at various times of the day eventually play had to be completely abandoned on Saturday due to continuous heavy rain at the magnificent Castle Stuart links. Many players – including Donald – still needed to complete their second round and the World No.1 did so

in impressive fashion in relatively benign conditions on Sunday morning. He holed three birdie putts to sign for a second consecutive round of 67 and sit just one shot behind the leaders before the final 18 holes got underway at 11.20am. He carried his momentum forward and took a hold of the championship with five birdies on the opening nine holes and four coming home to sign for a 9-under-63. Only Sweden’s Fredrik Andersson Hed could match Donald’s performance as he carded a 10under 62 to move up 42 places and into second place. “I holed putts when I needed to and it’s nice to do it when it matters,” said Donald. “The scoring conditions were there - Fredrik had a very low one, he barely made the cut and then finished second. There was a seven-way tie for third place on 14-under par and it was home favourite Scott Jamieson who was the happiest as he secured the one remaining place in The Open.

IN THE BAG Driver: Fairway Wood: Hybrid: Irons (3-PW): Wedges: Putter: Ball:

WINNER: LUKE DONALD CHEQUE: €500,250

TaylorMade R11 9º TaylorMade R9 3-wood 13° Mizuno Hi Fli CLK 17° Mizuno MP 62 Mizuno MP T11 54°, 60° Odyssey White Hot XG 7H Titleist Pro V1x

WINNING SCORE: 19-UNDER-PAR – 197 (67, 67, 63) RUNNER-UP: FREDRIK ANDERSSON HED – 201

FACT FILE

Luke Donald secured his first victory as the World’s No.1 ranked player at The Barclays Scottish Open at Castle Stuart Golf Club, Inverness. It was his tenth victory as a professional. He joins Neil Coles, Barry Lane, Carl Mason and Lee Westwood as English winners of The Barclays Scottish Open.

14 – 17 July, 2011

Tournament: Viking Classic Venue: Annandale Golf Club, Madison, Mississippi

WINNER: CHRIS KIRK CHEQUE: $648,000

ROOKIE KIRK SEALS VIKING VICTORY ROOKIE Chris Kirk picked up his maiden US PGA Tour title with a one-stroke victory over seasoned professionals Tom Pernice Jnr and George McNeill at the Viking Classic in Mississippi. The 26-year-old closed with a 4-under-par 68 for a 22-under-par total to deny Pernice Jnr (67) his third Tour title and McNeill (68) his second at the tournament where he made his professional debut in 2007. Kirk was given a sponsor’s invite four years ago and missed the cut and admits he has improved somewhat since his first game on Tour. “It’s pretty amazing to think back to then, and how far I’ve come since those days,” he said. “My game isn’t that much better

than it was then, but just the comfort level that I have now to be able to go out for 18 today and feel 100 per cent comfortable in my own skin.” Kirk held a one-stroke lead heading into the final round and he never relinquished his lead despite bogeys on holes 8 and 14. He made 6 birdies in total including the 17th which came courtesy of a sublime 9-iron from 140 yards which left him a simple 5-foot putt before a tap-in par on the final hole sealed the victory. Bud Cauley, Hunter Haas and Jim Renner finished on 20-underpar and in a share of fourth place while Tommy Gainey and Sunghoon Kang shared seventh on 19-under. www.wwgolf.biz

PASSION. PERFORMANCE. HISTORY.

Titleist Brand Ambassador Rory McIlroy, trusting the Pro V1x™ golf ball and a complete bag of Titleist equipment, made his first career major a historic one. Rory rewrote the U.S. Open record book en route to a wire-to-wire, eight-shot victory. Trusting the advanced performance and consistency of Titleist equipment from tee-to-green, Rory set or tied 12 U.S. Open records at Congressional C.C., including the lowest-ever 72-hole total, four shots clear of the previous mark. More proof that when you combine exceptional talent with superior equipment, dreams indeed come true, and in Rory’s case, the best is yet to come. Rory McIlroy — Pro V1x U.S. Open – Winner 910D2 driver 906F2 fairway metals MB irons Vokey Design Spin Milled C-C wedges Scotty Cameron putter

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FITNESS PROFESSIONAL BUTCH HARMON SCHOOL OF GOLF DUBAI SPORTS CITY

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HERE at The Butch Harmon School of Golf, we try to encourage players to have a total warm-up routine before they play. This includes an active stretching programme based on areas of weakness that we find once we perform a physical screen. Stretching is not only important before you play but is something that should be included in your fitness routine to improve your overall game. Stretching will help improve your strength and flexibility, extend the range of motion needed for a good golf swing and reduce the possibility of injuries. It only takes between 15 to 25 minutes to perform a full range of stretching, something that we can all easily manage 3 to 4 times per week. MIKE LEE takes you through 4 of the stretches to perform before playing golf, which will help get the full range of motion in perhaps certain weaker areas â&#x20AC;&#x201C; hips, lat muscles and shoulders.

TUTORIAL ACTIVE STRETCH ROUTINE LAT STRETCH Using a driver for support bend forward from the hips maintaining a neutral spine, push your chest towards the earth to increase the stretch.

FIGURE 4 STRETCH Cross one leg over the other and squat down until the point of stretch goes through the glutes. Keep your spine long and neutral.

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BY BY MICHAEL LEE, FITNESS PROFESSIONAL

BUTCH HARMON SCHOOL OF GOLF

DUBAI SPORTS CITY

SPIDERMAN WITH TWIST Get into a long lunging position with both hands on the floor, push down into a stretch across the front of your hip. Raise your inside arm towards the sky by making a turn of your chest.

WALL SLIDES These are a great way of stretching out the front of the shoulder/chest and ‘firing’ up the muscles of the upper back: Squat down slightly, ensuring the whole of your spine is flush against a wall. Try to complete the movement, keeping the whole of the back of your arms tight to the wall.

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Women's Golf Middle East

Sandy Meyer’s

PROFESSIONAL TIP

HOW TO GAIN DISTANCE BY RELEASING THE HANDS MANY LADIES APPROACH ME AND ASK FOR TIPS ON HOW TO INCREASE THEIR DISTANCE OFF THE TEE. ONE EASY METHOD OF INCREASING DISTANCE IS TO RELEASE THE HANDS THROUGH THE SWING’S MOMENT OF INERTIA. The “delayed hand release” – in other words, keeping your hands in a fully cocked position during the downswing for as long as possible – is the easiest way to add yards to your drives. Here are some key points:

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If the radius of the swing is kept at a minimum more speed can be created through the downswing. The wider the swing radius on the downswing the less speed you will create and that is why ladies who release their hands too early at the top of the swing, tend to hit the ball a lot less further than they are capable. The more you cock you hands the smaller the radius becomes, and the faster the club travels through impact. So remember, on your downswing, try and keep your wrists cocked as long as possible and you will see immediate results on your distance.

TUESDAY FUN AT THE ELS CLUB SUMMER may well be in full swing and many Dubai residents might have gone on their holidays to escape the heat but Women’s Golf Middle East continues to host the popular Ladies Beginner Group at The Els Club every Tuesday. Winners of the last event held was the team of Julie Musty, Melissa Slements and Michelle Gaeta as they returned a

Stableford score of 22 points. Playing a format which saw the best individual score on each hole recorded the trio dovetailed expertly well to win by two points from the team of Betsy Brock, Heather Houston and Sandy Meyer. Tee-times are generally between 4.305.0pm and the Dhs 150 entry fee covers the green fees, cart fees and range balls.

LESSONS CONTINUE THROUGHOUT SUMMER THE Women’s Golf Middle East Golf Lessons at Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa will be ongoing throughout summer in the evenings and is an ideal opportunity for working women to take up the game. To sign up, visit www.womensgolfme.com

Golf Facilities Longest hole in the Middle East, the par 5 10th measures 678 yards from the Blacks! Water in play on 12 holes 40-bay covered driving range USGA specification short game areas 2 large 9 hole putting greens 2 greenside practice & 1 fairway bunker

Al Ain

18 Hole Championship Golf Course – Par 71 – 6,612 yards off the back ‘Black ’ tees & 6,129 yards off the ‘Blue’ tees

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HEY say that seeing is believing and having taken an eternity to visit the Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club I can understand why it is arguably the Middle East’s most well kept secret. Very few people in the region’s golfing fraternity are aware of the existence of this hidden gem. With Peter Forrester, the experienced and very much hands-on Golf Course Superintendent and his wife Michaela, the Golf Club Manager who runs a highly successful operation, they have created the relaxed, friendly atmosphere of a traditional, long-established golf club. The Club has become the social hub of all the various sporting activities that the AESGC provides, including equestrian sports, rugby, football, shooting and tennis. The Clubhouse has a similar aura as the old Nad

Al Sheba Club in Dubai. Maybe it’s the friendliness of the members and visitors or the fact that the golf course is very much a part of the racecourse complex with a number of holes in the centre of the course, accessed by a tunnel that takes golfers underneath the track and onto the course. The Garden City of Al Ain is a thriving, popular place and is a lot closer to Dubai and Abu Dhabi than I imagined. From our office in Al Quoz it was a little over an hour-and-a-half’s drive in the direction of Al Ain Airport. International hotels are springing up in Al Ain and an excellent water park was recently opened. Al Ain exudes an air of friendly confidence and in the years to come it could well be the place to be in the UAE. The golf course certainly deserves wider exposure throughout the UAE and beyond. It presents a true 4

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Below : The longest hole in the Middle East, the par-5 10 th , 678 yards from the Black tee.

test for all levels of golfers with four tee boxes to every hole and can claim the longest par-5 in the Middle East. At 678 yards from the black tees and 638 yards from the blue tees the tenth hole is a daunting challenge even for the longest hitters. For the less courageous there are also white and red tee boxes available.

Bradley Dredge Welsh ace Bradley Dredge, who is managed by GMI (www.golfmi. co.uk) and is also attached to the AESGC, made light of the distance when he visited the Club during The European Tour’s Desert Swing earlier this year, coming close to making birdie. Bradley, winner of the 2005 World Cup with Stephen Dodd at Vilamoura, Portugal, and a two-time winner on The European Tour, spent the day at the Club doing a tuition clinic and encouraging members and youngsters. It’s a challenging,

picturesque Par-71 lay-out of 6,612 yards off the black tees but although it has four tee positions it has been well designed to retain the characteristics of each hole, still incorporating its individual features and hazards. Water hazards come into play on 12 of the holes with strategically placed bunkers, desert sand and native grasses, which means careful shotmaking and course management is required to shoot a low round. The golf course has been recognised

Golf Course Superintendent Peter Forrester with Simon Payne, Head Golf Professional at Tower Links Golf Club, Ras Al Khaimah, and Wales European Tour player Bradley Dredge at the Exhibition Match 2011.

as a Championship-standard layout by golf in Dubai who are staging the final of the forthcoming MENA Tour series, which includes various golf courses throughout the Middle East, at AESGC later this year. “We’re delighted to be hosting the $75,000 Tour Championship of the MENA Tour from October 16 to 19,” says Peter Forrester. “It’s a great initiative for professional and amateurs throughout the Middle East, and further afield, to have the opportunity to play in a structured series such as this.” (www.menagolftour.com). The Golf Academy has a 40bay covered driving range, an indoor swing analysis studio, USGA specification short game areas, two greenside practice bunkers, one fairway practice bunker and two large 9-hole putting greens. All the facilities are under floodlights and can be used from 6.0am – 9.0pm. The Golf Academy’s centrepiece

HANS OLBERTZ

In Play Floodlit 9-hole Academy Course where all facilities are open from 6.0am until 9.0pm

THE GOLF COURSE HAS BEEN RECOGNISED SED AS A CHAMPIONSHIP-STANDARD LAYOUT BY GOLF IN DUBAI WHO ARE STAGING THE FINALL OF THE ICH FORTHCOMING MENA TOUR SERIES, WHICH HROUGHOUT INCLUDES VARIOUS GOLF COURSES THROUGHOUT S YEAR. YEAR. YE THE MIDDLE EAST, AT AESGC LATER THIS Bradley Dredge

is its 9-hole Academy course. The floodlit golf course provides the perfect next stage upwards for beginners from the range to the actual golf course. It has all the characteristics of the 18-hole Championship course with the exception of the length of the holes. Apart from those learning the game it also serves as a facility for golfers who want to sharpen their skills before tackling the longer 18hole course.

Tuition packages Various tuition packages are available to members and visitors alike which will utilise all the Academy facilities to leave golfers better equipped to face the usual obstacles that come up during a round of golf. The AESGC Golf Academy is under supervision of the Head Teaching Professional, Fraser McLaughlan.

Tuition is available for golfers or non golfers of any ability. Every lesson is tailor made to a pupil’s specific abilities, needs and ambitions. One of the most welcome aspects of every area of the AESGC is that there is always a friendly, relaxed atmosphere where a fun environment is created to make the golfing experience as enjoyable as it can be. The Golf Academy offers: Individual golf lessons; Group golf lessons; A Junior Development Programme; Schools programmes and Corporate golf programmes. The Clubhouse has all the latest equipment, apparel and accessories from the world’s leading manufacturers. The Golf Shop provides everything from a personalised gift set to a full set of clubs. Non golfers can also find suitable items from the apparel range. The AESGC has the facilities to

host conferences, training seminars, board meetings, breakfast briefings and product launches, Cocktail parties, social gatherings, business meetings or family get-togethers in an informal and relaxed atmosphere. Private dinners for around 40 guests (theatre-style) and between 20 to 36 guests can be arranged. ■ The golf club offers three main kinds of Golf Membership to meet golfers’ requirements and expectations. From full golf membership, which provides unlimited golf for experienced golfers 7 days a week, through the weekday membership, to the special Academy Golf Membership package which presents a good option for those starting to learn the game of golf and want to improve their physical well being. For more information call: +971 3 7026400 or visit www.aesgc.ae.

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PINK PANTHER

Worldwide Golf ’s Richard Bevan caught up with golf ’s Pink Panther, Paula Creamer, for an exclusive Q&A as the Golden Girl of the LPGA Tour prepared for the Evian Masters in France, an event she won by an astonishing eight shots at the age of 18 during her mind-blowing debut season back in 2005. WWG: Do you enjoy travelling the world to play in the LPGA’s international events? PC: I really enjoy visiting different countries and experiencing different cultures, meeting new people, tasting new food etc. I consider myself a global player, although I do wish that we had more events in the U.S. as well. WWG: The LPGA is very much a world tour – do you think this is something the Men’s PGA Tour could learn from – the European Tour has a similar international make-up and look at the dominance their players are enjoying? PC: Yes and No. Golf does need to be a global game but there needs to be a balance. America is the home of the PGA Tour and it has to retain that identity. IThe dominance of the European Tour has more to do with the membership rather than where the tournaments are played. But I’ve palyed around the world since I was a rookie and I love it – it’s exciting. We have global sponsors, so it’s also important from that perspective. WWG: Do you feel fortunate that your day job allows you to see so much of the world? PC: Absolutely. How lucky are we? We’re very blessed that we get to travel to all these wonderful places doing something that we love. WWG: You’ve got quite a record in the Solheim Cup, are you looking forward to going to County Meath in Ireland this September? PC: I can’t wait. It’s a fantastic week – a grinding test but a great week. I’ve never been to Ireland before so it’s going to be very exciting. WWG: The USA is undefeated in the three editions you’ve played in plus you’re undefeated in the Singles – what is the particular thrill of team golf?

PC: I just love representing my country. It’s such an honour. Every time I pull on the red, white and blue it’s just so exciting and different to what we normally do. I love everything about it – the crowds, the pressure, the camaraderie in the team – there’s nothing like it. WWG: During that phenomenal debut season in 2005 you played in your first Solheim Cup and beat Laura Davies 7&5 in the singles to emerge as the USA’s top scorer – that must have given you the world of confidence so early in your career? PC: I really worked my socks off to get on that team because I wanted to qualify rather than get in as a Captain’s Pick and I only had four or five months to do it. Nancy (Lopez) Lopez) put me Lopez in for five matches and I played really well. Playing the Queen of Solheim in my first singles match was nerve-racking but exciting. I guess I was lucky that Laura is such a nice person, which put me at ease a little. Beating her was amazing and really gave me the confidence to know I could beat anybody in that competition. WWG: Up until last year you’d had some really close calls in Majors but the breakthrough finally came in the US

Women’s Open at Oakmont last year – did you expect so much from that tournament given that it was only your fourth event back from injury? PC: I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think I could win it because I always believe I can win any tournament I enter but in some ways I was just trying to get four rounds of golf in because my thumb still wasn’t 100%. I just tried to stick to my game plan and take it hole by hole. WWG: You were the only player under par so it must have been some game plan? PC: I just tried to strategise my play. Oakmont is a really tough course and it was important for me to know which pins to attack and which ones to lay off. In the past I might have been too aggressive when I was trying to make something happen but I needed to know when to take a five or four iron instead of a driver. I tried to just concentrate on my own game and not worry about anybody else as you can’t control what anyone else is doing – I didn’t look at a leaderboard once. WWG: Is the thumb still affecting you? PC: I can do everything that I did before but at the moment I have no motion in it whatsoever. I guess it’s not the greatest injury for a golfer but it is what it is. I struggle with my grip which obviously affects

PAULA CREAMER

WWG: DO YOU HAVE ANY PLANS TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE KIDS? PC: OF COURSE, DEFINITELY. I WANT TO GET MARRIED AND BE A MOM – IT’S A LITTLE DOWN THE ROAD BUT IT’S SOMETHING I DO WANT TO EXPERIENCE. RIGHT NOW I’M FOCUSSED ON MY GOLF.

my swing and my distances fluctuate. But I’ve worked very hard to find a solution that means I can still do what I need to do. It’s unfortunate but it’s just one of those things. WWG: What’s next for Paul Creamer as far as ambitions go – you’ve already broken a lot of records, you’ve won a Major, dominated in the Solheim Cup... PC: I just want to do more of everything! I want to be a multiple winner on Tour every year and be in contention on a Sunday during tournaments. I know it sounds like a cliché but I just want to be the best I can be. I’m also very passionate about the charity work I do with my foundation so I want to continue with that. Being the No.1 American on Tour is also a goal I have every year. WWG: There is a ‘gap in the market’ for a dominant World No.1 and a new figurehead for the LPGA – is that a realistic goal for you? PC: It’s no secret that I want to be the No. 1 player in the world. I want that really bad and I’m working on it – but there’s still work to do.

WWG: TELL US SOMETHING MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU? PC: I’D LOVE TO BE ABLE TO SING. I CAN’T BUT I’D LOVE IT IF I COULD.

WWG: What do you like to do to take it easy and relax away from the pressures of the golf course? PC: Mostly I like being at home enjoying time with my friends. I got a little puppy recently so that keeps my hands pretty full! I got my first house a couple of years ago which also keeps me pretty busy, decorating etc. It’s pretty hard to find time to do all that kind of stuff when you’re away so much but it’s good to do things to make a break from playing golf and practising. WWG: Is it difficult to have a relationship when, firstly, you’re a touring golfer, and secondly, you’re Paula Creamer? PC: It’s not the easiest thing on both counts, that’s for sure but you have to play the cards you’ve been dealt and I wouldn’t change it for the world. WWG: If you were marooned on a desert island what three things would you want with you? PC: My phone – if it would work – some food and sun screen. www.wwgolf.biz

PERFORMANCE BY DESIGN

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OMEGA DUBAI OMEGA DUBAI LADIES MASTERS MASTERS LADIES

HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, who was the guest of honour at the 2010 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters prize presentation ceremony, receiving a tournament memento from Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Vice Chairman and CEO of golf in DUBAi, at the Emirates Golf Club.

OMEGA DUBAI LADIES MASTERS GETS HRH PRINCESS HAYA PATRONAGE

HE profile of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters has scaled a new high with HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein -- the wife of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai -- granting her official patronage to the season-ending Ladies European Tour event to be held at the Emirates Golf Club from December 11 to 17. Since making its debut in 2006, the tournament, promoted and organised by ‘golf in DUBAi’, has showcased a galaxy of superstars from all over the world, making it one of the most sought-after events outside a major, and HRH Princess Haya’s patronage is fitting recognition to the role played by the event in promoting ladies golf in the region. HRH Princess Haya is a woman of many facets and a role model for women around the world. She is a devoted wife and mother, a former Olympic athlete, a humanitarian, a member of the International Olympic Committee, a UN Messenger of Peace, President of the International Equestrian Federation and the only Jordanian woman who holds a licence to drive heavy trucks. “We feel privileged and honoured

that HRH Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein has extended her patronage to the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters,” said Mohamed Juma Buamaim, ViceChairman and CEO of ‘golf in DUBAi.’ It only underlines the support that the event receives from the Government of Dubai. “Sport forms an integral part of Dubai’s growth strategy and international events like the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters fits well with an ambitious Dubai’s drive to enhance the Emirate’s image as an Arab city with an international spirit and sensibility. “The independent facts provided by the Ladies European Tour amply confirm that the event is growing in stature and popularity every year, contributing immensely in showcasing Dubai’s attractions to the world. “For instance, the fifth edition of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters, held from December 5 to 11, 2010, reached 685,361,644 households worldwide and generated 32,340 seconds of media exposure, valued at Dhs 445 million compared to Dhs. 352 million in 2009,” he said. HRH Princess Haya’s patronage, he said, has “further strengthened our resolve to strive and deliver a product in sync with Dubai’s vision of a global

business hub, golfing and tourist destination for millions.” ‘golf in DUBAi’, an event management that operates under the umbrella of the Dubai Investment Corporation, is backed by Omega as the title sponsor and Dubal (Dubai Aluminium) as the sponsor. Co-sponsors are: CNN, Emirates NBD, Gulf News, Jumeirah, MercedesBenz and wasl while Dubai Duty Free, Carpetland and Motivate are the Patrons in ‘golf in DUBAi’s’ drive to Defending Champion: showcase the emirate’s vibrant golfing IDenmark’s Iben Tinning. scene to a worldwide audience.

OMEGA DUBAI LADIES MASTERS FACT FILE Name: Omega Dubai Ladies Masters Venue: Emirates Golf Club Tour: Ladies European Tour Inaugural event: 2006 Promoters and organisers: ‘golf in DUBAi’ Prize-money: €500,000 Winner’s purse: €75,000 Defending champion: Iben Tinning of Denmak Roll of honour: Annika Sorenstam of Sweden (2006, 2007), Anja Monke of Germany (2008), In-Kyung Kim of South Korea (2009)

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OMEGA DUBAI LADIES MASTERS

Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Chairman of the MENA Golf Tour and golf in Dubai is flanked by (left to right): Peter Forrester from Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club; James Shippey from Al Badia Golf Club, Dubai; Gary Constable of Tower Links Golf Club, Ras Al Khaimah and Adrian Flaherty, the MENA Golf Tour Commissioner.

MENA TOUR RIGHT ON COURSE

“We will expand the tournament base as we move forward,” – Mohamed Juma Buamaim

AADIYAT Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi will play host to the inaugural event on the forthcoming MENA Golf Tour, while Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club will be the venue of the Grand Finale. Featuring four back-to-back tournaments, the Tour, a new initiative by the Shaikh Maktoum Golf Foundation, will also make stops at Ras Al Khairmah’s Tower Links Golf Club and Al Badia Golf Club in Dubai for the second and third events, showcasing the UAE’s commitment to golfing excellence. “I am delighted to announce that things are very much on course. We have finalised the dates and venues of all the four events on the Tour which, I believe, will play a significant role in the development of the game among

Arab nationals as well as expats,” said Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Chairman of the MENA Golf Tour and golf in Dubai. “I am really grateful to all the clubs in the UAE for whole-heartedly supporting this initiative. We are organising all the four tournaments in the UAE due to logistical reasons, but with time the Tour will grow bigger in size and stature with the tournament schedule including different countries in the region,” he said. Each tournament will receive official R&A recognition and carry World Amateur ranking points. “There will be a separate Order of Merit for Professionals and Amateurs. The top three professionals and the leading amateur from the Order of Merit will

2011 MENA Golf Tour Schedule September 25 -28: Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi. Prize money US$50,000. October 2-5: Tower Links Golf Club in Ras Al Khaimah. Prize money $50,000 October 9-12: Al Badia Golf Club, Dubai. Prize money $50,000. October 16 -19 Tour Championship at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club. Prize money $75,000.

be invited to play in the 2012 Omega Dubai Desert Classic,” he said. “These are early days, but we are hoping that the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Golf Tour one day can slot a couple of events into the Challenge Tour. The European Tour chief George O’Grady has applauded this new initiative, saying it will provide a legacy for the game of golf. His support and that of others, like golfing legend Mark O’Meara, means a lot to us.” With dates and venues for the inaugural MENA Golf Tour, which carries a total prize fund of $225,000 now finalised, the organisers are channeling their energy towards assembling the best possible fields for the tournaments. Tournament entries opened on July 1 and close two weeks before the start of the first round of each event. The starting field for each tournament will comprise 100 players, including invited MENA members and those from host countries. Of the 100 golfers, 60 per cent will be Professionals and the rest Amateurs. In the event of a tournament being oversubscribed, the first 90 (50 Professionals and 40 Amateurs) entries will automatically be accepted and the balance will compete in a pretournament qualifying event for the remaining 10 places (five Professionals and five Amateurs). ■ www.wwgolf.biz

ARABIAN GOLF AUGUST 2011 WORLDWIDE GOLF CLUBS DUBAI Emirates Golf Federation Emirates Golf Club Al Badia Golf Club Arabian Ranches Golf Club Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club Jumeirah Golf Estates The Montgomerie Dubai Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa

ABU DHABI Abu Dhabi Golf Club Saadiyat Beach Golf Club Al Ghazal Golf Club

SAUDI ARABIA

The UAE team with their Omani counterparts at the Ghala Wentworth Golf Club.

Dirab Golf & Country Club Riyadh Golf Courses

UAE TEAM BEGIN THEIR NOMURA CUP PREPARATIONS

SHARJAH Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club

BAHRAIN The Royal Golf Club

EGYPT Stella Di Mare Golf Club

OMAN Muscat Hills Golf & County Club

QATAR Doha Golf Club

AL AIN Al Ain Equestrian and Shooting Club

RAS AL KHAIMAH Al Hamra Golf Club Tower Links Golf Club International Pairs

THE UAE national golf team recently returned home from Oman after attending a summer camp to fine tune their skills ahead of their forthcoming engagements on the domestic and international circuits. The camp was part of the Emirates Golf Federation’s intensive training programme to prepare the team for the forthcoming Asia Pacific Golf Confederation Team Championship, popularly known as the Nomura Cup, to be held at Denarau in Fiji from August 16 to 19. Accompanied by Saeed Albudoor, general manager of the Emirates Golf Club, four members of the senior UAE team – Khalid Yousuf, Abdullah and Ahmed Al Musharrekh and Saif Thabit – went through their paces under the watchful eyes of the UAE national coach Chris Vallender. Every aspect of golf – from the swing technique to mental toughness – was covered during the camp with particular emphasis on improving the players’ course management skills. The UAE team players also played a couple of rounds at the Muscat Hills and Ghala Wentworth courses to hone their competitive edge. “Some friendly games against the Omani national team players further added

to the excitement and, more importantly, helped forged a sense of camaraderie,” said Albudoor. “Playing at the Ghala Wentworth, which is one of the oldest sand courses in the region, was a great experience for the players. Nine holes at the Ghala have been fully grassed now and the rest will be done by the end of the year. “It was a pretty successful camp thanks to the enthusiastic response from the players who are really looking forward to the challenges ahead. We are committed to providing the players with the best playing opportunities that we can and this trip to Fiji is very much part of our initiative to try and keep the momentum going. “The experience gained at the championship will go a long way in preparing the team for the tournaments like the Arab Junior Championship and the Pan-Arab Championship.” Fiji is the first South Pacific Island nation to be selected from the APGC membership to host this biennial championship. The Nomura Cup 2011 will be played on two golf courses – a first in its 48-year history – because of the growing number of countries who are members of the Asia Pacific group.

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All the prize winners are pictured with their winnings.

DOLAN WINS EGF HANDICAP SCHEME MEDAL IN AL AIN NANCY Dolan turned in an impressive performance to win the Emirates Golf Federation’s Handicap Scheme Monthly Medal held at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club recently with a haul of 41 Stableford points. Dolan secured the honours by virtue of a countback victory over Emma Tully to secure the Ladies Division. In the Men’s section David Forbes shot a

solid 76 to win the Gross title while Gary Rigby emerged victorious in Division A, beating Bryan Banner and Lender De Wit on a countback after all three signed for a net 71. In Division B Mark Silverton secured a onepoint victory over Alastair MacGregor and Tony Fargher thanks to an excellent haul of 43 Stableford points. Both MacGregor and Fargher shot an identical 42 points, but the former was declared runner-up on a countback.

Saeed Albudoor, general manager of the Emirates Golf Federation, congratulated the players for making the event a great success. “The scores were very impressive in all the divisions and that reflects well on the intensity of the competition,” he said. “These monthly medals are part of our drive to create more playing opportunities for amateur golfers and we are grateful to the clubs in the UAE for offering special rates for the events.”

9 Holes with... Obaid Khalid

AGE: 15 EMIRATE: Dubai GOLF CLUB: Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club PROGRAM: YMG –Young Masters Golf

Omar Abdulkarim Al Shehhi Q: How long have you been playing golf for? A: About one and a half years. I love it. Q: Who is your favourite golfer? A: My father. Q: If you could play with any group of golfers who would it be? A: The members of the UAE National Team. Q: What is your favourite golf course? A: Dubai Creek Golf Club. Q: Favourite movie? A: Jackass 3D. Q: What do you like to do away from the golf course? A: Rally Driving. Q: If you could have a car now what would it be? A: A Nissan GTR. Q: If you could have a super power what would it be? A: To be able to teleport myself. Q: Most enjoyable subject at school? A: Maths.

Q: How long have you been playing golf for? A: Only around five months. Q: Who is your favourite golfer? A: Tiger woods. Q: If you could play with any group of golfers who would it be? A: I would have to say the juniors who I currently play with. Q: What is your favourite golf course? A: The Championship Course at Dubai Creek. Q: Favourite movie? A: The Hangover: Part 2. Q: What do you like to do away from the golf course? A: I really enjoy diving in the sea and playing football. Q: If you could have a car now what would it be? A: A Pagani Zonda Q: If you could have a super power what would it be? A: To control things from afar! Q: Most enjoyable subject at school? A: Physical education

AGE: 16 EMIRATE: Dubai GOLF CLUB: Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club

WWG LOCAL FOCUS

EMIRATES GOLF FEDERATION

EGF TEAMS DOMINATE UAE JUNIOR-AM EVENT THE EGF-2 team, led by youngster Line Dalile, chalked up a superb victory at the UAE Junior-Am recently at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club with a sizzling net 55.46 to narrowly beat their rivals in EGF-3 who scored a net 56.16. Undeterred by the heat, the EGF-2 team, which comprised Purna Sharma, Mohamed Darwish, Fatih Bozkurt and Saeed Albudoor, top scored on a day when almost all the 25 teams that featured in the season-ending competition returned some excellent scores. Spearheaded by junior Aditya Judge, the EGF-3 team which consisted of Alistair Davies, Vikram Judge, Nasha Sarkari and Lindsay Brown, took second place ahead of the team captained by Ahmed Albudoor from The Els Club. Saeed Albudoor praised all the players for braving the heat and contributing to the success of the tournament. “We couldn’t have asked for a better finale to our season. The scores amply reflect the intensity of the competition,” he said. “We at the Emirates Golf Federation will try and create more playing opportunities, especially for juniors, in the next season. We have some of the best courses in the world and golf is flourishing. We need to keep the momentum going.”

The winning team is pictured with Nigel Benstead of Pepsico.

AL BADIA GOLF CLUB

LOCATION: Dubai Festival City, Al Badia, Dubai

COURSE: Par 72 Championship Course with four teeing options.

CONTACT: el: +971 (0) 4 601 0101 Fax: +971 (0) 4 601 0102, Email: albadiagolf@ichdfc.ae

BLANCHARD AND COETZEE ARE A PERFECT PAIR

Keen juniors are watched by a PGA Professional during the Junior Development Programme at Al Badia.

GRADUATION CEREMONY FOR AL BADIA JUNIORS THE winter season came to a conclusion in late May and this was marked with the Junior Development Programme Graduation Ceremony which took place in the Shaheen Ballroom at Al Badia Golf Club. The purpose of the day was to celebrate all of the hard work, effort and passion that the youngsters have put into their golf over the 26 week course. The excellent programme was designed by the resident coaches using

THE Al Badia Better Ball Open sponsored by TaylorMade was played in stunning conditions before the summer heat arrived and the duo of Daryl Blanchard and Andre Coetzee combined perfectly to shoot a superb score of 65 to win by two strokes. A front nine of 32 was followed by a 33 which included a net eagle on the picturesque 18th as they denied the pair of Mark Barge and Richard Holden who took second place on a countback from Morris Murphy and Ishpal Bajaj.

all of their experiences and expertise. During the course of the lessons youngsters not only learned the game of golf but they also improved their physical capacity to be able improve their golf as they grow in size. The ceremony was attended by in excess of 180 people and among the graduates some special awards were given out to the children who had showed extra effort, etiquette and a real thirst for playing golf. www.wwgolf.biz

SIZZLING GREENFEE RATES UAE residents can now enjoy unbelievable greenfee rates until 22nd September 2011 giving you the perfect reason to leave the hustle and bustle of city life behind.

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Al Hamra Golf Club, P.O. Box 6617, Ras Al Khaimah, U.A.E Tel: +971 7 2447474 Fax:+971 7 2447426 E-mail: enquiries@alhamragolf.com

www.alhamragolf.com

KELLY AND FARRELL BOOK ‘DREAM TICKET’ IAN Kelly and Denver Farrell of Arabian Ranches booked a dream trip to the International Pairs World Final with victory in the inaugural UAE National Final. The duo qualified for the Final in the very first Tech Access International Pairs UAE event in October 2010 and waited seven months for their chance to compete against pairs from15 other clubs. But their patience paid off as they emerged victorious, just a point ahead of the chasing pack. With a luxury trip up for grabs, competition on the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club course was fierce and trying to pick a pre-tournament favourite was impossible. Many eyes were on home representatives K.J. Singh and Naresh Handa but their solid round tailed off towards the end as they came home with 39 points, two behind the winners and only good enough for fourth place. Showcase of consistency With high winds affecting all players, the ladies appeared to suffer the most as mixed pairings occupied the bottom three places, with only Claire Warburton and partner Bob Driver mounting a serious challenge that ultimately came up short on the difficult 18th hole. The tough weather conditions played into the hands of the better players and so it proved as Kelly and Farrell came into the event with the lowest combined handicap and their score of 41 points was a showcase of consistency throughout. Both players contributed in the better-ball format as they scored six net birdies including one on the 18th – one of the toughest holes in the UAE.

Winners of the 2011 Tech Access International Pairs UAE Presented by Cadillac, Ian Kelly and Denver Farrell of Arabian Ranches Golf Club. This experienced pair deserve their place in the World Final, which will be played at The Carrick on the shores of Loch Lomond, Scotland. After finishing with a net eagle on their last hole, J.W. Choi and Roy Holmes from Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club came home with a commendable 40 points, which although good enough for second, was one behind the winners. Kevin Black and George Gourlay from The Els Club also scored 40 points but lost out on a countback over the last six holes and had to settle for third place.

TECH ACCESS DOMINATE THE SPONSORS’ EVENT WHILE pairs from 16 clubs around the UAE were competing for a dream trip to the International Pairs World Final in the inaugural UAE National Final, there was a separate event held for sponsors and their guests. Playing the same two-ball better-ball format as the serious contenders, representatives from Tech Access, Cadillac, Emirates Healthcare Ltd, Park Hyatt Dubai, Worldwide Golf and Sport 360

took to the Dubai Creek course. There were prizes up for grabs and the team comprising of the CEO of title sponsor, Tech Access, Shomail Ghalib prevailed, playing with talented local celebrity, Moshe Kohli. Playing alongside the fancied pairing of Klaas Boon and Farbod Dowlatshahi, also representing Tech Access, Moshe in particular, produced a stunning display of golf as they returned a score of 40 points. Moshe contributed no fewer than six net birdies although special mention must go to Shomail for a spectacular net eagle on the difficult second hole. Shomail and Moshe cruised to a comfortable threeshot victory with the second-placed all-lady team of Arina van der Vyver and Lin Born coming in with 37 points. The combination were representing Emirates Healthcare Ltd who manage the Welcare and City Hospitals in Dubai. They combined well to play some excellent golf with Lin in particular playing her part with two net eagles. A respectable score of 35 points saw the lowest handicappers in the field, Boon and Dowlatshahi secure third place.

Tech Access International Pairs UAE Presented by Cadillac 2011 Sponsors’ Event Winners, representing Tech Access – Shomail Ghalib and Moshe Kohli, pictured with John Stadwick, President and Managing Director of General Motors Middle East Operations.

ARABIAN GOLF

ARABIAN RANCHES GOLF CLUB CLOSE CALL IN INFINITI GOLF DAY

KHAN & WRIGHT FIND WINNING FORMULA Omer Khan returned a gross 4-over par 76 to win the June Rivoli Monthly Medal supported by Speed Cleaning & Aphrodite Hills. Khan who has had a few good results under his belt coming into this event performed brilliantly on a day where the RESULTS Men’s Gross Division extreme heat took its toll on st Omer Khan – 76 many of the competitors. This 1 2nd Paul Clark – 78 was Khan’s first Gross Title 3rd Steve Bennett – 78 in the Monthly Medal and a th 4 Denver Farrell – 78 fantastic result for one of the Club’s most avid supporters. Division A Net There seems to be a trend this 1st Valentin Teyssedre - 66 year for first-time winners as 2nd Andrew Perkins – 71 Omer’s victory marked the Division B Net third first-time winner. Jim Hurlbut – 68 1st Omer was steady from 2nd Shahid Mir - 72 Tee to Green and posted two birdies with a couple of Ladies Division bogeys on the back nine to 1st Net Adele McKelvey – 73 secure a well deserved victory. 2nd Net Annie Hainey - 74 He commented after his 1st Gross Haide Wright - 79 round: ‘It’s a great feeling to win your first Medal, especially having worked so hard on my game.” The division “A” Net title went to Valentin Teyssedre with a Net 66. Teyssedre was outstanding off his 11 handicap and set up the win with a fantastic outward 35. In division “B” Jim Hurlbut made a welcome return to the winner’s circle by posting a Net 68 to win by four shots from runner-up Shahid Mir. In the Ladies Division the trend of first-time winners continued when Haide Wright won her maiden Gross Title, posting 79 to edge out Club Champion Adele McKelvey by one shot. Adele went on to claim the top Net prize in the ladies division with a 73. Andy Burrow – Club Captain commented at the prize giving. “Our thanks go to Rivoli, Speed Cleaning & Elysian Real Estate for their generous support of one of our most prestigious events.”

Jean Marie Teyssedre and Shahid Mir scored 44 Stableford points to win the INFINITI Golf Day Betterball of Partners event in June by virtue of a countback from Jed Isbell and Andre Coetzee. Mir and Teyssedre compiled two halves of 19 and 25 points and after comparing that to Ibell and Coetzee’s 21 and 23 they were duly crowned champions thanks to their better back nine In the Ladies/Mixed Division Annie Hainey and Catherine Teyssedre took the spoils with a great performance posting 48 Stableford points, two points ahead Annie Hainey, Catherine Teyssedre, Jean Marie of Pauline and Graeme Wallace who Teyssedre and Shahid Mir are picturesd with Lady held the clubhouse lead for a while on Captain Adrienne Fullerton. 46 points.

KHAN AND WRIGHT SEAL THE JULY RIVOLI MONTHLY MEDAL HONOURS OMER Khan returned a gross 1-over par 73 to win the July Rivoli Monthly Medal supported by Speed Cleaning & ecco while Haide Wright took the Ladies Gross title with an 86. Both Khan and Wright came into the event defending the titles they won in June and accomplished a feat not equalled by many when they successfully defended their title as Medal Champions. The victory was even more impressive due to the tough conditions as the players had to manage their game well on a very hot, windy and sandy day. Omer was steady from tee to green and posted two birdies with a couple of bogeys on the back nine to secure a well deserved victory. ‘It’s a great feeling. I knew I had a chance to win after winning in June but I never expected to win back to back titles,” he said. The Division ‘A’ Net title went to Shane Callaghan with a net 65 while in Division ‘B’ Andy Barker continued his good form by posting a net 71 to win by four shots from Shahid Mir.

LOCATION: Emirates Road (311) in the heart of Arabian Ranches. CONTACT: Tel : +971 4 366 3000 Tel : +971 4 366 3355 INFO: Arabian Ranches Golf Club opened

its doors in February, 2004 and was built as a true 18 holes, par 72 desert-style grass course, a signature course designed by Ian Baker-Finch in association with Nicklaus Design. COURSE: Championship Course 7691-yard par 72.

Pictured: The winning teams alongside Club Captains Andy Burrow and Adrienne Fullerton.

Pictured above: Rhea Karanjia alongside Adrienne Fullerton, one half of the Clark-Fullerton winning team.

PAUL CLARK AND ADRIENNE FULLERTON SEAL THE DEAL PAUL Clark and Adrienne Fullerton were crowned Champions in the second qualifier of the SIAN Events Golf Series recently and will go on to compete in the Final in December. The series consists of three qualifying rounds with the top ten teams from each qualifier going through to compete in the Final and on a perfect day for scoring Fullerton and Clark managed a superb combined Stableford points total of 74, two points clear of Kevin Barrett and Shane Callaghan. The prize presentation was conducted by Club Captain Andy Burrow with the assistance of the SIAN Events Team, who thanked all the players for a fantastic turnout and a wonderful day..

FRED WATTS WINS INDIVIDUAL STABLEFORD FRED Watts posted a brilliant 43 Stableford points to win the Individual Stableford in June by one stroke from Graham

Tickell and Richard Hall. Each competitor used their index as the Tournament handicap allowance taken at the appropriate stroke index holes. Watts took full advantage of a perfect day for golf by scoring an outward half of 23 points with six net birdies on his card. He kept his cool on the back nine where he posted a further 20 points with the only blemish on his card coming at the 16th where he scored an uncharacteristic zero points. Tickell took second place outright by virtue of his better back nine, while in the Ladies division Karen Evans posted 42 points to claim the title by two points from Denise Alcock.

SWAN AND WOOD FLY TO VICTORY THE team of Gary Swan and Graham Wood were crowned 2-Player Strokeplay Scramble Champions in June. There was an encouraging turnout of 76 players competing in this popular team event. In this format both players tee off, the best positioned ball is selected and both players play from the selected position until the ball is holed out. Each team received 30 per cent handicap allowance of the two players’ combined handicaps unless the combined handicap is higher than the lowest player’s handicap then the lowest player’s handicap is used. The men played from the blue tees at 6,700 yards and ladies from the red tees at 5,500 yards. Swan and Wood are regular supporters of the Tournaments at ARGC and used a combined handicap allowance of 3.6 for this event. They made the most of their opportunities on a day when everything seemed to go their way. They combined for 10 gross birdies to give them an outward half of 30 and an inward half of 32 for a gross 62 net 58.7. Their victory was by a small

margin from runners-up Pieter Van Wyk and Tobias Parkin on 65. The best net prize on the day went to Andy Barker and Paul Clark with a score of 60. The pair went out in 33 and in with 32, posting seven gross birdies along the way. In the Ladies/Mixed Division Phil and Denise Alcock ran out victors with a brilliant net 59.2. Frank and Louise Doyle came close but had to settle for the runners-up spot having posted 62.6 RESULTS Men’s Net 1st – Paul Clark & Andy Barker – 60 2nd – Seamus Clune & David Alexander – 61.7 Men’s Gross 1st Gary Swan & Graham Wood - 62 2nd Pieter Van Wyk & Tobias Parkin – 65 Ladies/Couples Division 1st Net – Phil & Denise Alcock – 59.2 2nd Net – Frank & Louise Doyle – 62.6

LERETZ WINS INDIVIDUAL STABLEFORD AT ARGC JACQUES Leretz (11) carried off a brilliant 41 point haul to win the Individual Stableford in July but had to rely on a countback to secure the title over Anthony Grayling. Both players finished with the same total but Leretz’s stronger back nine of 19 points helped him clinch the title. In the Ladies division, Karen Evans posted 35 points to claim the title by one point from Lady Captain Adrienne Fullerton.

Men’s Champion Jacques Leretz, Lady Captain Adrienne Fullerton and Ladies’ Champion Karen Evans. www.wwgolf.biz

ARABIAN GOLF

EMIRATES GOLF CLUB ESTAFANOUS WINS THE 19TH DUBAI DUTY FREE GOLF CUP MICHAEL Estafanous of Dubai Creek Golf andYacht Club fired 40 points over the Faldo course to clinch the 19th Dubai Duty Free Golf Cup recently as he edged out Kapil Dutta by just one stroke. Dutta was left to claim the Men’s Division title and his 39 point tally was also good enough to secure the best senior score of the day. Abizher Mohammed signed for 38 points to secure second place behind Dutta with Parth Goel one shot further adrift in third. The Ladies competition was a keenly fought contest with Maureen Platt the victor on 34 points, one clear of Angela Kammer and Joy Lirio, with Kammer taking the runners-up place with a better back nine of 19 points. The best gross of the day was a 2-over par 74 from Stephen Reid following four dropped shots and two birdies while the best junior of the day was Dhruv Nair with a 35-point tally and also in the prizes was Rey Lapa whose 34 points earned him top prize in the Seniors Division. Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, said: “The annual Dubai Duty Free Golf Cup has been running for 19 years and the tournament has grown quite popular, with 107 entries this year. I would like to thank Emirates Golf Club for organising this wonderful event and look forward to seeing you all next year.”

Dubai Duty Free’s Manager – Human Resources, Nic Bruwer presented the trophy to Michael Estafanous – Overall winner of DDF Golf Cup 2011.

YUH YING LU CLINCHES THE TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS IN a day of low scoring over the Majlis course Yuh Ying Lu carded a net 67 to triumph in the end-of-season Tournament of Champions. The event saw all the winners from the 2010 season battle it out for the coveted Champion of Champions title and it was Lu who came out on top with a superb 5-under-par score and her superior back nine saw her clinch the title from Nancy Wingate on a countback. Stephanie Wilson followed her Golfer of the Year success with a third place finish having posted a round of 68 while the best gross of the day went to Jayshree Gupta following her 80. For those members who hadn’t qualified for the Tournament of Champions a Stableford competition took place with Janice Gwilliam signing for 41 points to clinch Silver Division with Angela Kammer carding 36 points to take top honours in Bronze Division.

Players line up for a group shot outside the clubhouse. Inset: The ceremonial tee shot is struck by H.E. Philippine Consul General Benito Valeriano.

HADLEY WINS THE THIRD PHILIPPINE INDEPENDENCE INVITATIONAL THE Filipino Golfers in the Middle East (FIGME) celebrated the 113th Anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence and David Hadley (8) topped a strong field of 72 players with an excellent haul of 36 Stableford points. The tournament was played to a ¾ handicap individual Stableford and Hadley, an honorary member of FIGME and the CEO of Emirates Healthcare Limited, shot an impressive gross 78 to accumulate the best Stableford score. H.E. Philippine Consul General Benito Valeriano

led the opening ceremony with a straight tee shot and he expressed his gratitude to all the participants and the organising committee (FIGME officers and members) for making the event possible. The shot of the day was by Ramon Navea (11) as he eased to the Nearest the Pin prize on hole 7 with a rifled 6-iron into the wind which landed just eight inches from the cup. Platinum Division Winners (0-12) saw Adam Hahn, Eric Matabang and Pat Morrow in the winning circle with 33 and 32 points a piece.

LOCATION: Emirates Hills, Interchange 5 Sheikh Zayed Road, opposite the Hard Rock Café. CONTACT: (04) 380 2222 egc@dubaigolf.com Book online tee times at www.dubaigolf.com

INFO: Majlis Course – 1988 Faldo Course – 1996, re-designed in 2006 Courses: Majlis – 18 holes, Par 72, 7,211 yards, Championship course. Faldo Course – 18 holes, Par 72, 7,433 yards. DESIGNERS: Majlis Course – Karl Litten Faldo course – Sir Nick Faldo

David Gray (Dubai Creek Golf Services Manager), Paul Byrne, Barney Coleman (EGC Golf Services Manager)

HAMILTON, BYRNE AND MALATTIRI SCORE WELL IN BMW MEDAL

REID WINS OPENING ROUND THE third edition of the Dubai Golf Summer Series got underway in June under the new sponsorship of Interem and Stephen Reid from the EGF took the top prize having won a three-man card countback. A total of 77 players took part as Reid tied at the top with Paul Barbone and John Coupland with matching hauls of 37 Stableford points but Reid’s inward nine of 20 points saw him take home the title. Barbone sealed second place with his back nine of 18 points leaving Coupland in third place. Reid was also awarded with the Best Gross prize thanks to his 1-over 73 which was followed by Michael Robson’s 75. Robson clinched the Longest Drive challenge on the 16th while Inaan Budhiraja and Clive Rogerson won the Nearest the Pin contests on holes 8 and 12 respectively – Rogerson was two inches away from a rare hole-in-one. Over the series the best three of potentially four Stableford scores will be tabulated and the individual with the highest total will win the grand prize sponsored by Interem to be declared the Dubai Golf Sumer Series Champion for 2011.

THE inaugural Dubai Golf BMW Medal was staged over the Faldo course and included members of both Emirates Golf Club and sister club Dubai Creek and it was Paul Byrne who took the spoils after signing for a net 69. The highlight of his consistent performance was a gross birdie on the 515-yard 3rd hole. Byrne’s closest challengers in Division ‘A’ (hcp 0-9) were Jignesh Sangani and Patrick Morrow who both finished three shots back with Sangani taking second place outright following a card countback. The best gross score of the day went to Bradley Hamilton who returned a round of 75 which included an eagle and only a late run of three bogeys saw him post a 3-over-par total. Kuttan Malattiri clinched Division ‘B’ (hcp 10+) with a best of the day 68 while Nigel Hopkins produced a timely return to form with a net 70 to take secomd place from Suresh Shewakramani and Neil Taylor who both shot a 72.

SHEWAKRAMANI DRIVES AWAY WITH A COUNTBACK VICTORY

Alan MacKenzie, Director of Golf Dubai Golf pictured with event winner Suresh Shewakramani.

SURESH Shewakramani defeated Choon Park with a card countback to win the Dubai Golf BMW Monthly Medal in July after both players carded excellent rounds of 68. Shewakramani clinched the Division ‘B’ (hcp 11-28) title thanks largely to a gross birdie on the 161-yard par-3 11th while Kuttan Malattiri continued his fine form from the previous medal with a 70 to finish third. Division ‘A’ was keenly contested with three players all carding a net 71 and the player emerging victorious was Tony Azoulay after a back nine that included eight pars and just one bogey on the 447yard 12th. Darren Cole took the runners-up place with Johnny Aldridge in third but Aldridge did have the fillip of securing the Best Gross score of the day with a 74.

AMARNANI CROWNED THE CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS NELLY Amarnani returned a fantastic performance of net 66 in the end of season finale to clinch the Tournament of Champions, two strokes clear of Tony Hutchinson and Ed Hesson. Commencing his round on the seventh hole of the Majlis course he got off to the perfect start with a birdie two on the 160-yard par-3 and he followed that with pars on the difficult hole 8 and 9. A consistent round from then on in including a further birdie on the par-5 13th paved the way for a superb victory. The best gross round of the day came from Joel Neale as signed for a 2-over-par 74 and it could have been a lot better for the Emirates Amateur Open Champion if he hadn’t suffered a quadruple bogey 7 on his final hole, the par-3 seven. www.wwgolf.biz

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LOCATION: Deira, opposite Deira City Centre.

ARABIAN GOLF

DUBAI CREEK GOLF & YACHT CLUB

CONTACT: Tel : + 9714 295 6000 dcgyc@dubaigolf.com Book online tee times at www.dubaigolf.com

INFO: First Open 1993, redesigned in 2005. Course: 18 holes, Par 71, 6,857 yards, Championship course. Original Designer: Karl Litten. Redesign: European Golf Design in association with Thomas Björn.

DUBAI CREEK MATCHPLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS 2010/2011 AFTER 150 members competed in three divisions throughout the 2010/2011 season the winners of the men’s singles, men’s doubles and ladies’ singles match play titles have been crowned. In the men’s singles match play Allan Stanton defeated the defending champion Paul Saad during a tight battle to secure the honours. Stanton was two down with three to play but fired a superb iron shot to several feet for birdie at the 16th hole to apply some much-needed pressure. A win on the 18th extended the match and Stanton won on the first extra hole with a solid par. The men’s doubles witnessed the Saad brothers, Paul and Christopher, take the top spot as they worked their way to the final where they defeated Patrick Morrow and David Gowans on the 17th hole. In the ladies division Naema Maya – a match play dynamo – reached her third final and faced the in-form Yuko Tsukiori, defeating the favourite with another victory on the 17th. In the scratch match play section the top two seeds reached the final and where an amazing comeback saw them card three

Pictured above: (from left to right) Christopher and Paul Saad, Doubles Champions, Naema Maya, Ladies Champion, Allan Stanton, Men’s Champion receiving their Omega prizes and Champions Trophies from Dubai Creek Club Captain Joseph Andrade. gross birdies over the last seven holes Miki Mirza to defeat Paul King to add the match play title to his Club Championship title. “Omega has long been associated with the royal and ancient game of golf, and as golf is growing tremendously, we are proud to contribute to and associate ourselves with this

development, especially within the booming city of Dubai,” said sponsor Omega’s Vice President Raynald Aeschlimann. “Golf and luxury watch making have a lot in common, as both demand high precision, extreme dedication and a commitment to constantly raise performance benchmarks.”

THE WEST TEAM FINALLY PREVAILS THE fifth annual Creek Cup was played over the Dubai Creek Course recently and the two teams were split into players from the East and West of Dubai for a truly international showdown. Club Captain Joseph Andrade captained the East Team and Vice-Captain Ara Nakhnikian captained the West Team. The format saw the teams’ second to the 11th highest point scores added up to decide the total and for the first time in the last four years the West prevailed. Nakhnikian led his team to a grand total of 315 Stableford points to crush the East team who finished with 302 points. The 10 contributing players were Warren Panting (33pts), Stephen Fidler (33pts), Adam Sweeny (33pts),

Rabih Sfeila (33pts), John Wright (32pts), Vanessa North-Panting (31pts), High Bishop (30pts), Mark McCarthy (30pts), David Gowans (30pts) and Charles Jones with (30pts). The best individual prize of the day went to Madhav Nair with a very respectable 37 points in the heat and humidity. Runner-up was Craig McBride with 36 points by one point from K.S Park by virtue of his better back nine.

Pictured left: The West Team Captain Ara Nakhnikian proudly hoists Creek Cup alongside his team members. Picured right: DCGYC Club Captain Joseph Andrade presents the Creek Cup to the winning West Team Captain and Club Vice-Captain Ara Nakhnikian.

Pictured: (Left) Rayhan Thomas receives his best gross prize. (Right) Toby Bishop collects his prize after winning the Bronze category with 42 points.

THE COMPETITION HEATS UP AT SUMMER MEETING PART two of ‘The Meetings’, a Junior competition series run in conjunction with the Junior Development Programme at the Dubai Creek Golf Academy, kicked off over Dubai Creek’s par-3 course recently and featured a strong field including Al Naboodah Series OOM leaders Rayhan Thomas, Aryan Chordia and the Nair brothers. True to form Rayhan made nine straight pars to win the Best Gross prize on a countback over Aryan while the Masters category was won by Rishi Nair but brother Druv could only manage to pick up the Nearest the Pin prize on his way to a score of 29. The Gold medal went to Abu Torab Arghandiwal with a score of 36 while Silver went to Ahmed Al Budoor with a 38 and Toby Bishop scored a fantastic 42 to win the Bronze category. www.wwgolf.biz

LOCATION: Just off the 5th Interchange of Sheik Zayed Road towards Emirates Hills. Follow signs for Emirates Hills and then follow signs for The Address Montgomerie, Dubai.

ARABIAN GOLF

THE MONTGOMERIE DUBAI

CONTACT: Tel: +9714 390 5600 Fax: +9714 360 8981

COURSE: 18 hole Championship; 7,308 yard par 75 from the Black Pearl tees; 6,753 yard par 72 from the Sapphire tees; 6,172 yard par 69 from the Emerald tees; 5,401 yard par 71 from the Ruby tee 9-hole Academy Course.

INFO: Opened October 2002

DESIGNER: Colin Montgomerie

Above: (l-r) Annie Brown, Tej Ghuldu, Kerry Fitzpatrick, Qamar Rasheed, Lise Slane, Rajinder Razdan, Ananya Sharma, Paul Pitman, and Stephen Steyn.

MONTHLY MEDAL MAGIC Above: (l-r) Tudor Arsene, Jonathan Perry, Ariel Ignacio, Jeffery Singer, Paul Pitman, Sascha Haake, Lise Slane, Mike Welch and Chris Ross.

IGNACIO IGNITES THE HEAT

PLAYING together in a two-man Texas scramble event, Jeffrey Singer (20) and Ariel Ignacio (scratch), combined to shoot a blistering 65 to win the gross prize in the June Rivoli Members and Guest scramble by three strokes. Paul Pitman and Paul Pinabad couldn’t match the pace but did pick up the Division ‘A’ honours with a net 62.75 with Jonathan Perry and his guest Tudor Arsene collecting the Division ‘B’ title with a 63.25.

ARABIAN GOLF

JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES

IN the sweltering heat of the Dubai summer, 72 players braved the sun to compete in the June Monthly Medal and taking the honours in the Ladies Gross section was Kerry Fitzpatrick with junior member Ananya Sharma taking the Ladies Net title. In the Men’s Division, Tej Ghulda blew away the field with a net 64 to top Division ‘B’, while the quietly constant Rajinder Razdan took the spoils in Division ‘A’ with a net 68. Men’s Captain Paul Pitman couldn’t catch Stephen Steyn who took the Best Gross with a solid 76. LOCATION: Off Emirates Road (direction Sharjah), after the Green Community roundabout, exit on the right side. CONTACT: Tel: +971 4 390 3333 Fax: +971 4 367 9584 www.jumeirahgolfestates.com/golf/

INFO: The first two of four courses – Fire and Earth – opened for play on December 1st 2009. Greg Norman designed both courses with Earth playing host to The European Tour’s final tournament on The Race to Dubai – The Dubai World Championship.

FROUDE AND PERROT WIN MONTHLY MEDAL ACCOLADES DESPITE continually rising temperatures, the Jumeirah Golf Estates members were out in full force to challenge for the June Monthly Medal honours over the Earth course and in the Net Division Alan Froude fired a 4-under 68 to win by one stroke from Michael Cowley. A further stroke back in third place was Ryan Perkins who returned a net score of 70. Bilbo Perrot produced a superb round of 70 to canter to victory in the Gross Division by nine shots. A tremendous front nine of 34, which included two birdies and no dropped shots was complemented by a back nine of 36 as he eased to the title. The on-course challenges were won by Caroline Lamb, who claimed the Longest Drive on hole 9, and Terry Waite following his well judged approach to the front right pin location on the par-3, 17th.

HIGH SCORES IN THE BMW AGMC MEMBERS GUEST DAY THE May BMW AGMC Members and Guests tournament was hotly contested over the Fire course as players competed in a four-player combined Stableford format. The best two from four scores were taken on the par-4s and par-5s while all four Stableford scores were recorded on the par-3s. The team finishing top of the pile with a score of 105 points consisted of Shahriar Khodjaste, Sergy DíSouza, Satnam Singh and Sandeep Singh as they secured a two-point victory over Andrew Rotteveel, Charles Jones and Douglas Cameron, who despite missing a fourth player produced an abundance of excellent golf to return 103 points. Robert Duce, Stephen Drake, Mick Fennel and Gavin Steel scored 98 points to take the final place on the podium.

ARABIAN GOLF

SHARJAH GOLF & SHOOTING CLUB BIG WINS FOR KIM, DEMESA, LIU AND STEWART IN THE AIR ARABIA MATCH PLAY THE quartet of Golden Kim and wife Normita Demesa (Pairs), George Liu (Gross) and Jacqui Stewart (Net) wrote their names into the Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club history books by winning their respective divisions at the Air Arabia Match Play Championship. Kim (17) and Demesa (26) took 15 holes to dispatch their opponents Martin Duff (0) and T. S. Char (17) in the final, thanks to an awesome stretch of golf after the turn. The duo made four consecutive pars for net birdies from the 12th to clinch a 4 & 3 victory. In the Gross category George Liu (2), arguably the finest golfer at SGSC, finally added a Gross title to his extensive CV. After a string of runnerup and third place finishes from Liu in the Match Play and Club Championships, the man from Taiwan finally made it to the top of the podium, beating one of SGSC’s most improved players throughout the past season – Hassan

YazdI (7) 3 & 2 in a nip and tuck final. Jacqui Stewart made up for last year’s disappointment of losing in the final to go one better and beat the pre-match favourite Normita Demesa by a 2 & 1 margin. s

FAMAJAYA SECURES THE MIDWEEK MADNESS STABLEFORD YOUNGSTER Azamrul Famajaya took home the title in the recent Coral Beach Hotels & Resort Midweek Madness Stableford competition with an impressive 22 points from the nine holes played. Two behind and in second place was Michael Connolly who had a steady round but lost out on the chance of victory after taking just one point from the final hole. Five players tied on 18 points and had to be separated by a countback to decide the final place on the podium and it was J.S. Park who prevailed, beating Abdul Moiz Khan when the cards were compared.

George Liu receives his prize for winning the Gross category from Hassna Alaoui of Air Arabia.

YAZDI SECURES FINAL MEDAL TO TOP THE TABLE THE final Orient Travel Medal of the year turned out to be hugely influential in deciding the overall Order of Merit standings as the top three golfers from the eight medals go on to compete for SGSC in the World Golf Championships in Malaysia. Hassan Yazdi needed a good round to secure his position in the top three and he kept his composure by winning the Medal

Hassan Yazdi is presented with his prize after winning the final OTM to clinch the Order of Merit title.

with a net score of 73 which also helped him claim the Order of Merit for 2010/2011 In second place with a 74 was Korean J.S. Park who defeated the ever-improving James Brown after a card countback, while the Best Gross prize went to George Lui who shot an 80 but had to settle for second place on the final Order of Merit standings.

1. Hassan Yazdi

129.5

2. George Liu

124.5

3. Roy Holmes

113.5

4. Vinod Arya

104.8

5. James Brown

91.5

6. Diana Brown

84.5

7. Chandan Vaidya

81.5

8. Golden Kim

8. NormitaDemesa

10. Mel Stewart

ORIENT TRAVEL & MALAYSIA TRULY ASIA STABLEFORD FUN SCORING was excellent in the first summer edition of the Orient Travel & Malaysia Truly Asia Order of Merit with Pritpal Singh romping home at 10-under-par with a 46 points total. Pritpal, who plays off a handicap of 19, held his nerve on the back nine and came home with an unbeatable 25 points for a score of 46. In second position was Irish golfer Larry Burke who recorded a superb score of 43 which would usually equate to a winning score in most Stableford competitions, but not on this occasion. A further five points back was Ahmed Khan who bagged 38 points for third place. The best Gross score of the day went to Michael Connelly who knocked it round the Sharjah course in 27 gross Stableford points, the equivalent of 9-over-par. Thanks went to Orient Travel & Malaysia Truly Asia who once again kindly sponsored the golfers’ dinner after play, thus making for a great atmosphere at the presentation ceremony.

BAUER CLINCHES MIDWEEK STABLEFORD PETER Bauer defeated Alphonse Fernandes on a last six hole countback to win the Coral Beach Resort Midweek Stableford recently after both players secured 21 points over nine holes. Bauer finished impressively with a birdie at the par-3 eighth hole, which netted him four points and played a huge part in his countback triumph while J.S. Park took third spot on 20 points.

Orient Travel & Malaysia Truly Asia Monthly Medal winners.

LOCATION: 2km from Tasjeel Auto Village behind Emirates Road. A five minute drive from University City.

INFO: A 9-hole fully floodlit course designed by Peter Harradine. Played twice results in a par-72 layout in excess of 7,300 yards.

CONTACT: Tel: +971 6 548 7777 info@golfandshootingshj.com

GOLDEN KIM TRIUMPHS AT SUMMER OPEN GOLDEN Kim prevailed over a strong field of 95 enthusiastic golfers in the Summer Open Golf Championship rafter returning respective nines of 20 and 22 for a 42 point total. Kim played in the 8.0am shotgun and picked up points on every hole of his round, including five net birdies and two net eagles en route to collecting the trophy. The field was split into five additional divisions with male 0-14 handicappers forming Division A, male 15-28 handicappers forming Division B and there was also Men’s and Ladies Gross categories and a Ladies Net division. M. S. Jhang of Al Badia Golf Club, Dubai, won Division A after falling one short of Kim’s total for the overall prize, while regular SGSC visitor Nick Hymas took second place on 39 points. Division

B was an extremely tight contest with a threeway tie on 40 points for first place. Dave Lamb eventually prevailed after a countback with Gan Baisong finishing second and Peter Gutteridge taking third place. George Lui made the most of home advantage to steer away pre-Gross tournament favourites Miki Mirza and Paul King as he returned 34 scratch Stableford points. Schoolteacher Ian Plant, who was making a rare appearance in tournament golf, took second place on 31 points after he defeated Mirza on a countback, while in the Ladies division the talented Georgina Lui , daughter of Gross champion George, carded 41 Stableford points in her first ever 18 hole tournament. Sandra Grenet won the Ladies Gross division with 20 points.

Winners Mark Dupree, Ian Plant, Jessie De Vries, Pieter Van Wyk and Roy Holmes with their trophies and prizes.

THE pairings of J. S. Park (10) with J.N. Ko (11), and Ian Plant (4) with newcomer Jessie De Vries (36) starred in SGSC’s June edition of the BMW Members and Guest Social event. The Korean pairing romped through the opening nine holes to an unmatched total of net 29 to triumph in the Betterball Medal format. For the tournament’s second loop of nine holes Jessie De Vries, a former tennis professional, produced an impressive competitive debut performance and was ably assisted by her partner Ian Plant as theyNEWS equalled GOLF SOCIETY the Koreans’ total to win the two-ball foursomes format. Novelty prizes went to Peter Van Wyk and new member Mark Dupree who secured Nearest the Pin accolades and Roy Holmes who smashed the Longest Drive on the day.

Golden Kim (kneeling in the centre) with the trophy, and all the day’s winners with their prizes and Michael Smith of Worldwide Limited (back right).

PARK, KO, PLANT AND DE VRIES STAR IN BMW SOCIAL EVENT

JEBEL ALI GOLF RESORT & SPA

LOCATION: The Resort course is situated within the idyllic grounds of Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa, approximately 40 minutes away from Dubai city centre, exit 13 on Sheikh Zayed highway.

INFO: First opened 1997.

CONTACT: Tel : +971 4 8836000

DESIGNER: Peter Harradine.

COURSE: Championship standard 9 hole course – par 36.

GORDON POVEY POWERS TO AL MUNTAZAH OPEN VICTORY

(From left to right) Martin Grove, Brian Kelly, Liam King, Soren Kraen, Sean Halford, Nick Burnett and Christine Hudson.

LIAM IS THE KING OF THE FIGS LIAM King mentored his team of Martin Grove and Brian Kelly to success in the latest FIGS Golf Society event held at the Resort course. The team scored 86 points with the best two scores counting per hole, leaving Gavin McDonald, Christine Hudson and Nick Burnett

in second place with 78 points. Kelly wrapped up a fine day by also winning the Nearest the Pin prize on hole 2 with Robbie Williams winning the same prize on hole 8. The long hitters of the day were Nick Burnett and Martin Grove who won the Long Drive competitions on hole 7 and 9 respectively.

Three-way winner Gordon Povey tees off at the first hole.

GORDON Povey used his vast experience around the Resort course to win the 2011 Al Muntazah Open with a 34 Stableford point haul, one point clear of Damian Murphy with Colin Fisher finishing third on 32 points. The team prize was won by the foursome of Colin and Kieran Fisher, Marc Andrew and Gordon ‘Koji’ Mclean, while individual winner Gordon Povey’s team finished second. Povey then finished off a fine afternoon by also claiming both the Nearest the Pin prize on hole 11 and the Longest Drive on hole 16.

LOCATION: Al Ain PO Box 1471 United Arab Emirates

ARABIAN GOLF

AL AIN EQUESTRIAN, SHOOTING & GOLF CLUB

CONTACT: Tel : +971 3 7026400 Fax: +971 3 7683331 golf@palmsportsresort.com

INFO: The Championship Golf Course offers a picturesque and challenging experience for all golfers. The professionally designed par 71 course measures 6612 yards from the black tees and 6129 from the blue tees.

BILL ‘BLACK TEE’ BROWN MASTERS THE JUNE MEDAL THE rising temperatures didn’t stop 44 players from taking to the course for the 8.00am shotgun start in the June Monthly Medal and it was Bill Brown who stole the show with an excellent gross 77 for a net 68 which landed him top spot in Division ‘A’. Brown was 6-over-par after his eleventh hole of the day but a great run of seven pars to close out his round secured him the title. Second place went to Morgan Ashford as he lost out to Brown on a countback but he did manage to take the Best Gross honours with his superb 73. Division ‘B’ went to Malcolm Miller with his excellent 76 gross for a net 66. Three birdies in his round helped him compile nines of 37 and 39 which was good enough to secure the top spot from Carel Nolte who shot a gross 78 for a net 68. The ‘Student of the Month’ Richie Herrington took the honours in Division ‘C’ despite beginning his round with a triple bogey. He then dropped a further five shots but pulled it back with late birdies and returned a gross 81 for a net 66. Russell Cash had nines of 42 and 43 for his gross 85 and a net 70 to take second place, while the final two prizes were claimed by Phil

Dawe and Randy Scott. Both Dawe and Scott returned 34 points in Division ‘D’ and after a countback it was Dawe who prevailed with 20 points on the back nine compared to Scott’s 19. Nearest the Pin winners for the day were Bogdan Schiopu, Stewart Mitchell, Brian Cunniffe, Randy Scott and Karen Larkin.

JUNIORS STAGE SUPERB COMEBACK HISTORY was made in June when the Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club Junior Team came back from a five point deficit to beat the team from Arabian Ranches Golf Club, Dubai, 10.5 – 7.5 in the Club’s first ever inter-club challenge match. The Al Ain Juniors (pictured left) showed no mercy as they pummeled the opposition 9.5 – 1.5 on the final day and the win highlights just how far the AESGC juniors have some in the past 16 months.

AL GHAZAL GOLF CLUB

LOCATION: Just 400 metres from Abu Dhabi Airport by road. CONTACT: Tel : +971 2 5758040 Fax: +971 2 5758041

CLUBHOUSE BAR Tel: +971 2 5758044 ACADEMY DIRECT Tel: +971 2 5758185 www.alghazalgolf.ae Email: golfclub@adhc.adac.ae

BLANCHARD AT THE DOUBLE BERNIE Blanchard led his team of Lady Captain Deborah Castle, Anette Rego and Mike Latham to victory in a recent ‘Hit ‘n Giggles’ competition courtesy of an excellent score of nett 22. Their score gave them a 0.7 shot victory over Peter McManus, Keith Sargeant and Sue and Will Murray. The following week Blanchard was again victorious by the same margin only this time with a completely different team of Richard Whiteside, Anette Rego, Martin Sutherland and Toni Briegel. The DDH trophy went to Asaad, Juma, Bakheet and Gul on 29.1 while the Nearest the Pin and

Long Drive challenges both went to Martin Sutherland. Sue Murray struck the Longest Drive in the Ladies section. Finally, the WAD Trophy was presented to Paul Carrahar for scoring the perfect ace on hole 11 the day before the competition in a friendly match – his second hole in one on the same hole following the one he scored back in 2009. LEFT, ABOVE: Winners Mike Latham, Lady Captain Deborah Castle, Toni Briegel, Anette Rego and Bernie Blanchard. LEFT, BELOW: WAD Trophy and Hole-in-One scorer Paul Carrahar with the sponsors and Lady Captain Deborah Castle.

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Pro Sports International, PO Box 26723, Dubai, UAE. Sign up to The Comfort Zone, our free e-newsletter, at footjoy.co.uk

CONTACT: Tel : +9712 558 8990

ARABIAN GOLF

INFO: The 27 hole championship course, managed by the world-renowned Troon Golf, weaves through undulating terrain that features palms, ornamental trees and shrubs, as well

ABU DHABI GOLF CLUB

as seven spectacular saltwater lakes. The experience provides a tough-but-fair challenge, with lush fairways, strategically placed bunkers and generous greens. Designed by Peter Harradine, planting had begun way back in 1992, accounting for the well-established look the Club presented even on the day of its inauguration.

FUN FOR ALL AT ANNUAL ASSOCIATES TOURNAMENT THE Annual Associates Golf Tournament took place recently with 12 teams taking part in a Team Texas Scramble Format and it was the threesome of Rodolfo Fuentabella, Michael Pababero and Carlo Alpuerta who took the title with an excellent score of 53.9 to pip Richard Canja, Jennifer Gulara, Bong Borito and Chef Tony into second place. The best-dressed team award went to Rodel Naval, Godfrey Vilasanta and Reynaldo Ambe who stood out in their bright yellow shorts.

HIGH SCORES IN SHAMBLE

ABU DHABI GOLF PROMISE TO ‘KEEP WALKING’ WITH Summer in full swing Abu Dhabi Golf Club guarantees to ‘Keep Walking’ despite the heat, right through to the end of September. Having teed off weeks ago, the ‘Keep Walking’ series has already attracted large fields for its early Wednesday evening, ninehole, shotgun event. Week 10 of the series was the ”Favourite 5” competition where players select their best five Stableford scores from the nine holes played. With consistent low scoring on the day, four players all tied on 13 points and after a card countback the 2010 Keep Walking Series Champion David De Angelo who prevailed after beating Joy Mills, Gerhard Snyman and Shamal Karim to take the honours.

Last summer’s Keep Walking Series Champion, David De Angelo. After 10 weeks of competition, it’s getting close at the top with Nigel Husk leading the way with 53.5 points from Donovan Joseph on 47 points and Leon Pretorius on 46 points. With another 15 weeks to go there is still plenty to play for in the 2011 Keep Walking Series.

SAADIYAT BEACH GOLF CLUB NEW SAADIYAT COMPETITION GOES ‘DOWN’ A TREAT SAADIYAT Beach Golf Club’s new 9-hole competition went ‘down’ a treat as more than 40 golfers took part in the Saadiyat Sundowner Competition. Despite searing temperatures the hardy golfers teed off with the incentive of great prizes and great food on offer at the end of play and the winner of the PowerPlay competition was James Wood while the Individual Stableford event saw Kevin Wieczorek take the top spot with Raymond Rice finishing second. Prizes were presented during the Traditional South African Braai (BBQ) courtesy of Springbok Butchery which is an integral part of the afternoon event and Ken Kosak, General Manager of Saadiyat Beach Golf Club was delighted with the turnout. “The Saadiyat Sundowner is played in a social, friendly atmosphere on course and is followed by a great social and networking event,” he said. “A different event format is played each

Power Play winner Raymond Rice (l) is pictured with Individual Stableford winner Andy Tyson and runner-up Leon Pretorious.

OVER 60 players took part in the annual Members End of Season Golf Tournament at a sun drenched Abu Dhabi Golf Club to celebrate the end of a busy season of members events and the aptly named team “Hook! Slice! Top it and Swear” comprising of Andy and Lina Tyson, Hilary Knight and Tim Kelly produced an excellent net score of 23 under par to take the title. They pipped John

LOCATION: Saadiayat Beach Golf club is situated on Saadiyat Island, 700m off the coast of Abu Dhabi. The Gary Player designed course is a 317 acre par-72 beach/ links style Championship course featuring three lakes and 67

Martin Baldock, winner of the second Sundowner competition at SBGC.

week, and we have already seen a number of repeat bookings which highlights its growing popularity.” Martin Baldock won the second instalment of the Sundowner Competition after getting to grips with the PowerPlay format while the

Albertson, Adrian Raisbeck, Jim Mulvehill and Rob Carrow (The Gringos) into second by one shot while third place was also a very close affair with two teams returning the same score of 20-under-par for the round. However, the ‘French Lovers’ team of Jeff and Cathy Feron along with Frederic and Pascal Michel claimed the prize by virtue of a better second nine hole score.

bunkers and offers stunning views across the Gulf. CONTACT: T: +971 2 557 8000 F: +971 2 557 8001 E: info@sbgolfclub.ae W: http://www.sbgolfclub.ae

(l-r )Kevin Wieczorek, Raymond Rice, James Wood and Kirk Cottrell.

Individual Stableford winner was Peter De Beer with Raymond Rice second. In the most recent edition it was Rice’s turn to win as he claimed the PowerPlay title while Andy Tyson won the Individual Stableford with Leon Pretorious finishing second. www.wwgolf.biz

LOCATION: Situated just 20 minutes drive from Bahrain’s capital, Manama, the Royal Golf Club boasts the country’s only 18hole grass golf course which

ARABIAN GOLF

ROYAL GOLF CLUB BAHRAIN FORMER LADY CAPTAIN LEADS TEAM TO VICTORY

forms the stunning centrepiece of Riffa Views, a residential lifestyle community. CONTACT: Tel: +973 17 750777

SUPER SUMMER TUITION SALE

THE 2010 Lady Captain, Dena Wales, led her team of Claus Hansen, Dave Garbutt and Steve Wagstaff to victory in the Ladies “Excuse Me” event with a superb net 60.1 in a Texas Scramble format in searing heat. Their tally was good enough to take the title by 0.7 shots from the team of Hanne Hansen, Ed Daly, Rob Lane and Stan Kwik with the foursome of Ray Bruhn, Kevin Ross, Andy Wieser and team captain Karen Black making up the top three with a score of 61.6 net.

The winning team of Dena Wales with (l – r) Steve Wagstaff, Claus Hansen and Dave Garbutt.

CHRIS MILNER CROWNED ETIQUETTE CHAMPION

Great discounts on golf lessons this summer

THE Royal Golf Club continued its initiative for 2011 by rewarding the member portraying the best standard of etiquette on the golf course during each quarter and following Madden Broadbent’s win in quarter one, quarter two was won by member Chris Milner who received a TaylorMade Golf Bag embroidered with the words “Etiquette Champion” for his efforts over the last three months. Milner often goes out and plays just after sunrise and although playing alone he continues to do everything etiquette-wise as if he were playing in a fourball.

Chris Milner with his “Etiquette Champion” golf bag.

RAMADAN POWERPLAY SPONSORED BY BAHRAIN OPTICIAN

Play cool night golf in the Bahrain Optician Ramadan PowerPlay Series.

HAVE fun this Ramadan by competing in the Bahrain Optician Ramadan PowerPlay Series every Tuesday evening on the Royal Golf Club’s 9-hole par-3 Wee Monty course. Open to all, the series will give competitors the chance to win a pair of Oakley shades. Sunglasses as well as some terrific prizes are up for grabs in the overall Order of Merit. PowerPlay golf features two pin flags on every green – one in an easy position and one in a more challenging location. Choose to aim for the trickier ‘PowerPlay’ flag and achieve a net birdie or better and you’ll be rewarded with double points! To sign up, call the Royal Golf Club Golf Events Team on 17 750777.

August Events at the Royal Golf Club Date

Event

Time

Open to

Every Saturday

Wee Monty Family Day – only BD15 per adult, kids play free

10am to noon

All

Every Sunday

Ladies Callaway Stableford

Every Monday

Ecco Monday Stableford

1.00pm shotgun

All

NHSC Monday Madness Night Golf Series – BD20 for 9 holes

6.30pm shotgun

All

Bahrain Optician Ramadan PowerPlay Series

7.30pm shotgun

All

Every Wednesday Ladies eclectic league

7.30pm shotgun

ladies

Thursday-4th, 11th & 18th

6.30pm shotgun

All

Every Tuesday

Bachelor(ette) Bonanza – BD20 for 9 holes

8am shotgun

TAKE advantage of a fantastic 20% discount on ALL golf lessons and tuition packages in the Royal Golf Club Academy’s first ever summer sale. With shaded driving range bays, airconditioned tuition suites, ice-cold water and cold towels on offer, there’s never been a better time to improve your game. If you just need a brush-up on one small aspect of your game, book an individual lesson or if you’re new to the sport or would like to make a concerted effort to drop your handicap over the summer months, why not book one of our many tuition packages – even if you buy the package now at a 20% discount, the lessons will be valid right through to the end of the year.

SUMMER MATES RATES ENJOY fantastic savings on golf this summer at the Royal Golf Club as nine holes on the Par-3 Wee Monty is just BD10 and 18 holes on the Championship course is only BD35 until August 31st. There’s something for everyone with special junior rates, twilight rates and night golf rates too. Beat the heat with a summer night special offer of nine holes on the Montgomerie championship course for just BD20 after 7.00pm. All green fee tickets include golf cart and access to the Royal Golf Academy driving range prior to teeing off.

Ladies

Super savings on green fees this summer.

Beat the heat at Muscat Hills with our “Cool” summer offers At Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club we have some “Cool” summer offers to keep you golﬁng all summer long! Take advantage of our fantastic summer green fee rates where an 18 hole round inclusive of cart can be played for as little as OR 15. For more details on our summer green fee tariffs, membership fees and Academy offers call us now on (+968)24514080/1 or e-mail us on booking@muscatgolf.com

Be cool this summer at Muscat Hills!

www.muscathills.com Call the Golf shop on (+968) 24514080/1 or email booking@muscatgolf.com

LOCATION:

ARABIAN GOLF

MUSCAT HILLS GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB

Muscat Hills Golf & Country Club is located near Muscat International Airport and Oman Air’s main office. Within minutes from major shopping areas, first class restaurants, hospitals, international schools and Muscat’s main Central Business District.

CONTACT:

Club: +968 245 100 65 Fax: +968 245 10277 Email: ray@muscatgolf.com Web: www.muscathills.com

MUSCAT HILLS DEFEATS GHALA WENTWORTH IN FIRST MATCH MUSCAT Hills Golf and Country Club was the venue of the first ever head-to-head challenge match against Ghala Wentworth Golf Club and the hosts were the victors after a 9 – 4 triumph. The match was oversubscribed by both clubs

as members showed incredible enthusiasm to represent their club. Players of all standards participated and despite the efforts of the players from Ghala Wentworth they couldn’t match the performances from the Muscat Hills team.

GOLF MANAGEMENT STUDIES DEGREE STUDENT FOR MUSCAT HILLS MUSCAT Hills has announced that a student from the University of Birmingham’s Applied Golf Management Studies (AGMS) Degree has been placed at the facility to work alongside the existing Golf Professionals there this summer. Second year student Thomas Devine will be working at Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club in Oman for two months, working closely alongside PGA Professionals Alex Day and David White where he will be assisting Alex at the Golf Academy and David within the Golf Operations. The Applied Golf Management Studies course is a unique partnership between the PGA and University of Birmingham (UoB) and is the only golf degree to offer the opportunity to apply for PGA membership. The overall aim of the degree is to raise the level of education in golf to equip candidates for increasingly demanding roles such as a Director of Golf.

Only 25 places are available in each year with strict entry requirements such as excellent ‘A’ level profile (or equivalent) and a Handicap of 4 for men and 6 for women. The Course covers: Business Management; Event Management; Coach Education; Sports Science; Materials Science; Analysis of Swing Theory and is delivered by a combination of PGA and UoB staff. Students are required to complete work placements during the summer vacation. “I have heard a lot about Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club from a fellow student James Eades who spent his summer there last year,” said Devine. “I am really looking forward to the challenge. Despite it being hot here in the summer there is still plenty of demand for golf lessons and the club still runs an active calendar of events.” Director of Golf Ray Stopforth is happy that students like Thomas come over to hone their skills, learn the various facets of the trade and

broaden their horizons. “Muscat Hills is delighted to get involved in placing the AGMS students,” he said. “We are constantly on the lookout for good people to move into management positions so by giving the students a placement, it gives them a taster of what is expected of them in the future.”

CHIA TAKES THE MONTHLY MEDAL RICHARD Chia triumphed in the June Monthly Medal with a superb net 72 from the Black Championship tees. Chia’s score was good enough for a one-stroke win over Sumant Sunder in Division ‘A’ with Oliver Mouries taking third place with a 74. Division ‘B’ saw Victor Ogg take the title by virtue of a card countback with Dale Coombes after both players scored a net 68 while in Division ‘C’ Sam Battersby cruised to victory with a sublime net 63. Battersby sealed a five-stroke victory over Azmatullah Khan with Jeff Wilson taking third place with a net 73. The ladies Division was won by Flora Rabar with an excellent net 73 which edged out Yvonne Welling by one stroke and Catherine Shackleton by two.

SUMMER RATES AT MUSCAT HILLS

Richard Chia Winner of the June Monthly Medal.

THERE are a variety of attractive off peak green fee offers at Muscat Hills Golf and Country Club this summer. Green fee rates from Saturday through Wednesday have been reduced due to the summer heat. You can expect a discount of up to 66% if you choose to play between the hours of 11am and 2pm with the green fee now discounted to OR15 for 18 holes. The “cooler” tee times of between 7.30am and 11am and after 2pm are OR30 for 18 holes, while the popular 9 holes rate has been reduced to OR20. Weekend rates have also been

reduced by over 25% and are now OR40 for visitors and OR35 for OGA affiliates. “Our summer rates offer fantastic value. We are keen to offer golfer’s attractive rates in our off peak times to allow as many people as possible to play our fantastic course. We have implemented a number of improvements to the course over the last 8 months and it is in the best condition we have ever had it since the course opened in 2009” said Director of Golf Ray Stopforth For more details on Muscat Hills summer rates call the Golf shop on (+968)24514080/1 or e-mail booking@muscatgolf.com www.wwgolf.biz

LOCATION: Close to West Bay Lagoon, 8km north of central Doha.

ARABIAN GOLF

DOHA GOLF CLUB

CONTACT: +974 4496 0777 info@dohagolfclub.com

INFO: 18-hole 7,374-yard par-72 Championship course accompanied by a floodlit 9-hole Academy Course with spectacular views of the West Bay Lagoon. Designed by Peter Harradine.

JENSEN ON TOP IN 2ND SUMMER LEAGUE NELS Michael Jensen (9) scored a net 68 to win Division A in the second event of the Vodafone Summer League as 98 golfers teed it up in a quest for honours. Fred Yurkiw (15) carded a net 65 to win Division B while Jim Granger (19) topped Division C with a net 64. Junior member Christine Mathiesen (30) was awarded the first place title in the Ladies division with a net 72. Division A Winner, Nels Michael Jensen (second from the left).

AL KUWARI TRIUMPHS IN JUNE MUG GHANIM Al Kuwari produced a superb round with 41 points to win the First division in the June Vodafone Qatar Monthly Mug while in Division ‘B’ a score of 43 points secured Khalid Al Kaabi the honours. Kate Taylor triumphed in the Ladies division with 38 points while Abdul Aziz Al Kaabi took the spoils in Division ‘C’ with a 43-point haul.

Division One winner Jeff Glover (right), pictured before play.

YOSEPH’S VICTORY DANCE DESPITE the scorching weather many of Doha Golf Club’s members put their golfing abilities to the test and committed themselves to playing in the Guardian Wealth Monthly Medal and Yoseph Dance took first place in Division ‘A’ with a superb net 68. Division ‘B’ saw Jakub Hrinda take the spoils with a 66 while Khalid Al Kaabi topped Division ‘C’ with a net 62.

STELLA DI MARE

JEFF GLOVER GRABS GUARDIAN MEDAL JEFF Glover scored a net 67 from an excellent gross 75 to top Division One in July’s Guardian Wealth Monthly Medal in humid conditions. Glover made three birdies during his round for a fourstroke victory over Ian McInerney. Winston Agcon won Division Two on a countback over Eric Plectcher by virtue of his better back nine. In Division Three, Marc Baca won with a net 59 (gross 87) and Julia Martignoni won the Ladies Division with a net 70.

CONTACT: TEL: +2062 3250 300 Email: golfoffice@stelladimare.com Web: www.stelladimare.com

INFO: Located in Ain Soukhna near the Red Sea only 100km from Cairo. COURSE: The course was designed by the famous architect Karl Litten. The 18-hole par 72 championship links course measures 6,550 metres from the professional tees.

PAUL BROADHURST HAS FUN IN THE SUN

TEAM ZAKI TOP THE CHARTS WITH team Professional Zaki Zak guiding them through each round, team members Jim Weir, Charlie Coles and Ali Mohamed emerged the 2011 team champions. All members of JW Marriott Mirage City, the four players gelled from the word go setting an opening round target of 25. They followed up with solid second and third rounds of 15-under and 16-under respectively to beat team Broadhurst by three shots. The team members put the victory down to good old fashion hard work and preparation as they had been visiting Stella most weeks in the build up to the event. Team Zaki thanked the organisers for a superbly run event, plus the sponsors for their support with special thanks to title sponsors the Lufthansa Group. The Team are already looking forward to returning in 2012 to defend their title.

PAUL Broadhurst ended the week where he started – on top of the leaderboard at the Stella Di Mare International Pro-Am. After making five straight birdies from the first hole on day one, Broadhurst showed his desire to be crowned 2011 Professional Champion and never looked back. A 67 on day one was followed by a second round course-record 65, which cemented his position at the top and gave him a comfortable seven-shot gap over his closest rivals – Danny Belch, Ryan Thomas and Fredrick Anderson – with 18 holes left to play. It was the Swedish player Anderson who made the first charge at Broadhurst’s lead when his opening tee-shot on

the 318 metre first hole finished 15 feet from the pin. Anderson narrowly missed his eagle putt but opened with a birdie. However, a double- bogey-5 on the par-3 fourth dented his challenge. Welshman Thomas went one better, starting with a pair of birdies at holes 1 and 2 and after a few early dropped shots by Broadhurst the lead was narrowed to just two, Thomas playing the front nine

in 33 compared to a 38 from Broadhurst. But Broadhurst showed his true class down the home stretch, recording birdies at 10, 11 and 15 to regain a commanding lead and ensure a comfortable six-shot victory over Thomas at 12-under-par. It was Broadhurst’s first visit to Stella Di Mare and Egypt, and he commented: “I came here looking for a bit of confidence in my game and found it! “I’d like to thank all the staff for an excellently run event, the condition of the course was superb and the hospitability was fantastic. Playing golf in shorts with the sun on my back was a real treat! I look forward to coming back and defending my title in 2012.” www.wwgolf.biz

ARABIAN GOLF

DIRAB GOLF & COUNTRY CLUB

LOCATION: Nestled in the picturesque Dirab Valley below the Tuwaiq escarpment, just 30 minutes drive from the diplomatic quarters of Riyadh, take the Makkah national road and turn left to Dirab. The golf course is situated just off the Dirab Road. CONTACT: Tel: +966 1 812 6671 Email: dirabgolf@yahoo.com

INFO: Opened in 1991, Dirab GC is the only grassed Championship golf course in Saudi Arabia with 9 of the 18 holes floodlit for night golf. COURSE: 7,420 yards par 72 Championship Course with driving range and practice facilities.

DIRAB WIN ‘RYDER CUP’ COMPETITION AGAINST BAE SYSTEMS DIRAB Golf & Country Club played host to the BAE Systems vs Dirab ‘Ryder Cup’ style friendly tournament recently and the host team triumphed by a margin of 10.5 – 6.5 points. Seventeen singles matches were played in a match play format and the victorious Dirab team was led by Saudi National Team member Fahad Al Mansour with Jon Batty captaining the BAE Systems charge.

Both captains thanked the teams and also Dirab Golf & Country Club for a fabulous day, and hoped that the tournament was to be the first in what will become an annual tournament. The winning team received a trophy with Tariq Butt winning Nearest the Pin prize on the day while the Long Drive prizes were awarded to Liz Kennedy and Dave Burns.

Pictured above: Participants in the recent BAE Systems vs Dirab Golf & Country Club Ryder Cup.

ROLLING HILLS TAKE ADVANTAGE ON HOME SOIL THIRTY-Four keen players travelled from Dirab to Rolling Hills in Dhahran for the first instalment of the 2011 Oasis Cup. The team from Dirab were looking to retain the overall trophy while the Rolling Hills Ladies team were hoping to hold on to the Ladies’ Cup. The men from Rolling Hills, no doubt aided by their home advantage, delivered a huge blow to Dirab’s hopes of retaining the trophy by marching into an impressive lead after day one and they duly sealed the title on day two with an impressive final score of 31.5–10.5. The Rolling Hills ladies were successful in retaining the cup as they tied with Dirab on 4.5 points each.

Minhaj Khan of Rolling Hills Golf Club pictured receiving the Oasis Cup from Bouchaib El Jadiani of Dirab Golf & Country Club.

AL HAMRA GOLF CLUB

LOCATION: Just off E 11, 12 miles south of Ras Al Khaimah

course is complimented by a large open lagoon with four inter-connected lagoons.

CONTACT: Tel: +971 7 244 7474 Fax: +971 7 244 7423

COURSE: 7,267 yard, par 72 18 hole course with additional par-3 Academy Course.

INFO: Built along the Arabian Gulf, the

DESIGNER: Peter Harradine

ARABIAN GOLF

KRAEMER WINS THE LAST MMI OPEN STABLEFORD

BEADLE WINS OPENING EVENT IN SUMMER STABLEFORD SERIES THE first event in the Summer Stableford Series took place in June and Nigel Beadle secured a two-point victory with a superb haul of 39 Stableford points. The first event was well supported with players travelling from as far away as Oman to take part in the event and enjoy the immaculate Al Hamra course and taking second place, courtesy of a card play-off, was Cindy Rials as her back nine of 20 points was better than Kathy Richardson’s 18.

RIYADH GOLF COURSES

THE Final event in the popular MMI sponsored Open Challenge Series was won by Byron Kraemer after his 38-point haul gave him a one-point victory over David Thomas. Third place went to Dave Martin after he scored 36 points and took the final place on the podium by virtue of a card countback. Kraemer made it a double haul of trophies as he also picked up the Nearest the Pin prize on hole 4 while the other winners were Sarah De Roose (hole 7), Pat Morrershead (hole 11) and Mark Farley (hole 15).

LOCATION: Situated 20 to 25 minutes from Riyadh City Centre on the N65. Qasim Highway, exit 5. P.O. Box 84329, Riyadh 11671, KSA. CONTACT: Tel: +966-59-2315787 Web: www.riyadhgolfcourses.com

INFO: The Desert Course opened in late 1986. The front nine of The Greens Course opened in 2005 while the back nine opened in 2007. COURSES: Desert Course – 7,000 yards. Par 72. The Greens Course – 7,503 yards. Par 72/73.

SAUDIS CLINCH THE 2011 COUNTRY MATCH THE 2011 Country Match was held at Riyadh Golf Courses in June and favourites Saudi Arabia didn’t disappoint as they secured the Gross title with a combined score of 501. The Team from the United Kingdom won

the overall total while Korea took home the Best Net title. Fourteen teams from 11 countries participated and the tournament format saw eight players in each team choose the best six results to count for Best Gross and

Net but all eight players scores to count for the total. The individual Gross champion was Richard Gaas from the Philippines as he returned a 78 while South African Graham Walker took the individual Net honours with a 67.

LOCATION: Ras Al Khaimah The course meanders through a mangrove reserve with the Hajar Mountains serving as a backdrop.

TOWER LINKS GOLF CLUB

CONTACT: Tel: +971 7 2279939 (reservations desk) E-mail: golf@towerlinks.com

INFO: First opened in May 2004, Tower Links Golf Club has an 18 hole Championship Course and the back nine is floodlit for evening play. DESIGNER: Gerald Williams

ARABIAN GOLF

PARK AND WIVOU CROWNED CLUB CHAMPIONS ZENIA Wivou and J.I Park claimed the Ladies and Men’s Club Championships with two sterling performances over two days. Park posted a clubhouse lead of 168 and had to undergo a nervy 20-minute wait as his closest challengers B.H. Yoo and Paul McCullough were still on the course and in with a shout of glory. Yoo faltered on the closing holes and signed for a 171 but McCullough held his nerve and signed for a 168 total to force a play-off. Park then eased to the win after McCollough self-destructed down the

18th. McCollough drove into a sandy waste area off the tea and couldn’t get out of it at the first attempt. He then caught his third shot a little fat and it fell into a watery grave just short of the green. Now playing his fifth shot, he hit over the green while Park was on the green in regulation. McCollough’s chip from behind the green came up short leaving Park to close out the championship from three feet. Not to be out done, the Ladies Division was also to offer some fireworks as Zenia Wivou took the title by a whopping 16 strokes from Mira Yoo.

PARK’S PERFECT PERFORMANCE J.I. PARK won the sixth staging of the Tower Links Medal Final for 2011 after carding a very impressive gross 78 for a net 67 which was good enough to win by one stroke from Simon Turner. Park’s game is all about consistency and he was in top form on the day, carding a front nine of 40 and then a back nine of 38 which included a superb birdie on the final hole. Turner couldn’t find the same level of consistency despite having a handicap allowance of two strokes more than Park and he eventually signed for a net 68 and second place. Joe Wivou capped off another successful year by finishing in third position after shooting a net 70 while Yuki Pellerine finished a shot further back in fourth place.

‘PARKINATOR’ TERMINATES THE FIELD AN outstanding score of net 35 helped J.I. Park take the honours in a Midweek Social in late May but he had to rely on a countback after Ross Burgmann shot the same score. It was a narrow winning margin for Park and a countback was also needed to separate third and fourth place as both Young Nam Chang and Anupma Kotwal both signed for a net 36. After both scorecards were analysed it was Chang who took the final place on

the podium thanks to her stronger finish. The ‘wooden spoon’ on the night went to Tim Bromberg whose golf was way out of sorts. Over nine holes he wrote 10 on his scorecard four times and wound up with a net 54 for last place in the 31-man field. Four players failed to break 50, Greg Maddox (50), Phil Madin (52), Peter Reynolds (53) and Bromberg. Nearest the Pin winners were B.H. Yoo on hole 12 and Paul Harrison on hole 16.

MERRY GERRY WINS HIS FIRST TITLE GERRY Gibson finally cracked the big one recently as he was crowned the winner of the social Stableford with a haul of 22 points for a one-point victory over Yuki Pellerine. Gerry’s trade mark “fro” hairstyle and languid swing can be seen most days before and after work as he looks for the winning formula and he finally found it with a swashbuckling performance. Pellerine took second place after a double bogey six on the 17th cost her a shot at the top spot while Jeff Baker took third place on 20 points after a countback victory over J.I. Park. www.wwgolf.biz

DRIVER - FAIRWAY - HYBRID - IRONS - WEDGES - PUTTER

IN THE

BAG

ALASDAR DANSON-WEBSTER

PGA PROFESSIONAL JUMERIAH GOLF ESTATES

When did you start playing golf? I was encouraged to play golf from a very young age by my grandfather. During school holidays he would take me out to play a few holes, however, it wasn’t really until I was 16 that I decided golf was the sport for me and gave up trying to play cricket, football and rugby. As a junior member of Knott End Golf Club, in Lancashire, I started with a handicap of 28. It was here that I began my PGA training. How long have you been in the United Arab Emirates? I’ve been very fortunate to work in the UAE for the past three and half years which have certainly flown by. In December I was given the opportunity to move to Dubai and become part of the Jumeirah Golf Estates team. Prior to this I enjoyed three great years at Al Hamra Golf Club . What was your first set of golf clubs? I remember my first set of golf clubs being a bit of a mixed bag. The set comprised of odd numbered Lady Sayers irons and Ben Hogan persimmon head woods, although they didn’t stay in the bag too long as my enthusiasm grew for the game. Who would be your dream fourball? That’s a difficult one. Including myself in the group, the first would be my grandfather as not only did he introduce me to the game but he has inspired and guided me throughout out my life. Despite not being born when he first set the golfing world alight, the late Seve would have to be part of the group. His great charisma, creativity and never-say-die attitude on the course thrilled and excited me, powering my enthusiasm for the game. The third player would be Luke Donald, now World No. 1. In an era where courses, the balls and players are getting longer and longer Donald has prospered due, not to his distance, but to his unbelievable ability to be impeccably accurate with a 3, 4 or 5 iron as many players are with their wedges, a skill I would love to be able to replicate! Who is your golfing hero and why? As a youngster going to watch The Open Championship at Royal Lytham and Royal Birkdale I would always be desperate to see the likes of Greg Norman, John Daly, Seve and Colin Montgomerie. There are so many great players and advocates of the game that I have watched, tried to learn from and aspire to that I wouldn’t be able to single one out. If you were head of the R & A, what rule would you change? To be honest I don’t think many amateurs read the rule book before they begin to play golf and I think the reason for this is that in their present form, the rules are hugely indigestible. This situation is not helped by the fact that probably at least 50% of the rule book is concerned with competition play which has no relevance to the friendly game. Despite this, the rule I would most like to change is the time allowed to search for a lost ball. Generally, an 18-hole round of golf should take no longer than four and half hours for a fourball, however, as seen across most UAE courses at the weekend this can easily become five hours if not more. I believe that rounds of golf taking longer than four and a half hours not only deter prospective newcomers to the game but also cause huge frustrations to regular players. To rectify this I would suggest a search time limit of two minutes instead of the current five minutes allowance. I feel that this would speed up the pace of play, prompting players to hit a provisional ball immediately if they fear their first ball is lost.

www.wwgolf.biz

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