Worldwide Golf - November 2013 by Worldwide Golf

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Worldwide

Official magazine to the European Tour in the Middle East

NOVEMBER 2013, ISSUE 153

FEATURES FOOTJOY SOLE COMPANION JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES RECEIVES TOP HONOURS

GRAEME

McDOWELL

WIN A SET OF TITLEIST 714 IRONS

THE NEWLYWED IS ENJOYING LIFE ON AND OFF THE COURSE

NEW SIGNINGS IAN POULTER & DAVID HOWELL WWGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S NEWEST COLUMNISTS

STAGE SET FOR THE EUROPEAN TOUR SHOWDOWN

GOLF STYLE From the latest must have items to celebrities on course

Official magazine of the EGF

ISBN 978-9948-15-427-3

INTRODUCTION Worldwide Golf Executive Editor Since 1999

The 9-time Major Champion and 9-time Senior Major Champion wh who has witnessed and been a part of some of the most historic a and memorable go golfing occasions refl reflects on the game toda today

Player Gary

International team don’t have the American fire power

s a former two-times Captain of The Presidents Cup I was disappointed to see the International Team go down 18.5 points to 15.5 points to the Americans at Muirfield Village, Ohio, last month. There was some discussion after the tournament that perhaps the International Team may have fared better if the rules had been a little different. The suggestion was that The Presidents Cup should play the tournament in a Ryder Cup-style format where the Captain selects who plays in the fourballs and foursomes, instead of all the players in the Team having to play. These days people are too eager to blame the rules for everything when it goes wrong. It’s not the rules that need changing. The simple truth is that the Americans are too good for the Internationals. There are some outstanding players in the International Team – but not in sufficient numbers to take on the Americans and defeat them. Adam Scott has already proved himself at the top level and Jason Day is another Australian who I rate very highly. I think he’s going to be one to watch in the coming years. Along with Adam and Jason, Ernie Els was a mainstay of the International Team but the strength in depth is just not there. Maybe it will be in the years to come. Who knows, with the increase in interest in Asia? This was the 10th Presidents Cup, following the inaugural tournament in Virginia back in 1994. The International Team have won only once, at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in 1998. At our Fancourt Links in South Africa in 2003 when I captained the International Team and Jack Nicklaus captained the USA Team we agreed to share the Cup when Ernie Els and Tiger Woods ran out of daylight at the third hole of the deciding play-off. Jack and I were captains again in 2005 when the USA won 18.5-15.5. It’s not a satisfying record for the International Team. But maybe The Presidents Cup is not only a one-sided competition in terms of the players but it’s also one-sided in terms of the fans. The Presidents Cup just doesn’t have the same buzz as The Ryder Cup. I appreciate The Ryder Cup is a much closer competition and the Europeans can field a stronger team, but the fans play a significant

2 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

part in the tournament. The American players get all ﬁred up and they rise to the occasion when they hear their fans chanting ‘U-S-A! U-S-A!’ as loudly as they can to encourage their team. The European fans hit back with, ‘EUROPE! EUROPE!, and it all adds to the players and the fans from both sides creating an atmosphere that gets the very best out of the players. Unfortunately, in The Presidents Cup the Americans get maximum support from the spectators but the International Team gets very little at all, due to the side comprising of so many diﬀerent nationalities. Maybe it would help their motivation if the Internationals were called ‘WORLD’ or ‘TIGERS.’ At least they would have just one word to shout out from the galleries. In my heyday I had provide my own selfmotivation. I had to put up with spectators hurling abuse at me, and, often, a variety of objects, because I was South African and it was during the Apartheid regime. It didn’t seem to occur to them that I was vehemently against Apartheid and did everything in my power to campaign against it. Yet it is certainly the case that The Presidents Cup lacks the atmosphere that The Ryder Cup creates if you’re a member of the International Team. With The Presidents Cup being played in South Korea in two years’ time let’s hope there is a Korean

in the team and maybe some Asian players, too. Hopefully, by then the International Team will become known as the ‘WORLD’ or the ‘TIGERS’, or whatever, and that will generate some enthusiasm from the galleries. One thing is for sure – there won’t be too many American fans among the crowd. It’s good to see The Race to Dubai reaching its last lap on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates after its season-long marathon. To have the top 60 players on The European Tour rankings battling it out to win the DP World Tour Championship is a fitting finale for the 2013 International Schedule and a wonderful way to promote the strength of The European Tour. With Henrik Stenson finding his form again he’ll be the man to beat later this month. It was interesting for me to talk to Henrik’s fitness coach Cornel Driessen recently. We discussed the fitness regime I’ve followed in my career and although we didn’t have the equipment or the science in those days that the players have today he confirmed that I had been doing all the right things. He said I knew what worked best for me and that I “understood that what you put into your body is what you get out, regarding food, nutrition and lifestyle habits.” I guess the terminology has changed but the principles haven’t. Q

CONTENTS 20 28 Graeme McDowell

Jumeirah Golf Estates

From the minute he popped the question on top of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai GMac’s life has been going from strength to strength on and off the course.

The Dubai venue has been named as a European Tour Destination ahead of the DP World Tour Championship. We catch up with GM Yosuf Kazim.

FEATURES

REGULARS

34 Bright Future – Keith Waters

10 The Starter

6JG 'WTQRGCP 6QWTũU %JKGH 1RGTCVKPI 1HƓEGT CPF Director of International Policy reveals there’s plenty to be cheerful about

39 BMW and Golf – A Perfect Fit BMW’s Gurbax Singh on the appeal of golf sponsorship

52 ,I WKH VKRH ̨WV Footjoy’s Doug Robinson discusses the intriguing world QH IQNH UJQG FGUKIP CPF YJ[ VJG EQTTGEV ƓV KU ETWEKCN

Obscure golf courses, News and bite-sized features

17 World Round-ups Review of recent European Tour and US PGA Tour events

45 Worldwide Golf Columnists Introducing Ian Poulter and David Howell plus Greg Norman and Pete Cowen

69 Arabian Golf Round-up of events around the region’s golf clubs

INSTRUCTION

STYLE

57 Play to play great

94 Sharmila Nicollet

Part 2 of our Final Series preview by Bob Rotella

58 Improve your weight transfer By Mark Bruce, Emirates Golf Club

60 Putting grips – time to try something new? By Ross McArthur, Al Hamra Golf Club

62 Correct posture the key to consistency By Alex Riggs, The Els Club

64 Finish your chips By Tim Backhouse, The Royal Golf Club, Bahrain

66 Chipping like you putt By Wayne Johnson, Jumeirah Golf Estates

India’s No.1 female golfer is in the spotlight

96 Travel Agalarov Golf & Country Club in Russia

98 Driving Range Under the bonnet of the McLaren 12C

100 Fashion IJP Design – get the Poulter look

103 Star Spotting – Ronan Keating $Q[\QPGũU NGCF UKPIGT TGXGCNU JKU ƓTUV VGG PGTXGU

104 Jet Setting

A look inside the transport of choice for today’s pros

COMPETITION C OM 40 6 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

W a set of the latest WIN T Titleist 714 AP1 or Ap2 irons

Worldwide Golf

Contents

Over 100 destinations worldwide

What a difference a year makes! IT’S hard to think that it’s been 12 months since Rory McIlroy won both the DP World Tour Championship and The Race to Dubai. But what a difference a year has made. Rory, along with 2011 Race to Dubai winner Luke Donald, is right on the edge of qualifying for this year’s event. But the fact the Final Series events have no cut and big prize money could be their saving grace. This just goes to show that, regardless of talent, the mental side of the game is just as crucial. Dr Bob Rotella expands on last month’s column on that very theme in this issue. The plight of Rory and Luke also highlights how strong both the European and PGA Tours are – any player can win these days such is the strength in depth. The dominance of the top flight

players isn’t what it used to be as there’s an abundance of young fearless talent coming through from the European Challenge Tour and the web.com Tour. It’s great to see two Challenge Tour events in the region – the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic at Almouj Golf and the Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted at Al Badia Glf Club – as not only are they supporting the development of new talent but they’re also giving local golf fans the opportunity to see the big names of the future. I can remember meeting Ian Poulter in 1999 shortly before he earned his tour card at Qualifying School, along with another graduate from the same year, Justin Rose. Nobody could have

predicted how their careers would have turned out back then. For me, remembering the early days and seeing a player develop their game and mental strength are what golfing memories are made of. We are delighted to introduce Ian Poulter and David Howell as our newest exclusive columnists and it will be great to see them both, as well as Justin and the other top Tour players in action at the DP World Tour Championship. It looks like Henrik Stenson, another Challenge Tour graduate, will be the firm favourite going into the event but our cover star Graeme McDowell, along with Justin could still reel him in and take the spoils on The Race to Dubai.

Alex Gallemore Editor ISSUE No. 153, NOVEMBER, 2013 Published by: Worldwide Sporting Publications Ltd +44 1663 719926

Editor-in-Chief: Mike Gallemore Executive Editor: Gary Player Editor: Alex Gallemore Publisher: Mike Gallemore

Editors: Todd Staszko, James Reeves, Tabitha Florence Design Manager: Joanna Eardley Technical Manager: Mark Collinge

Published in Dubai by: Prograﬁx, PO Box 24677, Dubai, UAE (Tel) +9714 340 3785

Senior Editor: Richard Bevan

Editorial Panel: Gary Player, Mike Gallemore, Alex Gallemore, Richard Bevan, Todd Staszko

Printed by: Raidy, Dubai

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.

Advertising & Marketing Director: Rasha Siriani rasha@wspdubai.com Designer: Sarah B. Mahmood

June 2009 SSN 1- 46805671 Approval UAE National Media Council: Ref.816 30/5/2007 Trade Licence No. 1/104375/15280

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 7

2,013 WORLDWIDE WINS AND STILL COUNTING... There are 2,013 golf balls on this page and each represents a win with a Pro V1® golf ball earned by players on the worldwide professional tours since Pro V1 was ﬁrst introduced thirteen years ago. There have been thousands of other victories as Pro V1 and Pro V1x™ are trusted by the overwhelming majority of players at every level of competitive golf. A heartfelt thanks to all the golfers who place their trust in Titleist. Performance is 2,013 worldwide wins and still counting.

Learn more at titleist.co.uk Source: Darrell Survey, Sports Marketing Surveys Inc. Northmountain International. Based upon results through 22/09/2013 on the U.S. PGA, U.S. LPGA, Champions, Web.com, South African, Asian, Korean, OneAsia, Australasian, Japan, Canadian PGA and PGA European Tours.

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“THE LOCALS ARE IMMUNE TO THE SMELL. WE DON’T NOTICE IT AT ALL. BUT IT’S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT. THE SULPHUR IN THE AIR IS RUMOURED TO BE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH.”

HUBBLE BUBBLE TOIL AND TROUBLE Rotorua Golf Club, North Island, New Zealand THERE are plenty of golf and spa resorts around the world, but none where the spa element is quite as significant as it is at Rotorua Golf Club on North Island, New Zealand.

10 | WorldwideGolf - September 2013

ON COURSE <<

A MONSTER OF A THERMAL CRATER GUARDS THE LEFT OF THE SPECTACULAR 14TH HOLE – DESCENT INTO WHICH IS NOT ADVISED!

The 18-hole course at Rotorua Golf Club is called Arikikapakapa, which is a Maori word meaning ‘the sound of popping mud’ – an apt name being that the course is built around a huge bubbling natural thermal spa. One third of the spectacular layout meanders alongside spluttering mud pools, steam vents and sulphur pits which make for some pretty daunting hazards, especially on the par 3s. The infamous ninth hole is the scariest of the lot with players required to miss several bubbling pools with their tee shot while the green is protected by another mud pool to the right and a yellow sulphur pit to the left. The hole is so renowned that it’s even featured on a New Zealand postage stamp. While the visage greeting golfers on the Arikikapakapa and the 9-hole Thermal course is a sight to behold, the smell of rotten eggs that permeates the air may take a little longer to get used to! “The locals are immune to the smell,” said club secretary Don Blackledge. “We don’t notice it at all. But it’s nothing to worry about. The sulphur in the air is rumoured to be good for your health.”

ROTORUA GOLF CLUB IS BUILT ON PUMICE WHICH ALLOWS FOR RAPID DRAINAGE AFTER RAIN, WITH GREENS RECOVERING JUST A FEW MINUTES AFTER THUNDERSTORMS.

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 11

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NEWS DIVOTS

NEW GLOBAL QUALIFYING SERIES FOR THE OPEN THE R&A has unveiled a new global Open Qualifying Series aimed at giving ample opportunity for players on all the world’s leading tours to qualify for next year’s event, taking place at Royal Liverpool from July 13-20. The series will include 14 events in nine countries on five continents taking in the European Tour, the US PGA Tour, the PGA Tour of Australasia, the Japan Golf Tour and the Sunshine Tour. Nine places will be available on The European Tour with players able to qualify at the Irish Open, the Alstom Open de France and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open. On the PGA Tour nine places will be available across the AT&T National, The Greenbrier Classic and the John Deere Classic. The Emirates Australian Open will also be included along with the Joburg Open in South Africa and The Open Qualifying Series in Thailand. Peter Dawson, the Chief Executive of The R&A, said, "This is a significant change to the qualifying process for The Open and one which will make the Championship as open as possible to players from around the world. "The new Open Qualifying Series will create an exciting build-up to The Open as players bid to secure their places in the weeks leading up to the Championship. We believe it will enhance the qualification process by giving players the opportunity to qualify at 72-hole championships as well as being more convenient in terms of their scheduling."

McILROY AND McDOWELL CONFIRM FOR IRISH OPEN THE 2014 Irish Open received a huge boost with the news that Rory McIlroy and Graeme McDowell have confirmed their places. A proposal to move the tournament forward by seven days was passed at a meeting of the European Tour Players Committee in Vilamoura and will now take place the week after the US Open at Pinehurst. The Northern Irish pair have long been supporters of their home Open but the move means that it falls nicely into their schedule with both set to appear at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen a fortnight later. The same Players Committee meeting also saw plans discussed for a new European Tour rule requiring players to commit to playing their home ‘Open’ as well as one other event on European soil and Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley threw his support behind the initiative. “What would the Irish Open be without Rory McIlroy?” said McGinley.”It is a success every year because Rory plays.”

KO GRANTED LPGA TOUR CARD FOR 2014 TEENAGE sensation Lydia Ko will play as a full-time member of the LPGA Tour next year after Commissioner Michael Whan granted her special playing exemption. "After reviewing Lydia Ko’s petition, I have granted her LPGA Tour membership beginning at the start of the 2014 season," said Whan on LPGA.com. "This ensures that Lydia can attend all of our LPGA rookie development sessions that take place in the early part of next year. "Lydia will compete out of Category 7 – winners of an LPGA event as a nonmember in the previous calendar year. We look forward to welcoming her, it’s not

often that the LPGA welcomes a rookie who is already a back-to-back LPGA Tour champion." Ko was delighted at the announcement. "I am very excited to become an LPGA Tour member,” said the 16-year-old who won the 2011 and 2012 CN Canadian Women’s Open. “It has always been my dream goal to play on the LPGA and play against the world’s best players. "Women's golf is growing day by day and I would love to be able to inspire other girls to take up the game, and go for it. I believe this is only the start to my career and I have many new things to learn along the way."

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 13

MYTH BUSTERS

STARTER RUNNING THE RULE by Stuart McMurdo Golf Operations Manager Jebel Ali Golf Resort

We’ve all played with one - Mr Know it All. The world authority on everything about the game. But if you learn your facts, you could be laughing all the way to the 19th! Myth: If you concede a putt in match play and your opponent decides to putt anyway but misses, the miss counts. Busted: According to rule 2-4 “A concession may not be declined or withdrawn.”

“Provisional Ball” – two simple words that are frequently forgotten…

As we are getting into the main Golf season in the UAE and the big tournaments kick in, l wanted to highlight the rule which l think often gets broken the most amongst amateurs. I regularly hear the term “I’ll hit another one” or “Give me another ball” when they have carved one into trouble. I rarely hear and frequently have to nudge players to say “Provisional Ball” before they hit another off the tee. Without saying the words “Provisional ball” it means your first ball is automatically lost and you are playing three off the tee. It may seem like a small thing but let’s try to stick to the rules as you would be frustrated for getting penalized for not saying two simple words. For more information on this rule please see Rule 27/2 in your Rule book.

NOVEMBER 1, 1935 ENTER THE BLACK KNIGHT GOLDEN MOMENTS

Gary Player is born on November 1 in Johannesburg, South Africa. His mother Muriel dies of cancer when he’s just eight years old and father Harry works hard in the gold mines to support Gary and his older siblings, brother Ian and sister Wilma. Harry, a two-handicapper, buys Gary a set of rudimentary golf clubs and takes his 15 year old son for his first full round at Virginia Park golf course, near his home. He shoots even par over the first three holes and its clear he has a natural gift for the game. Among those impressed with the youngster is Virginia Park club pro Jock Verwey, who agrees to give the young Player lessons. He turns pro at 17, joins the US PGA Tour at 21 and won his first title the following year at the Kentucky Derby Open. He goes on to amass some 163 titles worldwide, including nine Major Championships, as he proves himself to be one of the greatest golfers the game has ever seen. With his victory in the 1965 US Open he becomes the first non-American, and only the third player in history, after Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen to win the career Grand Slam of all four Majors. On November 1, 2013 Gary Player celebrates his 78th birthday.

Padraig Harrington pictured during the 1993 Walker Cup and earlier this year. In between the years he's reignited the European Major belief and has been a backbone of the European Ryder Cup success.

A golfer’s nightmare One day Steve and his wife, Sorrell were out playing golf. Everything was going fairly well for Steve until the seventh hole. He sliced his tee shot a mile to the right so he and his wife had to go looking for the ball. Eventually they came across a shed with the door slightly ajar, and surprisingly enough the golf ball was slap bang in the centre of the floor. And so, not wanting to drop a shot, Steve decided to play on instead of taking a penalty by dropping the ball. Sorrell, noticing that if Steve played a good shot he could get his ball on the green, offered to hold the door open while her husband played the shot. After a lengthy period of sizing up his shot, Steve hit the ball, but struck his wife in the temple with it. She slumped down dead, instantly. Another five years later, Steve found himself on the same golf course, on the same hole, this time with his friend, Jim. So, coincidently, Steve’s tee shot took the exact same path as it did five years ago, and the ball found itself, again, slap bang in the centre of the shed. As Steve thought seriously what to do with his shot, Jim offered to hold the door of the shed open so he could take his shot. But with a look of shock on his face, Steve replied instantly, ``Hell No! The last time I tried that it took me seven shots to get on the green.’’ “Golf appeals to the idiot in us and the child. Just how childlike golfers become is proven by their frequent inability to count past five.” John Updike “Golf is a fascinating game. It has taken me nearly 40 years to discover that I can’t play it.” Ted Ray

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 15

TOUR

NEWS FEDZ HEADS THE FIELD IN SHANGHAI Gonzo makes his move in the first of European Tour’s Final Series

ONZALO Fernandez-Castaño collected his seventh European Tour title in stunning fashion after a sublime final round 68 gave him a one-stroke victory over Francesco Molinari and Thongchai Jaidee at the BMW Masters in Shanghai. The Spaniard was on cruise control as six birdies without a dropped shot through 17 holes took him three clear of the field. However, he twice found sand down the 18th and battled to a double bogey, which proved just enough to take the spoils. “I knew it wasn’t going to be an easy round and I started hitting the ball pretty badly,” said Fernandez-Castaño, who made six pars before his first birdie came on the seventh. “But my caddie kept me cool and told me how good I had been hitting the ball throughout the week and I played fantastic after that. On the last I played too conservatively and it was a fighting six at the end for sure. “BMW is one of the great supporters of The European Tour through the years, they know how to run events and they make the players feel so comfortable. “It’s pretty much like playing at home and it’s also great to see the crowds this week. I think they have been pretty amazing.” Molinari put in a valiant effort, coming from six shots back at the start of the day to card three birdies on the front nine and five on the back as well as a stunning eagle on the par-5 13th to set the clubhouse target of 10-under after a round of 64. Thailand’s Jaidee, four off the lead at the start of the day, recorded seven birdies with just one bogey for a 66 to join the Italian on 10-under before Fernandez-Castaño’s composed finish sealed the win which elevated him up to fourth on The Race to Dubai while Jaidee edged up to sixth and Molinari to 11th. American Luke Guthrie led after two rounds but shot 1-under for the two weekend rounds to finish in fourth place with Thomas Björn, Peter Uihlein and Pablo Larrazabal taking a share of fifth place.

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 17

TOUR NEWS Date: Sept 26-29 Event: Alfred Dunhill Links Championship Venue: St Andrews, Carnoustie, Kingsbarns, Fife, Scotland Winner’s Cheque: : €589,562

HOWELL BACK IN THE WINNER’S CIRCLE WORLDWIDE Golf’s new columnist David Howell collected his first European Tour title in seven years with an impressive playoff victory over up-coming American Peter Uihlein at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The Englishman, whose last victory was at the BMW PGA Championship in 2006, downed Uihlein with a par on the first extra hole of sudden death after they finished level on 23-underpar. Howell moved up the leaderboard with a superb final round 67 and looked on as Uihlein missed a birdie putt on the 72nd hole which would have clinched the title in regulation.

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Date: Sept 19-22 Event: 70° Open D’Italia Lindt Venue: : Golf Club Torino, Torino, Italy Winner’s Cheque: €250,000

Pos. Name

Country To Par R1 R2 R3 R4 Total

1 David Howell 2 Peter Uihlein 3 Tom Lewis Shane Lowry

ENG USA ENG IRL

-23 -23 -22 -22

67 71 64 68

68 60 65 66

63 65 73 64

67 69 64 68

265 265 266 266

Date: Oct 10-13 Event: Frys.com Open Venue: CordeValle GC, San Martin, CA, USA Winner’s Cheque: $900,000

WALKER CLINCHES A MAIDEN WIN FASTFINISHING QUESNE WINS IN ITALY FRENCHMAN Julien Quesne shot a superb back-nine 31 to clinch his second European Tour title by one shot from Ireland’s David Higgins and Englishman Steve Webster at the 70° Open D’Italia Lindt. Quesne started the ﬁnal round four strokes back but motored up the leaderboard to post a total of 12-under-par which could not be met by the chasing pack, which included Ryder Cup star Nicolas Colsaerts.

A Ye kmjhjak]\ lg Z] `]j]& L`] ÛY_k o]j] n]jq \a^Ú[mdl Ydd o]]c kg al oYk n]jq \a^Ú[mdl lg eYc] Zaj\a]k Yf\ ]Ykq lg eYc] kge] Zg_]qk& Al oYk Ydkg j]Yddq kh][aYd lg `Yn] eq ^Yeadq oal` e]& Pos. Name 1 2

Julien Quesne David Higgins Steven Webster

Country FRA IRL ENG

-12 -11 -11

R1 R2 R3 R4

Total

70 68 71 67 67 69 73 68 67 69 73 68

276 277 277

18 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

JIMMY Walker wrapped up his first US PGA Tour title after a superb final round 66 gave him a two-stroke victory over a resurgent Vijay Singh at the Frys.com Open. Walker fired himself into contention with a stunning third-round 62 and maintained his momentum on the final day to pick up the cheque for $900,000 and deny Singh a first win since 2008.

A oYkf l _gg\ ]fgm_` lg hdYq _gd^ gf l`] H?9 Lgmj o`]f A oYk *( gj *) dac] kge] g^ l`]k] _mqk Yj]& A e +, fgo Yf\ A n] _gf] l`jgm_` Y dgl lg _]l `]j]& A n] hdYq]\ gf Y dgl g^ lgmjk$ A n] ogf gf Y dgl g^ lgmjk Yf\ l`ak ak caf\ g^ l`] ÚfYd ha][] af l`] hmrrd]& Pos. 1 2 3

Name Jimmy Walker Vijay Singh Kevin Na Scott Brown Hideki Matsuyama Brooks Koepka

Country USA FIJ USA USA JPN USA

-17 -15 -14 -14 -14 -14

R1 70 69 75 68 70 67

R2 69 67 67 67 66 64

R3 62 65 64 71 68 67

R4 66 68 64 64 66 72

Total 267 269 270 270 270 270

Date: Oct 10-13 Event: Portugal Masters Venue: Oceanico Victoria Golf Course, Algarve, Portugal Winner’s Cheque: €333,330

LYNN BAGS MAIDEN VICTORY IN FINE STYLE DAVID Lynn served up some of the finest golf of his career as he romped over the line with a final round 63 at the Portugal Masters. The Englishman, who was runner-up at the Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour earlier this year, set the clubhouse target at 18-under and had a long wait to see if it was good enough, which it was as Justin Walters finished one back tied with Stephen Gallacher, Paul Waring and Bernd Weisberger on 16-under.

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Date: Oct 17-20 Event: ISPS HANDA Perth International Venue: Lake Karrinyup CC, Perth Australia Winner’s Cheque: €245,438

Pos. Name

Country To Par R1 R2 R3 R4 Total

1 David Lynn 2 Justin Walters 3 Stephen Gallacher Bernd Wiesberger Paul Waring

ENG RSA SCO AUT SCO

-18 -17 -16 -16 -16

65 69 70 66 67

65 63 67 65 63

73 69 65 70 67

63 66 66 67 71

266 267 268 268 268

Date: Oct 17-20 Event: Shriners Hospitals for Children Classic Venue: TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, NV, USA Winner’s Cheque: $1,080,000

JEONG DOWNS FISHER FOR MAIDEN WIN ROSS Fisher lost the third play-off of his European Tour career as Jin Jeong made a par on the first extra hole of sudden death to win his first title at the ISPS HANDA Perth International. The pair finished tied at the top on 10-under par, two clear of the chasing pack, meaning the lottery of a play-off was needed to decide the winner. With the honour, Fisher found the rough off the tee and then his approach shot came out hot and went through the green. He failed the get up and down to save par leaving Jeong to win with a routine par.

A oYk f]jngmk$ A oYk k`Ycaf_ Zml A [gfljgdd]\ eqk]d^ hj]llq o]dd Ydd \Yq A l`gm_`l& HdYqaf_ oal` Jgkk af l`] hdYq%g^^ oYk mfZ]da]nYZd]& Pos. Name 1 2 3

Jin Jeong Ross Fisher Dimitrios Papadatos Danny Willett Brody Ninyette

Country KOR ENG AUS ENG AUS

-10 -10 -8 -8 -8

R1 R2 R3 R4

Total

68 72 69 72 72

278 278 280 280 280

72 67 71 71 69

69 71 72 68 67

69 68 68 69 72

SIMPSON SIZZLES IN THE NEVADA DESERT WEBB Simpson stormed to a six-stroke win over Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Classic. The former US Open winner took control after opening rounds of 64 and 63 and a third round 67 and then a ﬁnal round 66 sealed his fourth victory on the US PGA Tour.

A `Y\ Y Za_ d]Y\ Yf\ ea\oYq l`jgm_` l`] ÚfYd! jgmf\ A cf]o l`Yl l`] [gmjk] oYk \jqaf_ gml Yf\ l`] hafk o]j] lgm_` kg al oYk _gaf_ lg lYc] Y dgl lg gn]jlYc] e]& A oYk af [gfljgd Yf\ A eYfY_]\ eq _gd^ ZYdd j]Yddq o]dd& Pos. Name 1 2

Webb Simpson Ryo Ishikawa Jason Bohn

Country USA JPN USA

-24 -18 -18

R1 R2 R3 R4

Total

64 63 67 66 67 66 68 65 67 64 69 66

260 266 266

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 19

20 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

GRAEME McDOWELL <<

BEWARE THE HAPPY GOLFER Graeme McDowell talks exclusively to Richard Bevan about life as a married man and his determination to ﬁnish a wonderful year on a high in Dubai.

UBAI has already provided the venue for one of the happiest moments in Graeme McDowell’s life and he’s now set his sights on further joy in the region by winning the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates and wrapping up The Race to Dubai in the process. The Northern Irishman is on top of the world right now, having recently tied the knot in the Caribbean with finance Kirstin Stape, whom he proposed to just over 12 months ago at Dubai’s iconic Burj Al Arab hotel. And when players are happy and contended off the course, they usually do the business on it. “I got married on September 28th in the Bahamas with close friends and family,” says McDowell. “It was an amazing few days and Kristin and I are very happy together. I took the guts of a month off afterwards to spend time with my new wife and it was very special. “It’s nice for me to come off a five week break, still be second in The Race to Dubai rankings and have this great run of events to end the European Tour season. It’s a big month for me and still all to play for.” The 34-year-old chose the Burj Al Arab as the location for last October’s big proposal as the pair had been blown away by the spectacular views of the Dubai coastline from the Al Muntaha

Restaurant, which is perched at the top of the landmark hotel on the 27th ﬂoor, on a previous visit. As if that wasn’t a spectacular enough location, McDowell went one better and made his move on the hotel’s famous helipad. “I booked a table (at Al Muntaha) and, when we arrived, I told her a contact at the hotel was going to give us a quick look around, which included going out on the helipad,” he said. “I did it properly, getting down on one knee. She had no idea what was going on and was shocked and stunned. I even found myself getting a little bit emotional. I had a little speech all prepared to make to her and found myself getting all choked up. But she was just in total shock. “It was a very special location, looking out over Dubai.” McDowell has looked like that cat that got the cream all season and the ‘happy golfer’ theory has been borne out through his results as he’s smiled his way to victory in the Volvo World Match Play Championship and the Alstom Open de France to lie in second place on The Race to Dubai, breathing down the neck of leader Henrik Stenson. The Final Series has added an extra layer of excitement to this season’s European Tour climax with the four

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 21

Focusing on the dream GMAC'S EUROPEAN TOUR STATS Driving Distance

278.22

Driving Accuracy

68.97%

Greens in Regulation

65.45%

Putts Per Round

29.81

Stroke Average

71.81

Sand Saves

35.56

“I’VE HAD SOME GREAT WINS OVER THE YEARS, THE US OPEN AND THE RYDER CUP VICTORIES WOULD HAVE TO BE AT THE TOP. MAJORS ARE DEFINITELY THE PINNACLE, BUT MONEY LISTS ARE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. THEY DEFINE CAREERS. TO TOP THE RACE TO DUBAI WOULD CERTAINLY SIT VERY NICELY IN THE C.V. FOR SURE. WINNING THE DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP WOULD OBVIOUSLY GIVE ME A GREAT CHANCE OF REALISING THAT DREAM,”

22 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

GRAEME McDOWELL <<

Three for 2013: McDowell wins his first title of the season at the RBC Heritage in South Carolina (top) before he downed Thongchai Jaidee to win the Volvo World Match Play Championship in Bulgaria (right). He made it a hat-trick with victory at the Open de France in July (above).

"I’VE HAD SOME GREAT WINS OVER THE YEARS, THE US OPEN AND THE RYDER CUP VICTORIES WOULD HAVE TO BE AT THE TOP. MAJORS ARE DEFINITELY THE PINNACLE, BUT MONEY LISTS ARE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT. THEY DEFINE CAREERS. TO TOP THE RACE TO DUBAI WOULD CERTAINLY SIT VERY NICELY IN THE C.V. FOR SURE. WINNING THE DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP WOULD OBVIOUSLY GIVE ME A GREAT CHANCE OF REALISING THAT DREAM." big money events that began with the BMW Masters and ends in Dubai, potentially having a significant impact on the top places in The Race to Dubai but McDowell is hopeful that when play gets underway at Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 14, he’s still in with a chance of topping the table. “It’s great to have such a fantastic end to the season, the play-off type format is improving year on year,” says McDowell, who has also hit the heights on the US PGA Tour, with his first US victory since the 2010 US Open at the RBC Heritage in April – his first regular PGA Tour title. “I’m in a great position this year but with so much money on offer between now and Dubai, there are still a lot of guys who can take the top prize. Henrik is obviously in a very strong position and I think he plans to play all the Final Series events. I’m not playing Turkey (the Turkish Airlines Open), taking that week off and I hope to be fresh for Dubai after the two weeks in China. “I’ve had some great wins over the years,

the US Open and The Ryder Cup victories would have to be at the top. Majors are definitely the pinnacle, but money lists are very, very important. They define careers. To top The Race to Dubai would certainly sit very nicely in the C.V. for sure. “Winning the DP World Tour Championship would obviously give me a great chance of realising that dream,” continues McDowell, whose best result on the Earth course – not always the happiest of hunting grounds for him – was in 2011 when he finished 11th. “There is a big emphasis on driving the ball well if you are going to score low on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. Typically I’ve struggled a bit with the course – I just can’t quite crack it over the week. I’ve shot some low rounds there, but I need four of them to stand a chance this year. I feel like I’m hitting it great at the moment so I’m really looking forward to the challenge the course is going to give us that week, and who knows, I might secure my first Race to Dubai title!”

In good hands: Top coach Pete Cowen casts his eye over GMAC's pitching at this year's US Open.

The one anomaly in McDowell’s season has been his results in the Majors. Last year he finished runner-up in the US Open, tied fifth in The Open and was in the top 12 at both the Masters and the US PGA, while this year his solitary top 50 finish was a tied 12th in the US PGA. But after taking some advice from good friend and five-time World Snooker Champion Ronnie O’Sullivan about how to approach big tournaments he believes he may have found a key that may just prove invaluable in the DP World Tour Championship. “We spoke at length,” says McDowell. “Ronnie was talking about the two different players who turn up at tournaments. The guy who is ultra-professional, spends eight hours a day on the table trying to prepare himself, comes in with huge expectation and then under delivers. “Against that, this other guy goes to the arena, warms up and goes straight on stage. You can get too obsessed by the snooker. When he is more relaxed he gets the best

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 23

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DUBAI EYE 103.8 (OFFICIAL RADIO) UP-TO-DATE EVENT NEWS

GRAEME McDOWELL <<

"KRISTIN HAS ALWAYS BEEN IN INCREDIBLY SUPPORTIVE OF MY CAREER AND SHE COMES TO TOURNAMENTS WHEN SHE CAN. WE DEFINITELY WANT TO HAVE CHILDREN OF OUR OWN AND HOPEFULLY WE DO IN THE NEAR FUTURE. OF COURSE PARENTING BRINGS WITH IT A FAIR SHARE OF RESPONSIBILITIES AND THAT WOULD NATURALLY HAVE AN EFFECT ON MY TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE. BUT THAT IS ALL PART OF LIFE, PART OF BEING A FAMILY, AND IT’S A GREAT PROBLEM TO HAVE." out of himself. I kind of agree with him. “At Augusta this year I was trying to be too perfect, wanting it too badly, and ending up over-prepared. The next week at Hilton Head (the RBC Heritage) I had family and friends with me. I went to the course, warmed up and got straight on with it. I don’t think I hit a ball after my rounds that week. I let it ﬂow, enjoyed my week and won. There is a lesson in that.” Such is McDowell’s appetite for success he’s willing to look at anything that may give him an edge on the golf course. He’s worked with renowned sports psychologist Bob Rotella in the past and is currently a client of Englishman Karl Morris in a bid ensure that the mental side of his game is on a par with his physical talents. “We forget in golf the importance of

being instinctive,” he says. “The brain can often get in the way of instinct. You become too technical, too mechanical, seeking perfection that isn’t there to be had. That makes it diﬃcult to accept bad shots. That is the ﬁnal piece in the jigsaw for me, learning to accept that some days you are going to shoot a 75 even though you are working as hard as you did shooting 65. Sometimes you just have to let it go. “I have learned so much from the tough times in my career. You don’t learn much shooting 63. Those are just the days when you get a glimpse of how this game could be if it was controllable. But it isn’t. “The key is not to try too hard, don’t overdo it. You obviously need to be focused and work hard at all times, but do so within limits and always enjoy

Above: Graeme McDowell marries partner Kristin Stape at a private ceremony in the Bahamas in September. “Kristin has always been in incredibly supportive of my career. We definitely want to have children of our own and hopefully we do in the near future," says McDowell.

what you’re doing. As soon as you’re not enjoying it, then trouble kicks in!” McDowell is currently in a great place, both on the course and off it. He’s looking forward to a new life as a family man, with children very much in the newlyweds’ plans. But the 34-year-old remains focussed on adding to his 10 worldwide titles and what better way to do that than by winning the 2013 DP World Tour Championship to become The Race to Dubai champion? “We’re really excited for what the future holds,” says the 34-year-old. “Kristin has always been in incredibly supportive of my career and she comes to tournaments when she can. We definitely want to have children of our own and hopefully we do in the near future. “Of course parenting brings with it a fair share of responsibilities and that would naturally have an effect on my tournament schedule. But that is all part of life, part of being a family, and it’s a great problem to have. But overall, from my career perspective, nothing has changed for me since getting married. Kristin is as supportive as ever and will always be, and I look forward to my first tournament win as her husband – hopefully that will be in Dubai if not before!”Q

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 25

Official 2013 Race to Dubai Ranking THE 2013 RACE TO DUBAI RANKING  AS AT OCTOBER 28, 2013 Pos 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 Henrik STENSON Graeme McDOWELL Justin ROSE Gonzalo FDEZ-CASTAÑO Richard STERNE Thongchai JAIDEE Matteo MANASSERO Thomas BJÖRN Peter UIHLEIN Brett RUMFORD Francesco MOLINARI Branden GRACE Ernie ELS Joost LUITEN Ian POULTER David HOWELL Stephen GALLACHER Sergio GARCIA Lee WESTWOOD Charl SCHWARTZEL Jamie DONALDSON Miguel Angel JIMÉNEZ Mikko ILONEN Scott JAMIESON Grégory BOURDY Tommy FLEETWOOD Thorbjørn OLESEN Pablo LARRAZÁBAL Bernd WIESBERGER Chris WOOD Paul CASEY Martin KAYMER Shane LOWRY Marc WARREN Nicolas COLSAERTS Kiradech APHIBARNRAT Thomas AIKEN Felipe AGUILAR Julien QUESNE Rafa CABRERA-BELLO Marcus FRASER Alex NOREN Ross FISHER Marcel SIEM Louis OOSTHUIZEN Simon KHAN Victor DUBUISSON David LYNN Darren FICHARDT Eduardo DE LA RIVA

Nationality

No. of events

SWE NIR ENG ESP RSA THA ITA DEN USA AUS ITA RSA RSA NED ENG ENG SCO ESP ENG RSA WAL ESP FIN SCO FRA ENG DEN ESP AUT ENG ENG GER IRL SCO BEL THA RSA CHI FRA ESP AUS SWE ENG GER RSA ENG FRA ENG RSA ESP

14 12 10 20 19 22 23 23 21 23 24 22 15 24 11 27 24 12 10 12 20 16 23 29 26 29 22 29 23 19 22 15 19 28 16 14 24 25 24 27 20 19 16 16 12 19 19 13 22 25

Points

Pos

2,154,099 1,710,374 1,661,271 1,517,530 1,356,957 1,279,235 1,270,028 1,247,282 1,241,079 1,191,144 1,149,549 1,097,298 1,082,366 1,054,987 1,046,219 1,045,149 1,026,181 1,016,700 997,714 964,246 958,754 956,668 936,859 900,951 866,932 842,585 835,692 831,793 821,423 808,695 804,197 799,870 770,503 769,640 743,099 695,287 647,860 644,852 638,928 632,890 631,449 612,104 611,565 606,620 603,505 603,115 595,139 573,906 554,036 548,578

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 Raphaël JACQUELIN Jonas BLIXT Alejandro CAÑIZARES David HORSEY Søren KJELDSEN Danny WILLETT Peter HANSON Craig LEE George COETZEE Garth MULROY Luke DONALD Rory MCILROY Ricardo SANTOS Paul LAWRIE Steve WEBSTER Ricardo GONZALEZ Padraig HARRINGTON Simon DYSON Justin WALTERS Grégory HAVRET Paul WARING Richie RAMSAY Graeme STORM John PARRY Eddie PEPPERELL David DRYSDALE Maximilian KIEFFER Robert-Jan DERKSEN Morten Ørum MADSEN JB HANSEN Anders HANSEN Damien McGRANE Romain WATTEL Robert ROCK Matthew BALDWIN Peter WHITEFORD Emiliano GRILLO Hennie OTTO Edoardo MOLINARI Michael HOEY Tom LEWIS Gareth MAYBIN Jorge CAMPILLO Seve BENSON Wen-chong LIANG Andy SULLIVAN Lee SLATTERY Mark FOSTER Jaco VAN ZYL Chris DOAK

Nationality

No. of events

FRA SWE ESP ENG DEN ENG SWE SCO RSA RSA ENG NIR POR SCO ENG ARG IRL ENG RSA FRA ENG SCO ENG ENG ENG SCO GER NED DEN DEN DEN IRL FRA ENG ENG SCO ARG RSA ITA NIR ENG NIR ESP ENG CHN ENG ENG ENG RSA SCO

24 4 26 25 32 21 12 28 14 21 11 11 28 22 25 24 15 28 30 30 24 21 28 23 24 30 28 22 22 27 17 27 26 25 31 29 28 20 14 22 25 26 32 22 13 26 27 24 20 27

Points 541,563 536,606 532,674 530,856 526,783 522,478 520,455 514,814 506,765 498,291 495,887 494,705 489,205 488,202 486,718 483,132 443,805 417,332 413,737 408,721 408,487 397,980 393,404 374,262 369,245 355,752 355,638 350,687 348,448 345,201 339,944 335,179 332,032 330,345 324,141 324,128 324,124 323,563 319,760 318,960 303,354 300,962 299,672 297,959 289,563 279,999 277,013 275,872 271,680 261,507

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 3 The Race to Dubai is a season-long competition spanning a minimum of 45 tournaments in 24 countries and all five continents on The 2013 European Tour International Schedule. The Race to Dubai winner receives The Harry Vardon Trophy (first awarded in 1937), and a seven year European Tour Card exemption. The winner of The Race to Dubai will secure Category 1 Membership of The European Tour similar to the winners of The Open Championship, the US Open, the US PGA Championship and the Masters Tournament. The Bonus Pool will count as Official Money on the final Race to Dubai standings.

www wwgolf.biz www.wwgolf.biz

21 2

HOT on the heels of the exciting news that Jumeirah Golf Estates, venue of this monthâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, has been PCOGF CU VJG Ć&#x201C;TUV QHĆ&#x201C;EKCN 'WTQRGCP 6QWT &GUVKPCVKQP KP VJG /KFFNG East, with the development also set to host an elite European Tour Performance Institute, Worldwide Golf catches up with the man at the JGNO )GPGTCN /CPCIGT ;1757( -#<+/

DESTINATION JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES

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28 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

European Tour Destination, What it Means IN being named the ninth European Tour Destination, Jumeirah Golf Estates joins the world-class European Tour Properties portfolio that includes PGA Catalunya Resort in Spain; the London Golf Club in England; Terre Blanche Hotel Spa Golf Resort in Provence, France, and its sister venue Golf Club St. Leon-Rot near Frankfurt, Germany; Le Golf National in Paris, France where The 2018 Ryder Cup will be played; The Dutch in Holland; Diamond Country Club in Austria; and Golf & Country Club Fleesensee, near Berlin in Germany. 6JG RTGUVKIKQWU FGUKIPCVKQP OGCPU ,WOGKTCJ )QNH 'UVCVGU YKNN DGPGĆ&#x201C;V HTQO HQEWUGF year-long sales, marketing and operational support as well as receiving the global recognition and exposure that is afforded to member venues of the portfolio.

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 29

JUMERIAH GOLF ESTATES

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You must be thrilled that Jumeirah Golf Estates will become only the ninth European Tour Destination, and the first in the Middle East region? YK: It’s very exciting news for Dubai in particular and the region in general. The new partnership with The European Tour further enhances our already strong relationship as we prepare for the fifth season-ending tournament here on the Earth course and ensures that we can look forward in confidence to the next phase of the development, including the first stage of clubhouse development, due for opening in October 2014, and the continued handover of properties. The news that JGE will house only the second European Tour Performance Institute in the world is also a real honour, how is work progressing with that? YK: We are delighted to announce that European Tour Performance Institute will have its grand opening ceremony duringthis month’s DP World Tour Championship. It is one of the finest instructional facilities in the world. We look forward to welcoming members and guests in the coming weeks and months. What is your career background and how did you become involved with JGE? YK: My career with Nakheel started in 2005 (I was at Istithmar World prior to 2005) with Jumeirah Park master-planning and sales in 2006. I also managed the Jumeirah Island handover process, the Jumeirah Village projects process, as well as other Nakheel joint venue projects. In 2013, I was appointed as General Manager to Jumeirah Golf Estates. Did you have any knowledge or connection with JGE before taking up your position?

YK: As you might be aware, JGE had been managed by Nakheel since 2009. I witnessed the ﬁrst auctions at Burj Al Arab in 2005; however, between then and Nakheel taking over, the project was managed by an independent team that was not directly under my umbrella of responsibilities. How long have you been on the project? YK: I started on January 2013 so it’s been 11 months now. How is the JGE infrastructure completion going? YK: It’s going well towards its completion. The 132kV electrical substation has been energised, and was taken over by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA) on 11 March 2013. Civil works for the possible water pumping station are complete and ﬁnal testing is underway. The water main connection across Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road was completed on 27 February 2013. The main entrance on Al Khail Road was opened in January 2013, providing a link to the Al Khail extension road. Landscaping at the main entrance is now in progress. Nearly 7 km of the dual carriage outer ring road is now complete, along with the cart path, which runs parallel to the main road. Community road works and footpaths are nearly complete and the erection of street lighting poles is well

underway. Installation of the telecoms network has been completed and ﬁnal testing is being carried out by Du. What is the situation regarding the villas – are some of the residencies ready for occupancy? YK: Yes, we’ve currently handed over some of the villas in Whispering Pines and we are in the process of handing over villas in Flame Tree Ridge and Fireside soon. What’s the short/long term plan for the villas? YK: Our focus at the moment is on completion of villas and handing over to our home-owners. Are you pleased with the exposure and publicity that JGE has enjoyed through the overwhelming success of the DP World Tour Championship? YK: Of course. It has added great value to JGE in terms of marketing and branding. We are constantly looking at ways of ensuring JGE maximises its exposure via staging the DP World Tour Championship. Do you have an interest in golf or are your interests mainly in the overall development of JGE? YK: I am interested in both, since both integrate with each other to create this unique development inthe UAE.

FIRE COURSE Do you envisage the DP World Tour Championship being played on the Fire Course in the coming years? YK: Yes we would not rule out the possibility of staging the event on the Fire course. We have asked many people for their views, including the players. WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 31

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DP World Tour Championship by Numbers

$1.33m $8m

This is the fifth year of the DP World Tour Championship

60 Of the top players on The European Tour’s Race to Dubai

Par – Greg Norman designed Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates

Winner’s cheque

Total Prize fund

60,000

Spectators expected to attend

Previous winners: Lee Westwood 2009, Robert Karlsson 2010, Alvaro Quiros 2011, Rory McIlroy 2012 2

$11.75m The event offers the richest prize on The European Tour (prize fund plus bonus pool)

10 Minute intervals of tee times taking place between 07.30am-12.30pm

300 Volunteer marshals

Course record (10-under) achieved by Justin Rose in the 2012 DP World Tour Championship MOOD Magazine · October 2016

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 33

BRIGHT FUTURE KEITH WATERS, Chief Operating Officer and Director of International Policy of The European Tour talks, exclusively to Mike Gallemore ahead of the fifth DP World Tour Championship, Dubai

34 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

EXCLUSIVE

KEITH WATERS

We’ve also introduced a new regulation for next season to encourage players to play in their own National Opens

Europe were in a critical condition. Now I sense that the future looks a lot brighter. We’ve added two more tournaments to the 2014 International Schedule, one in Denmark and our one in the Czech Republic, and also introduced three new tournaments on the Challenge Tour with the National Bank of Oman Golf Classic, the Kharkov Open and one new venue with the seasonending Dubai Festival City Challenge Tour Grand Final hosted by Al Badia Golf Club. We’ve also introduced a new regulation for next season to encourage players to play in their own National Opens. For instance, Sergio Garcia, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano must support the open of their origin or they have to play two extra events on the 2014 International Schedule. It makes a huge diﬀerence when players compete in their National

T’S always good to be coming back to Dubai for the DP World Tour Championship at the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. After four outstanding editions the Championship has firmly established itself as a fitting climax to our season. We anticipate another strong field with a good number of top 10 and top 20 players on the Official World Golf Ranking taking part At this point 12 months ago we were in the business of stabilising our tournaments around the world. The ongoing financial crisis over the last three or four years meant that many of our events throughout

Opens to the event itself, to the spectators and, importantly, to the sponsors and potential sponsors. For instance, the eﬀect that someone like Austrian Bernd Wiesberger has on his national tournament, the Lyoness Open, is enormous. If he doesn’t play it’s a real problem. It really is imperative to have the home-grown heroes play their own tournaments. The players, thankfully, have taken that on board and many have already committed themselves to play those events, such as Robert Karlsson and Henrik Stenson in the Nordea Masters. The good news is that we don’t expect to lose any tournaments for 2014 but it’s still diﬃcult to reinstate some of the tournaments we had in England up until a few years ago, events like the British Masters and the European Open. The climate is not yet right to get them back for 2014. We’re fortunate to have the national championships for the Scottish Open,

ABOVE Italians Edoardo Molinari, Matteo Manassero and Francesco Molinari, flying the flag for Italy with the new European Tour Rule coming in next season to help encourage players to support their National Opens.

RIGHT TOP DRAWS: Luke Donald and Rory McIlroy on the tee at the DP World Tour Championship. Donald became the first player to win the money lists on both Tours in 2011 and McIlroy acheived the same feat in 2012.

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 35

We’ve had a good feedback from our Members towards The Final Series. The BMW Championship followed by the WGC- HSBC Championship in Shanghai and the Turkish Airlines Open are a good lead up to the DP World Tour Championship and the final lap of The Race to Dubai. the Irish Open and the Wales Open. They are big events in their own right and, of course, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth is huge. We’ve had good feedback from our Members towards The Final Series. The players themselves are pleased with introduction of the series. The BMW Masters followed by the WGCHSBC Championship in Shanghai and the Turkish Airlines Open are a good lead up to the DP World Tour Championship and the final lap of The Race to Dubai. Many of our Members have said they will be playing all four events, if qualified, which means The Race to Dubai will be a nail-biter all the way to the finishing line. India remains a

difficult market for us. Golf is a very exclusive and expensive sport there and although we are striving to get a Tour event back in India, after this year’s final Avantha Masters, in the near future we don’t expect the game to flourish there for a few years to come. India is unlike China, where there are a number of options open to us. The Australian Tour continues to grow but it’s a challenge to get International sponsors involved. It’s such a vast country where golf is just one of many sports. It’s a tough job to sustain golf tournaments in Australia. The Rio Olympics are beginning to take effect. Many countries who don’t have a tradition of golf are now adopting a different approach to the game. The fact that the Ukraine

ABOVE ENTER THE DRAGONS: Lee Westwood, winner of the DP World Tour Championship in 2009 and last year’s winner, Rory McIlroy, have some fun in China with ceremonial dragons.

LEFT The magnificent setting of the 18th hole at Wentworth, venue of the BMW PGA Championship, the flagship tournament of The European Tour.

staged a Challenge Tour event this year shows that they have changed their attitude towards golf now that it is an Olympic sport again. It is certainly helping the game to grow. China is another country where they want to create as many opportunities for their golfers to compete at the highest level. The unfounded rumours that the US PGA Tour were considering a takeover of our Tour seem to have subsided. Our relationship with the US PGA Tour is very strong and we continue to work with them to organise our schedules so that we can avoid ﬁxture clashes. It’s in the interest of both Tours that we work together for the good of the game. Meanwhile, we are looking forward to the DP World Tour Championship. Over the years Dubai, the UAE and the Middle East have become a second home for The European Tour and we are delighted that Jumeirah Golf Estates is making considerable progress. The opening of the new European Tour Performance Institute is imminent, along with the announcement that the venue is to become the ﬁrst ‘European Tour Destination’ in the Middle East, a prestigious honour that has only been bestowed upon eight other venues worldwide. Q

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 37

BMW has been the official car to the DP World Tour Championship since the first event in 2009.

Perfect fit Local BMW distributor Al Batha Automotive Group’s Director of Finance and Business Development, GURBAX SINGH, tells Worldwide Golf why golf, The Race to Dubai and the DP World Tour Championship are a JUHDW ͤW IRU WKH IDPRXV *HUPDQ OX[XU\ FDU EUDQG

’ve been asked many times the reason why golf is such an attractive sport for us to sponsor. BMW and golf are both run by passion. BMW is a premium brand and golf is a premium sport. Our target market is high-income individuals, directors of companies etc and most of them are members of golf clubs. Golf is very dynamic and aesthetic and that ﬁts perfectly with the BMW brand globally and gives us very good marketing mileage, which is why as a company we’ve chosen to associate ourselves with many golf events around the world. When I ﬁrst came to the UAE there was one sand course and now we have more than a dozen grass courses. As wealth continues to grow in the country and the UAE continues to develop, golf is taking a more and more prominent position in society and we want to be there to take advantage of it. We’re already reaping the rewards from golf in the region through our association with The Race to Dubai and The European Tour and we only see that continuing in the future. When The European Tour is here for the DP World Tour Championship we

supply players and officials with their motoring needs. We provide them with a fleet of luxury cars for transportation and we have our own hospitality chalet at the event where we can entertain our guests and customers. We also bring in prospective customers to show them what BMW has to offer.

top in The Race. The players really work hard all year to make sure that they’re in the top 60 so they can play in the DP World Tour Championship. All the players also enjoy the hospitality of DP World, Dubai and the UAE in general, which is legendary, so we’re very pleased to be involved.

Amazing Exposure The amount of exposure we gain just from four or five days at the DP World Tour Championship is actually a lot more than we’d probably get from three months doing several alternative activities. It’s a fantastic event for us. Also, when you consider that you have television images being beamed into 44 countries around the world, it’s huge. As the local distributer we may only be targeting one country out of that 44 but in terms of the global brand value that BMW receives, it really is significant. The DP World Tour Championship has established itself as one of the premium events on The European Tour. Not only does it have a world class field, it has a very large purse and as the final event on The Race to Dubai, it can have a huge bearing on who comes out on

Raised Profile There’s no question that the DP World Tour Championship has helped raise the profile of golf in this part of the world and it keeps going from strength to strength. It’s going to be a great event and I can’t wait for it to get underway. These days it’s so difficult to predict who’s going to win because there are so many strong players on The European Tour at the moment, so it’s open to anyone. But my favourite is Henrik Stenson. He used to be based in Dubai and is well liked here. He’s done really well this season after coming out of a slump in the last a few years. His performances in both the US and Europe have been fantastic and he’s really flying high, so with the home advantage of local knowledge he stands a great chance. Q

Gurbax Singh, Al Batha Automotive Group’s Director of Finance and Business Development

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 39

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WORLDWIDE GOLF COLUMNIST <<

Ian

POULTER

THRILLED TO JOIN THE WORLDWIDE GOLF TEAM

’m excited about becoming Worldwide Golf’s latest columnist and keeping you up to date with my adventures in every other issue throughout the season. Worldwide Golf has long been recognised as the No.1 golf magazine in the Middle East and has a great reputation so I’m thrilled to be joining the team. The Middle East has been a growing region as far as golf is concerned over the last few years and I’m very familiar with the game there having played so many tournaments in that part of the world. The hotels, restaurants and all round hospitality in are always magnificent and as players, we’re always so well looked after. It’s very exciting to see the region continue to flourish and become more and more popular as a tourist destination as well as golfing destination. I’m really looking forward to coming back to Dubai for the DP World Tour Championship. It’s a tournament that I’ve played well in in the past and I’ve enjoyed some good results at Jumeirah Golf Estates. I finished second to Robert Karlsson after a play-off a couple of years ago so I’m very much looking forward to trying to go one better. You might remember that there was an unfortunate incident on 18th, the second play-off hole, when I dropped my ball onto my marker on the green and received a one shot penalty. It was obviously a huge disappointment, but you know what? These things happen. There’s not a lot you can do about it, you just have to abide by the rules of golf and respect the game for having those rules. Nonetheless, I hope we don’t have a reccurrence of that type of incident this year!

Global Schedule I had ﬁve weeks oﬀ before The Final Series got underway and I’m in good form and feeling really good about my game. I can’t wait to get back on The European Tour. It’s still incredibly important to all the European players, even the guys who are now playing or living in the USA. The European Tour has been the Tour on which I’ve grown my golf right from the beginning and I’ll continue to play on it as much as I possibly can while also mixing in the global schedule that we all look at, too, when we try and plan what we think will be the best tournaments of the year. We try to mix European Tour and US PGA Tour events to create a well-rounded schedule and I think it works well. I think The Final Series is a good idea. The

You might remember that there was an unfortunate incident on the 18th, the second play-off hole, when I dropped my ball onto my marker on the green and received a one shot penalty. It was obviously a huge disappointment, but you know what? These things happen. There’s not a lot you can do about it, you just have to abide by the rules of golf and respect the game for having those rules. Nonetheless, I hope we don’t have a reccurrence of that type of incident this year! four events – two in Asia (BMW Masters, WGCHSBC Champions) and two in the Middle East (Turkish Airlines Open, DP World Tour Championship) – are very strong events. It’s a fitting end to The European Tour season to have four such great events in a row and that’s why I’m playing all four of them. Hopefully, I can have a fantastic four weeks. It’s a very important period for me because all four events carry Ryder Cup qualification points so I’m very much looking forward to getting a foot on that ladder, hopefully high up the ladder, by playing well and having four

good finishes which would put me a long way towards securing a place on Paul McGinley’s team at Gleneagles next year. On the fashion front I’m excited about the release of our first IJP Design ladies collection. It looks fantastic and it means that we now have junior, men’s and ladies’ lines. I’ll be wearing the men’s Autumn/Winter collection in Shanghai, Turkey and Dubai so, hopefully, I can showcase our new designs while posting some fantastic results! To view the latest collections from IJP Design visit: www.ijpdesign.com

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 45

Greg

NORMAN JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES GOES LIVE

s readers of Worldwide Golf will know, I’ve been integrally involved with the development of Jumeirah Golf Estates from its inception. Since my first meeting with the development team at The Open Championship at Royal Troon in 2004 this project has been a passion of mine. It’s fulﬁlling to see that the project is now going fully active with the completion of the services which will facilitate residents moving into this outstanding community. With this we will see the fulﬁllment of so many people’s work and we will see Jumeirah Golf Estates establish itself at the forefront of master-planned community developments. I’ve been fortunate to see the development of Dubai as a city state and the vision of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. As a golfer, I was one of the players to support the Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club after the inaugural event in 1989. In the early days, there was virtually nothing between Deira and the Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa. The transformation in the ensuing years has been nothing less than extraordinary. Jumeirah Golf Estates presented both a unique opportunity and an extraordinary challenge. We had the good fortune of being involved with the project from the initial conceptual planning stages and in that regard, we participated in the envisioning for the entire community. Success built on community As part of this process, we brought senior executives from the United States to look at the work that we had completed. This process was essential in helping JGE see world-class golf course communities. I’ve often felt that the most successful real estate-driven golf course communities are those that develop a true sense of community, where the residents have the opportunity to not only enjoy an incredible lifestyle but help create the social fabric of the development with their neighbours, to create a sense of place that is family-friendly and multigenerational. Clearly, the opportunity to create something

46 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

from scratch, essentially from a blank canvas, is intriguing. In doing so, we brought in some of the best consultants in the world, including EDSA for land planning, Zmistowski Design Group for the clubhouse as well as civil engineering groups and agencies. We essentially created a ‘Dream Team’ of consultants and advisors to give their knowledge, experience and shape to the project. The challenge, interestingly enough, was that the land had very few natural attributes. One might think that such a platform would give us the opportunity to create anything we might imagine, but by the same token, the challenge was to shape the land, create water features, infrastructure and a wide variety of characteristics. It was done in such a way that it would appear we had discovered an extraordinary site from the outset, so as to avoid having the product appear to be artiﬁcial. Excellent Global Platform To do this we created subtle topography on a broad scale and integrated landscaping and specimen trees in such a way that the site would appear to have been there, naturally, for many years. This requires a great deal of experience and the execution of the plan is as much an art form as it is a discipline. While the creation of the development was a fascinating challenge, the promotion and communication of what we created was equally important and to that end, JGE has created an excellent platform by hosting the DP World Tour Championship. This event, which serves as the climax to The European Tour season has helped put JGE on the golﬁng map, not just for the GCC, but for the world. A great deal of credit must also be given to the sub-developers, Homebuilders. In addition to the Master Developer, Jumeirah Golf Estates, there are also Sheikh Holdings, Tulip and CHI Development Group. The Master Developer Jumeirah Golf Estates expects by the end of next month to hand over 160 villas in the Whispering Pines collection overlooking the Fire and Earth courses. Within the same time-line sub-developers CHI expect to have 121 Lime Tree Valley villas, along with Tulip’s 111 villas, available

for handover in the Sienna Lakes and Olive Point communities. Jumeirah Golf Estates is also preparing to hand over 99 villas from the Flame Tree Ridge community in the ﬁrst quarter of 2014. The sub-developers all collaborated with JGE’s design governance, in order to create a seamless architectural experience. Without the cooperation of these groups, JGE would not be so perfectly integrated. These groups deserve a great deal of credit for the success of the development.

WORLDWIDE GOLF COLUMNIST <<

I wish Jumeirah Golf Estates, The European Tour, all the players competing, the many thousands of spectators who will attend the fifth DP World Tour Championship this month, and the many millions watching on television around the world an entertaining and exciting week of world-class golf at the Earth course I am so proud to have designed.

With the global ﬁnancial crisis, JGE has done an extraordinary job in staying the course, not dropping its standards, maintaining its relationships with its homebuilders and homeowners, maintaining and improving on the landscaping, the golf course experience and, of course, hosting the DP World Tour Championship. This has enabled JGE to be years ahead of any competition as we continue to recover from the global ﬁnancial crisis. With the infrastructure now complete, JGE

is poised to go from second gear to ﬁfth gear. As we have all known, JGE had the potential to become the most desirable golf course-driven real estate community in the GCC and I have every conﬁdence that over the next twelve months, we will see a great deal of attention and accolades supporting this position. JGE is certainly one of the projects that I am most proud of, not only because we created a world class golf course, but because we worked with JGE to create an integrated real estate-

driven golf course community that is vibrant and will improve and increase in value over the generations to come. I wish Jumeirah Golf Estates, The European Tour, all the players competing, the many thousands of spectators who will attend the ﬁfth DP World Tour Championship this month, and the many millions watching on television around the world an entertaining and exciting week of world-class golf at the Earth course I am so proud to have designed. Q

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 47

WORLDWIDE GOLF COLUMNIST <<

David

HOWELL

BACK TO MAKE MY DP WORLD DEBUT IN DUBAI AT LAST

T’S great to bring you my first Worldwide Golf column at what is a great time for me both on and off the golf course. It’s a wonderful feeling to be heading back to Dubai to play in the DP World Tour Championship for the first time. Having lived in Dubai during the winter months in recent years it’s ironic that my wife, Emily, will be in the UK expecting our forthcoming twins instead of working on the event over in Dubai, while I’m in Dubai playing in the tournament. I’ve watched the DP World Tour Championship on television for the last four years so it’s going to be a big thrill for me to ﬁnally make my debut in our Tour’s season-ending climax. I’ve had to sit it out because my game just hadn’t been good enough to get into the top 60 players on the Tour and qualify. It’s a fabulous tournament and each year it has provided some fantastic drama. I know the Earth course really well. I used to play it often when I lived in Dubai with my good friend Neil Graham, from Jumeirah Golf Estates. Mind you, it will be a diﬀerent proposition playing it in a tournament of this magnitude. As Player Representative on the Tour Committee I’ve been asked whether the Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates would be suitable to host the tournament. I like the Fire course and the Earth course and I like the contrast in colours on the Fire course. It’s lacking a couple of feature holes but they could be created. The players also like the Fire course as well as the Earth course.

Back to winning ways It’s a very fine line between a good year and a poor year – but it means everything to us. I’ve been playing much better golf over the past two seasons than I have for a long time. But when you’re ranked 232nd in the world as I was back then, the only way is up. Winning the Dunhill Links at St Andrews was my first win for six years and what a difference it has made. Yet my victory came at the second hole of a play-off with Peter Ulhein, so I could so easily have missed out. Success and failure in our game can be measured in millimetres – the difference between a shot dropping into the cup or staying on the edge of the hole. With the DP World Tour Championship being the ultimate event of the season and also the fourth tournament in the Final Series, it provides an even bigger finish to the year. The Final Series is a great idea. Anything that gets as many of the leading

David lifts the Dubai Desert Classic trophy in 1999 at the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club.

players together in these four tournaments has to be a good thing for the players and the Tour – and it’s a good response to the US PGA Tour’s FedExCup Play-oﬀs. The FedExCup doesn’t really reward consistent good play throughout the season in the way that The Race to Dubai does. With the Final Series, the DP World Tour Championship and the Bonus Pool of The Race to Dubai there’s a great deal of money at stake that could change the lives of many of our players. The WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai doesn’t sit very well within the Final Series, with it being a World Golf Championships event, but I can understand why it has been included. It looks as though the top 70-75 players on The European Tour will be earning more than they did last year and that’s a good sign that things are beginning to pick up. The new events in the Czech Republic and in Denmark on The European Tour 2014 International Schedule show that we are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel but it is still bound to

I’ve never heard any of the players have a bad word to say about Dubai. I suppose the emirate was something of a novelty at first because it’s unique but the DP World Tour Championship has now become such a big event it’s up there with the best tournaments in the world. take time for us to come out of this recession. We still have tournaments with around only £1million in total prizemoney but at least the Schedule looks healthy and there are plenty of tournaments for players of all levels. It’s a very positive sign for the future. We have to accept that the fortunes of The European Tour are mirrored by what happens to the wider economy we live in, particularly in Europe. We’re not out of the water yet but we’re in a better position than we were in two or three years ago. It’s good that the Middle East has stayed strong and very loyal to The European Tour. Dubai has become a spiritual home for The European Tour. The players love coming into Dubai. It might not be everyone’s ideal place to live but it does have a lot to offer. I’ve never heard any of the players have a bad word to say about Dubai. I suppose the emirate was something of a novelty at first because it’s unique but the DP World Tour Championship has now become such a big event it’s up there with the best tournaments in the world. With the three-week Middle East Swing at the start of the year in Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Dubai it’s great for the players and their families. We get a rest day between the tournaments and Dubai is not a bad place to take a break. It’s an opportunity to enjoy the weather, the beach, the restaurants, the concerts , the golf facilities and the hotels. One of the downsides of being a Tour player is the amount of travelling we have to do so when we get a clutch of events in the same region like the Middle East it gives us time to ease off a little – except when we’re on the golf course. Q

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 49

WORLDWIDE GOLF COLUMNIST <<

Pete

COWEN

THIS GAME TAKES IT OUT OF YOU!

’M pleased to have two of the players I coach currently No.1 and No.2 on The Race to Dubai in Henrik Stenson and Graeme McDowell. They were both a little rusty at the BMW Masters after each having five weeks off, and there are two more big events in the Final Series to come before we get to Dubai for the DP World Tour Championship. But they’ll be back in the swing soon enough and if they keep playing the way they were, I don’t think anyone will catch them. So many factors go into a player hitting top form. Their mind, body and game all need to be in the right place and those guys have got everything going for them at the moment. I feel for Louis Oosthuizen because he’s as good as anybody in the world but he’s been plagued with back problems this season and if that continues he’ll keep struggling. When I was playing I had a bad back and was out of action for two years before I got it right. Richard Sterne was out for 18 months with a bad back – that tells you something about how difficult a problem it is to fix. Unfortunately it’s a common ailment for golfers. The repetitive movement of the golf swing puts stress on the back. Young bodies can take it but obviously as you get a little bit older your body can’t cope quite as well. There’s one thing that makes everybody look ordinary and that’s age unfortunately. Jumeirah Golf Estates in great condition I was in Dubai recently and went to Jumeirah Golf Estates to see how things are shaping up there ahead of the tournament. The greens are in great condition and the new European Tour Performance Institute is really good. I’m sure all the players will use it and enjoy it – once they’ve seen it I think you might get more of The European Tour players starting to use Dubai as their winter practice base as it’s a world-class facility. I’ve heard about the new regulation from The European Tour trying to get players to play their home Opens next season by saying that they’ll have to play two additional events if they don’t. But it’ll backfire – in fact it’s already backfiring. Some players just won’t play The Race to Dubai and will stay in America permanently like Nick Price did years ago and only come to play on the odd occasion in Europe. It’s difficult because The European Tour are trying to get tournaments in place with the best players at them but if they’re

50 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

not in the right place, at the right time, they’re going to struggle. There are so many options for good players now and they only want to play 23 or 24 tournaments a year so you can understand why certain events aren’t getting the top players. Even small tournaments in America have prize funds of US$5 million these days! As I said earlier, the body can only take so much, so players have to choose carefully where they play – a there’s a certain element of ‘horses for courses’. Players like playing on courses their

Graeme McDowell and Henrik Stenson pictured togther during a practice round at this year’s Masters Tournament.

games are suited to and places that they’ve done well before. They also want to leave a legacy of having won at the biggest, most famous venues in the world when they retire because that’s what they’re going to be judged on. Q

Q&A

>> Doug Robinson

If the shoe fits... Worldwide Golf talks exclusively to Footjoy’s Vice President of Golf Footwear Worldwide Doug Robinson to find out why ‘shoes maketh the golfer.’ WWG: How can wearing the correct golf shoes improve your game – is there really that much difference from one shoe to the next? DR: At FJ, we believe that wearing the correct golf shoes absolutely makes a difference in improving your game. First and foremost, obtaining the proper fit is of the utmost importance. Once the appropriate size is determined, we can move to style selection. FJ develops golf footwear with every different type of player in mind. From the player who walks and only plays in warm climates, to the player who plays primarily in damp, hilly conditions, FJ has a range of golf shoes to suit a wide variety of needs. Understanding the consumer’s needs allows us the information to best suggest the proper golf footwear. In this day and age there are more choices than ever – from spikeless or cleated, to waterproof or nonwaterproof and all with varying feature packages along the way.

WWG: With golf clubs everybody wants greater distance and accuracy – but what are the key targets for improvement in shoe technology? DR: Comfort. Gone are the days of lengthy break-in periods for golf footwear. We develop shoes that can be taken out of the box, placed on your feet and worn to the ﬁrst tee. In addition, lightweight stability is an attribute we make sure to address in each of our categories as we are focused on providing functionality in each of our shoes.

Hybrid +\EULG JROI VKRHV VHHP WR EH WDNLQJ Rƨ LQ D ELJ ZD\ Ř ZKDW DUH WKH NH\ EHQHƩWV RI WKLV W\SH RI VKRH RYHU D WUDGLWLRQDO VKRH" DR: If by ‘hybrid’ you mean nubbed, spikeless traction, we agree that the popularity has been tremendous. We attribute this success to the combination of comfortable footwear with UDQR@SHKHSX SGD @AHKHSX SN VD@Q SGD RGNDR NM NQ NƤ SGD BNTQRD

52 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

WWG: Equally, many of the Footjoy brand ambassadors still favour more traditional models such as the Icon – what are the key benefits of this type of shoe? DR: FJ Icon continues to be the No. 1 category worn on our worldwide tours. This category oﬀers the great combination of ﬁrm, platform stability with fashionable, dressy looks that meet the needs and expectations of our tour players. In addition, having interchangeable cleats will provide the

DESIGN INFLUENCE Where does the inspiration come from? DR: Footwear designers are like all product designers in that they pull influence from just about everywhere. Besides studying the golf swing for functional improvements, our design team pulls creative inspiration from attending material shows, traveling to key fashion spots around the world, and many other influences from day-to-day life experiences. A great example is that our OptiFlex technology (forefoot flex area in FJ Icon and DryJoys shoes) was inspired by some of the construction and flexibility properties from the advanced toothbrushes at that time.

best traction for these players and being able to ‘renew’ this traction is a plus.

sizes and widths we oﬀer (138 sizes in men’s Icon for example!)

WWG: How has online customisation changed the industry? DR: Our MyJoys programme has become a tremendous extension of our in-line footwear oﬀering. This is primarily due to the incredible amount of style options oﬀered – colour and personalisation – but also the sheer number of

WWG: How much more room for development is there where cleats are concerned? DR: Our Design and Development team are constantly looking at ways to improve and innovate golf footwear – as far as cleats are concerned, we work closely with Softspikes and Champ in selecting the best cleats for our shoes.

We are a golf company ... period! WWG: Are any elements of the shoes still KDQGPDGH RU LV HYHU\WKLQJ DXWRPDWHG WKHVH GD\V" DR: The majority of the processes for making shoes are still done by hand – in fact, nearly 200 steps in our process to make each pair of shoes involve the personal touch of our vast team of talented shoe-makers.

::* 7KH JROI VKRH LQGXVWU\ LV JHWWLQJ PRUH H DQG PRUH FRPSHWLWLYH ZLWK QHZ EUDQGV DQG QHZ WHFKQRORJLHV FRPLQJ RXW DOO WKH WLPH Ř KRZ KDV )- UHWDLQHG LWV 1R VWDWXV IRU VR PDQ\ \HDUV" DR: There is no question that the golf shoe industry has become more competitive over the years. FJ’s success in this industry can

be attributed to the talented associates that work here and the brand’s singular commitment and dedication to the sport of golf. We are a golf company…period.

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 53

Adam Scott

2013 MASTERS 速 CHAMPION

STRIDING TO SUCCESS IN

FJ StaSof 速

FJ Sport

Style 53255#

速

www.footjoy.co.uk

www.prosports.ae

>> FOOTJOY FITTING >

Q&A

WWG: It’s often said that the majority of golfers wear shoes that are too big for them (around 85%) – how important is correct fitting? DR: As mentioned earlier, achieving a proper fit is paramount. Our internal test results clearly show distinct differences in the results of shots hit in properly fitting shoes vs shoes that are improperly fit….in the most extreme case, players wearing shoes that were too long and wide showed a 25% loss of power in measuring the ground reaction forces underfoot—compared to the same players in properly fitted shoes. Since there is no set industry standard for footwear sizing, it is important to see your golf professional to get properly fit for your golf shoes. Check out some of our tips below:

Use a Brannock – the universal foot measurement device. Sit down – always measure feet with the individual seated. FootJoy sizing is calibrated for a sitting measurement. Some companies recommend standing on the Brannock but this will lead to FJ shoes that are too big. Proper socks – make sure the individual is wearing socks similar in thickness to those they use when playing golf. Measure both feet – and fit to the largest foot. Most people have slight differences between left and right feet. If the differences are great (one whole size in length or two sizes in width) then different left and right shoe sizes may be needed – order through MyJoys.com. Watch Widths – be mindful of the widths. Most people believe that they are a medium width, but the reality is over 40% are not. Measure them. Snug fit – golf shoes should be snug but not tight. Excess movement inside the shoe leads to loss of power in the golf swing and can cause blistering due to friction.

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 55

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THE Final Series could have a huge outcome on this year’s Race to Dubai, with over US$30 million dollars to play for over the four events.

PLAY TO PLAYBy:GREAT Bob Rotella

he key for any of the guys who wins one of the three events leading up to the DP World Tour Championship is to get it out of their minds pretty quickly as there will be another big tournament coming right up. Some guys are going to say Monday is the day they’ll stop talking to the media about last week. For others it will be Wednesday, but there has to be some point where you draw a line in the sand and say, ‘I’m done thinking about and talking about last week.’ That’s where you talk to players about embracing the challenge of winning one week and then getting up again the next week and being just as hungry and just as disciplined and just as patient to win again. What that really means is you’ve got to go out there the next week and just throw away the expectations and get back to playing one shot at a time. If you put undue pressure on yourself when everyone is saying, ‘Boy you’re in great shape, you ought to win this thing’ you’re going to make it hard on yourself. These guys are always working on not trying too hard once they get on the golf course. In other words – it’s really easy to want something badly and go out and work too hard for it and we’re always working on trying your best, not your hardest. A lot of times trying your best feels like you’re not trying hard enough. Another important aspect will be how players cope with disappointment if they don’t play well one week, in order to get up again for the following week.

The great thing about these events is you only have to play well one week to put yourself in a great position on The Race to Dubai. One of the things I’m always talking about is ‘playing to play great’. These events are all about playing great – if you play great once or twice you’ve got a chance. You just can’t go out there and play tight or play scared. You’ve just got to say, ‘All that matters is how many times do I play great during this period?’ If you can hang in there to the last week and play great then, you can come out smelling of roses. Play to your skill level I don’t care if you’re a pro or an amateur, a scratch golfer or a 20 handicapper. This is what you have to do if you want to play up to your ability level. That’s why we call it ‘getting out of your own way’. What you’re really doing is you develop skills then you want to go out in a tournament and see if you can let yourself play to your skill level, that’s what it’s all about. You have to understand that most of the time when you play golf, even at the highest level, the swing doesn’t feel as good as it did on the range ﬁve days ago, or your putting stroke doesn’t feel as good. Most of the time, when you’re playing tournament golf, it doesn’t feel as good as you’d like it to feel. It’s about taking pride in the fact that you are good at scoring and getting the ball in the hole. That means it’s a lot about course management, it’s a lot about managing your mind and your emotions and staying, cool, calm and

collected. You have to say to yourself, ‘I know how to play golf.’ It’s not about everything feeling exactly the way you’d like it to feel. Even at pro level there’s usually two out of four days when a guy doesn’t hit it that well – you have to be able to go out there and play good, solid golf when it doesn’t feel great. That’s what all good players learn to accept. That’s really what I meant with my ﬁrst book, ‘Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect’ – if people think the reason they’re practicing is so they can get in a big tournament and it’s going to feel the best it’s ever felt – that just doesn’t happen very often. That’s where patience and acceptance plays such a huge part in the game. Q

Dr Bob Rotella’s ‘The Unstoppable Golfer’ is available on www.amazon.com

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 57

INSTRUCTION ROSS MCARTHUR PGA TEACHING PROFESSIONAL AL HAMRA GOLF CLUB

GRIP 1: STANDARD INTERLOCK / OVERLAP The standard interlock/overlap is the grip that the majority of golfers tend to learn to putt with. This grip is easy to start with, because it feels comfortable and it’s the grip you everyone is familiar with. Jack Nicklaus was the perfect example of using this grip to good eﬀect. However, the problem with the interlock grip is that the stroke has a tendency to get too “handsy” and can cause you to misstime your putts.

Coming to Grips with your Putting The search for the perfect putting stroke which enables you to hole lots of putts is something we’re all looking for and, in our game, all of us at some point have had ups and downs with our putting. Putting is a very idiosyncratic movement where there is no right or wrong way to putt. If it works, it works. Just watching the guys and girls on Tour there are many diﬀerent styles out there. However, there are ways to lift ourselves out of a bad spell on the greens and often a fresh technique or a change of grip can turn your game around, especially from a psychological point of view. Here we look at a few of the grip options for you to try and see if you can improve your feel.

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GRIP 2: REVERSE OVERLAP The reverse overlap Is where the index finger of the top hand rests on the side of the fingers of the lower hand. As you can see in the picture, my left hand index finger is now in contact with the fingers of my right hand. Both of my palms are facing each other with the putter now appearing as an extension of my forearms. This grip gives a different feel. Some golfers think it feels more secure and Seve Ballesteros himself had great success with this grip. A modification is to place the lower hand index finger down the shaft.

GRIP 3: CROSS HANDED cross handed is whereisthe are aplaced on TheThe standard interlockgrip of overlap thehands grip that majority of golfers tendthe to learn to putt This is easy the club opposite waywith. round togrip normal. Fortoa start right with-handed as it feelsgolfer comfortable grip you know . Jack the left and handisisthe now below the right as Nicklaus was the perfect example of using this grip to good seen in the picture. Many top golfers have used the cross eﬀect. The problem with the interlock grip is that through grip the years, to notably Fred Couples. the -handed stroke you canthrough have a tendency get too “handsy” andA big positive of this grip is that it alignsmiss the time shoulders more your putts squarely, especially on short putts, improving the stroke. However, it can compromise feel on long distance putts.

GRIP 4: THE CLAW/SAW GRIP The claw grip is one where many diﬀerent variations are available. This grip is designed to prevent the dreaded “Yips.” The yips are where the right hand is too active through the stroke and becomes wristy and uncontrolable, resulting in hitting putts a long way past the hole, even from a short distance. In the picture you can see my left hand is in its normal position but my right hand is turned upside down and my 3 ﬁngers are on the top of the grip with my thumb around the back. This way the right hand stays in a straight line and takes the wrist action out of the stroke. This should result in more consistency. However, this grip is not for everyone and often the feel is too strange to be comfortable.

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 61

INSTRUCTION TIM BACKHOUSE

HEAD TEACHING PROFESSIONAL

THE ROYAL GOLF CLUB, BAHRAIN

FINISH YOUR CHIPS No matter what sport you’re watching, you will notice that the better the player is, the easier they make it look. Roger Federer in tennis, Lionel Messi in football, Floyd Mayweather in boxing - all of these world famous sportsmen make it look easy and that’s because they’re always in a good, balanced position throughout their action

When hitting chips, it is vital to ﬁnish well. To enable for us to ﬁnish well, we need to set up properly by ensuring that: Weight is favouring the front foot (60%). Hands are slightly forward (butt of club pointing at left groin). Ball position is just inside the back foot. Stance is relatively close to the ball.

• • • • 64 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

This position in the backswing is created by a turn of the body, not just a movement of the arms. The weight stays on the left side throughout the swing.

For this drill I have placed a tee in the end of the grip. As I ﬁnish the shot, the top of the tee points to the sky in an exaggerated position, not towards my stomach. If the tee points at your stomach then your wrists have ‘ﬂicked’ which will cause inconsistency.

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 65

INSTRUCTION WAYNE JOHNSON DIRECTOR OF INSTRUCTION PGA JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES

QUICK TIPS PLAY SAFE AND GET THE BALL RUNNING EARLY For many golfers short chip shots around the green can often prove awkward and difficult to negotiate successfully! Here we look at a great way to get up and down with confidence! Use your 8 iron like a putter and lift the heel off the ground and play the shot with a long, smooth putting-style stroke. The loft of the club will pop the ball over the fringe grass and get the ball rolling towards the target. Having the heel off the ground will prevent the club head from catching and fluffing the shot.

Wayne Johnson’s qualifications and coaching expertise are unquestionable having worked at the highest level as a golf teacher and coach, spending four years working as Director of Instruction for the world’s foremost golf teacher Butch Harmon at his schools in the USA, Bahamas and Macau having worked closely & assisted Butch in many of his coaching sessions with such notable tournament professionals as Tiger Woods, Adam Scott, Mark Calcavecchia, Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke and Jose Maria Olazabal. Wayne first came to Dubai in 2002 and was responsible for the creation of the Academy by TROON GOLF at the internationally recognized five-star Montgomerie Dubai, quickly becoming the Middle east’s leading golf instructional facility. Wayne is currently Director of instruction for the Jumeirah Golf Estates Tour Academy, home of the DP World Tour Championship.

66 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

1 Club shaft close to vertical with heel up. 2 Putting grip long smooth swing

4 Balanced ďŹ nish 3 Stable lower body weight favoring your left side

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Zane Scotland takes the MENA Tour apart.

Qamar Rasheed wins the Engineers Cup at Emirates Golf Club.

The annual Society League competition, sponsored by Conares, tees off in Sharjah.

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2013 MENA TOUR www.menagolftour.com

Zane Scotland receives his trophy for winning the Ras Al Khaimah Classic from Shaikh Faisal bin Saqr Al Qasimi as Shaikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation, Adel Zarouni, Vice Chairman of the Federation, and Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Chairman of the MENA Golf Tour, look on.

SCOTLAND DOMINATING THE MENA TOUR ZANE Scotland is proving the man to beat on the 2013 MENA Tour after racking up four victories so far. After a long break over the summer months, the Tour got back underway at Dubai Creek in late September and Scotland picked up where he left oﬀ in March to win his second title of the 2013 Tour, following his victory in the season-opening Royal Dar El Salam Open in Morocco in March. Scotland, who won the Dubai Creek Open last year, closed with a 4-under 67 to post a 7-under total and win by one from New Zealand’s Trevor Marshall with English Amateur Max Williams third on 5-under. “It feels great to defend the title. I think I played pretty tidy golf all days,” said a delighted Scotland. “Trevor and Max kept up the pressure most of the day, but I managed to pull it through on a course where I always feel at home.” The following week the MENA Tour moved west to Saudi Arabia for the American Express Dirab Golf Championship and taking the spoils there was American Tommy Mou.

In-form Three rounds in the 60s saw Mou post an 11-under total to ﬁnish one clear of Scotland’s Duncan Stewart with the in-form Scotland taking third place on 7-under. “It’s a great feeling to know that I am the ﬁrst American to win a MENA Tour event,” Mou said. “The win is special since there are a number of quality players playing on the tour. Duncan kept up the pressure all the way to the end and I had to dig deep to pull it through.” The Tour travelled back to Dubai for the Shaikh Maktoum Open at Al Badia and Scotland clearly felt

good to be back in the UAE as he romped to a twostroke victory. He closed with a bogey-free 67 to sign for a 13-under total and win his third title of the 2013 MENA Tour ahead of Scotland’s David Law. “It feels great to win another title on the tour. I tried to stay focused on my game and not force things. It worked out well for me in the end,” said Scotland after receiving the winner’s trophy and a cheque for $9,000 from Adel Zarouni, vice-chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation. Mohamed Juma Buamaim, Chairman of the MENA Golf Tour, and James Shippey, General Manager of Al Badia Golf Club, were also present at the presentation ceremony. “I didn’t drop a shot today – and that was the key. The intention now is to try and keep the momentum going in the remaining events on the tour,” said Scotland, who is also a ‘golf in DUBAi’ ambassador. “There are plenty of good players on the tour and so that is really an incentive to do your best.” Scotland continued to outplay the cream of the MENA Tour the following week at the Ras Al Khaimah Classic at Tower Links Golf Club. The tournament results bore a striking resemblance to the previous week as Scotland again shot a sublime 67 in the ﬁnal round to defeat Law – only this time by one stroke. “To be honest I surprised myself with the result,” said Scotland after a back nine featuring six birdies saw him clinch the title. “I played pretty aggressively on the back nine and count myself lucky for holing some clutch putts. I took a big risk on the 18th hole, hitting my approach from behind some trees. Luckily it landed on the green and I two putted for a birdie and it turned out to be crucial.” With four wins on the schedule so far Scotland is leading the way but Welshman Stephen Dodd

became the second multiple winner on the MENA Tour this year with victory at the Abu Dhabi GOLF CITIZEN Open at Saadiyat Beach. The 48-year old stiﬀed a 7-iron from 172 yards to within inches of the pin on the closing hole to seal a one-stroke win over Englishmen Craig Hiinton and Stuart Archibald, ﬁnishing 6-under-par for the tournament. The MENA Tour has two more events in Qatar and Oman before the season-ending MENA Tour Championship at the Al Ain Equestrian Shooting & Golf Club later this month.

Tommy Mou is pictured with his trophy and cheque for $9,000 after winning the American Express Dirab Golf Championship. Remaining MENA Tour fixtures: The Qatar Classic Doha Golf Club, 27 October - 30 October 2013 Prize Money: USD 50,000.00 Oman Ghala Valley Golf Club, 03 November - 06 November 2013 Prize Money: USD 50,000.00 Mena Tour Championship by Abu Dhabi Sports Council Al Ain Equestrian Shooting & Golf Club, 10 November - 13 November 2013 Prize Money: USD 75,000.00

ArabianGolf - November 2013 | 71

DUBAI CREEK GOLF AND YACHT CLUB www.dubaigolf.com

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TEAM ASIA SEALS THE CLASH OF THE TITANS THE Filipino Golfers in the Middle East (FIGME) hosted the ﬁfth edition of the Clash of the Titans at Dubai Creek recently and coming out on top after an epic display was the team from Asia as they downed the Rest of the World team 7.5 – 6.5. Fourteen teams from each side went head to head and the highlight of the day was provided by Mark Adams as he aced the par-3 8th hole to walk away with a brand new Chevrolet Impala courtesy of tournament sponsors Al Ghandi Auto. “I would like to thank and acknowledge Ramon Navea and his FIGME team in organising fantastic events which is always a day to remember and full of fun and memories,” said Adams after collecting his car. “It is a memorable day and I would like to thank Al Ghandi Auto for providing this opportunity to all players to compete in the Hole in One event – Lady Luck was on my side today.” David Hadley, CEO Mediclinic, sponsored the crystal trophies which were

Winning Asian Captain Rudy Laguna and Vice Captain Lorenzo Rivera celebrate with the trophy. handed to all the winners in the individual event and taking the top prize was Nestor Labis as he scored 34 points. Dan Alforte led the scoring in Division ‘1’ (hcp 0-12) with 32 points while Eric Matabang topped the pile in Division ‘2’ (hcp 13-18) with 32 points. The ﬁnal Division ‘3’ (hcp 19+) prize went to Mario Guitierrez as he scored 32 points.

CAPTAIN PLATT LEADS THE WAY

Stephen Hubner (Head Golf Professional, Dubai Creek), George Horan (Club Captain, Dubai Creek), Dinesh Sharma (Champion), Maureen Platt (Lady Captain, Dubai Creek), Rashid Hamood (Assistant Golf Experience Manager, Dubai Creek).

LADY Captain Maureen Platt began the season with real intent as she took the top spot in the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Medal in September. It was the ﬁrst oﬃcial Ladies event of the new campaign and Platt cruised to a mammoth sevenstroke victory thanks to an excellent net 66. Finishing in second place was Chikako Inoue while Harrini White took third place with a net 74. The best gross score on the day went to new member Haide White as she posted a 92.

SHARMA SEALS THE OCTOBER MEDAL DINESH Sharma ﬁred a superb net 68 to take the spoils in last month’s Mashreq Medal Championship. “I’m very happy with my performance and my win today and I would like to say a big thank you to my teaching professional Stephen Hubner who played a big part in my win,” said Sharma after accepting the trophy. In the Men’s Division ‘A’ Jamal Saab topped the pile with a 69, one stroke clear of Kennon Ryder who defeated Mark Jolliﬀe on a countback to take second place. The Divsions ‘B’ title went to Paul Abouchara

with a 71 with Ashok Ahuja finishing second with a 72 while in the Ladies Division it was Henna Jodha who sealed the victory after a narrow countback victory over Lady Captain Maureen Platt. Another countback was needed to decide the winner of the best gross prize as Dino Varkey and Miki Mirza finished tied at the top with solid scores of 72. In the end it was Varkey who finished the stronger to claim the prize while new Dubai Creek member Andrew Horne made a great start in his first event as he took top spoils in the Seniors Division with a fantastic net 69.

Maureen Platt accepts her prize from Creek golf professional Craig Waddell and Lady Vice Captain Paula Savage.

ArabianGolf - November 2013 | 73

EMIRATES GOLF CLUB www.dubaigolf.com

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Club Captain Dick Purchase hits his ceremonial drive

Left to right: Marc Charlet, Mitsuko Emmerson (Lady Vice Captain), Soumaya Salem, Alan Salem and Dick Purchase.

SALEMS LEAD THEIR TEAM TO THE SEASON OPENER THE 2013-2014 season officially teed off recently with 128 members competing in a 4-ball team shamble competition. The day commenced with the traditional ceremonial tee shot from the incoming captain as Past Captain Moshe Kohli handed the reins to Dick Purchase who dispatched his tee shot 234 yards down the first fairway despite the pressure of 128 watching pairs of eyes.. The quartet of Alan Salem, Soumaya Salem, Marc Charlet and Rabih Sfeila followed their victory in the Pro’s Day two weeks earlier with another triumph, this time by a three shot margin. The team, which was captained by Alan, has taken a liking to the shamble format and Alan, a 13-handicapper, contributed on 12 holes

including eight net birdies. The team combined well with Soumaya, Marc and Rabih all helping the team on eight holes each. Moshe Kohli, Ramesh Prabhakar, Surabhi Prabhakar and Baraj Singh Kohli produced an excellent score of 120 to take second place while one shot further back and in third was the team of Martha and Bill Wong, Naima Maya and Tej Chhabra. One of the highlights of the day came from Bill Wong as he had a hole-in-one on the 178-yard par-3 15th hole. However, it came at a cost as Bill rang the bell in the bar during the prize giving, kindly oﬀering each one of his fellow members a celebratory drink.

Qamar Rasheed receives his prize from Club Vice Captain, Kamal Kosta

QAMAR RASHEED TRIUMPHS IN THE ENGINEERS CUP QAMAR Rasheed came out on top of the 60 strong field that played the championship Majlis course from the tough black tees in the Engineers Cup. His 6-under-par stableford 42 points was four shots ahead of second place and his impressive scorecard included 10 pars and birdies on holes 10, 12, and 16 giving him a score of 24 points just on the back 9 to go with his steady 18 points on the front 9. The runner up spot was secured by Sudhir Vora with a fine 2-under-par 38 Stableford points after a countback. His back 9 of 20 points enabled him to finish ahead of third place Rami Safadi who also had the 2-under-par score of 38 Stableford points. In Division A (0-12hcp) it was Malcolm Wood who took top honours beating Haris Michaelides after a count back with both players finishing on level par 36 Stableford points. Rajesh Verma was the winner of the Division B (13-24hcp) with his level par score of 36 Stableford points. The runner-up spot went to Gurmukh Ghuldu with 34 points.

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PLATT, DICKENSON AND BROEDELET SEAL THE SCRAMBLE THE second ladies event of the season saw 44 ladies compete in a three-man Team Scramble and taking the spoils were Lynne Dickinson, Sandra Broedelet and Maureen Platt with a superb score of 58.8. Taking second place with a score of 59.6 were Sue Hopwood, Sylvia Weber and Rosemary Turlik while in third place wth a 60.3 were Viv Caley, Hiromi Ohashi and Helen Srivastava.

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SANGANI SEALS A COUNTBACK A TOTAL of 56 contenders teed it up aiming to seal their place in the singles match play draw for the new campaign and coming out on top in Division ‘B’ (hcp 13-24) was Amresh Sangani as he scored 38 and won on a card countback. Sangani sealed the deal as he pipped Andrew Baxter to the title but Baxter did make it through to the match play draw alongside all the players who scored 29 or better on the day. Stathis Stathis clinched the overall victory with an excellent 2-under, 38 Stableford points while the same score saw Vipen Sethi take the title in Division ‘A’ (hcp 0-12). Everyone who scored 31 points or more in Division ‘A’ qualiﬁed for the match play draw, including runner-up Qamar Rasheed who missed out on the top spot after losing a countback to Sethi. Amresh Sangani receives his prize from Club Captain Dick Purchase.

SINGH HITS TOP FORM IN THE MASHREQ MEDAL K.J SINGH produced one of his best ever performances as a net 65 saw him clinch the October edition of the Mashreq Medal Championship in Association with BMW and Harvey Nichols Dubai. Singh’s 7-under-par tally was one shot better than his closest rivals and saw him clinch the title in Division ‘B’ (Hcp 11-20). Ian McDonald produced a ﬁne net 66 to take second place in Division ‘B’ with Rajesh Verma four shots further back in third. Dalip Tripathi signed for a 4-under par 68 to clinch top prize in Division ‘A’ (hcp 0-10) with Nigel Thompson defeating Manoj Kapur on a countback to seal second place while Mohamed Pirmohamed topped the pile in Division ‘C’ (Hcp 21+) with a 3-under par 69, one clear of Gerard Kehoe.

The winning team of Past Lady Captain Glynis Hendry, Stephanie Wilson, Lady Captain Barbara Head and Carolyn Thompson receive their prizes from the Lady Vice Captain Mitsuko Emmerson

LADY CAPTAIN BARBARA HEAD LEADS HER TEAM TO VICTORY IN THE SEASON OPENER THE Ladies section turned out in force to see the new Lady Captain Barbara Head opening up the event with her drive on the iconic ﬁrst hole of the Majlis course. After a tentative drive the 67 Ladies then went out to compete around the championship course in pursuit of glory in a fourman scramble. Barbara went on to captain her team to victory as she and immediate past Captain Glynis Hendry, Carolyn Thompson and Stephanie Wilson posted a superb score of 61.3 which included birdies on

holes 7, 8, 16, 17 and 18. Taking second place with a score of 62.9 were Lynne Dickinson, Martha Wong, Naema Maya and Najla Bartette while in third place, just 0.1 strokes behind, were Annette Stewart, Mimi Hosking, Rekha Bandopadhyay and Maria Petre. The Nearest the Pin winners on holes 11 and 15 were won by June McDonald and Han Soon Shin respectively while the two Longest Drive challenges were won by Mimi Hosking and Janine Dols.

AYRES, TURLIK, TRACEY AND BLACK ALL TRIUMPH IN THE LADIES MONTHLY MEDAL THE October edition of the Ladies Monthly Medal took place over the Majlis course with another great turnout with JW Marriott Marquis Dubai Sponsoring the event with some fabulous prizes including meals in their restaurants, treatments in the their spa and a prize draw for a cake. In the Silver ‘A’ Division (Hcp 0-14) it was past Lady Captain Jenny Ayres who came through on top with a lovely 1-under-par 71. Her steady scorecard included a fabulous start 1-over-par gross through her ﬁrst 5 holes (she started on hole 5). The runner-up spot was secured by Rekha Bandopadhyay with a nice level-par 72 to miss the top spot by one shot. The ever steady and consistent Rosemary Turlik scored 81 to take the overall Gross prize after a card play-oﬀ from Jayshree Gupta. Scoring 5 pars and a birdie two on hole 11 to total up a best of the day 6-under-par 66 and winning the Silver “B” Division (Hcp 15-23) was Josie Tracey two shots ahead of Elise Hanson who took the runner-up spot with a superb 4-under-par 68. In the Bronze Division (Hcp 24-42) Gillian Black scored a 74 to take the top honours from the Lady Captain Barbara Head who also scored 74. ArabianGolf - November 2013 | 77

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CONTACT: Tel : +971 7 244 7474 E-mail: enquiries@alhamragolf.com

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KIDDIE KICKS OFF HIS CAMPAIGN JOHN Kiddie got off to the perfect start this season by claiming top prize in the first Monthly Medal of the winter season. Kiddie shot a gross 81 to win by three from Tony Cashman and take an early lead in the Order of Merit. It was the first event of 12 with the final played in May next year and Kiddie will be hoping to build on his lead in the coming months. The net prize went to Paula Svensson as she posted a 71 to win by one ahead of Otto Hoefer.

BUGGY TALK AROUND THE TURN Last week I was playing a social game of golf with a group of friends when "around the turn" my buggy partner, Harry, who had been having a bad day on the course and just seemed "out of sorts", plucked up the courage to ask me to have a look at what he thought were insect bites on his back. They had been bothering him for a few days and were getting worse as they seemed to be spreading around the side of his body. With that he lifted up his shirt. Before my eyes was the most florid example of shingles I had seen in years! Shingles is an irritating and/or painful blistering rash which has a unique appearance, instantly recognisable to all within the medical profession. The rash can appear on any part of the body. It affects the skin in dermatomes. A dermatome is a patch of skin which has its sensation supplied by a single spinal nerve root. As a consequence the rash has straight lines and stops in the midline front and back. Harry's rash looked like someone had taken a 4" paint brush and painted a horizontal band of a deep red, textured paint from the middle of his back around the left side of his chest and stopping at the midline around the front. "Shingles," I said. "No wonder you're not swinging well today." "Shingles?" repeated Harry. "Isn't that the same as chicken pox?" "Its the same virus, yes," I replied, "but they are as different as chalk and cheese." The first time you are exposed to the Varicella virus you develop chicken pox. This usually occurs in early childhood, is self limiting and the child is rarely very ill. If, however, you get chicken pox as an adult it is generally a much more severe illness. When the virus is "reactivated" in later life and produces a clinical illness the resultant condition is called shingles. Chicken pox is highly infectious and is readily spread to those not immune; shingles rarely so. Shingles is treated with anti-inflammatories and a specific antiviral medicine for a week with the intention of reducing the risk of the shingles damaging the nerve root and producing prolonged pain in the area of the original rash. The pain, known as post herpetic neuralgia, can sometimes last for years after the rash has resolved and can be severe. There are vaccines for both conditions but they are not uniformly given throughout the world. Top Tip: If you have a painful rash which stops in the midline, you know where to go.

DEWALD AND OTTO EASE BACK INTO ACTION IN STYLE THE aptly named ‘Back In The Swing’ competition opened up proceedings for the new season and coming out on top in the two-person Texas Scramble format were Dewald Lubbe and Otto Hoefer as they combined to post a score of 67. Taking second place, two strokes back, were John Askew and Tony Cashman as they were left to rue a late slip up which cost them a chance of victory. Finishing third with a score of 69.6 were Jared Barnard and Patrick McCallum and they too made costly late errors as a bogey and then a double saw victory slip through their ﬁngers. In the on-course prizes Ian Craig struck Nearest the Pin on hole 7 while big-hitting Lubbe clinched the Long Drive prize on the 14th.

By Dr. Andrew Devine

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CONARES GOLF SOCIETY LEAGUE www.golfandshootingshj.com

CONARES GOLF SOCIETY LEAGUE KICKS OFF FOR ANOTHER SEASON THE 2013/14 Conares Golf Society League kicked oﬀ last month with ﬁxtures taking place for teams in the Conares and BMW Leagues and one team in each league emerged with a 100% record. In the Conares League the Al Naboodah team began their campaign with back-to-back wins over the Sultans of Swing while the Mott MacDonald team scored one victory and a halved match against the RimauSinga team to sit in second place on four points. RimauSinga

Conares League Al Naboodah Mott MacDonald MasSin Golf Society Al Laith SGB RimauSinga Sultans of Swings

are ﬁfth with a point, two points behind MasSin Golf Society and Al Laith SGB who both won one and lost one in their opening ﬁxtures against each other. In the BMW League it looked like the newboys the Plowman Society might make a winning start after they took the half-way lead in both their matches against the Emirates Pilots but the Pilots turned it around to clinch two victories, 1up and a 2up, and leave the Plowmans empty

Played

Won

Lost

Tied

Points

2 2 2 2 2 2

2 1 1 1 0 0

0 0 1 1 1 2

0 1 0 0 1 0

6 4 3 3 1 0

BMW League Emirates Pilots Club Sport 360° M.T.D K.E.G.S. Emirates Golf Society Plowman Golf Society

handed. The other two ﬁxtures in the BMW League ended with a win and a defeat for each, meaning the four teams are locked on three points. In one of the matches the Sport360° duo of John Gould and Steve Grey fought back from 3dn with four to play against their M.T.D counterparts to be going all-square down the last. However, disappointingly for the duo they both put their balls in the water on their way down the 18th to lose their match.

Played

Won

Lost

Tied

Points

2 2 2 2 2 2

2 1 1 1 1 0

0 1 1 1 1 2

0 0 0 0 0 0

6 3 3 3 3 0

2013/14 FIXTURE LIST OCTOBER 2013 Sat 19th Sat 26th

Conares GSL BMW & Conares Leagues – round 1 13:00 shotgun Conares GSL SNTTA & WWG Leagues – round 1 13:00 shotgun

Sat 18th

Conares GSL SNTTA & WWG Leagues – round 4 13:00 shotgun

FEBRUARY 2014 NOVEMBER 2013 Sat 2nd Sat 23rd

Conares GSL BMW & Conares Leagues – round 2 13:00 shotgun Conares GSL SNTTA & WWG Leagues – round 2 13:00 shotgun

Sat 15th Sat 22nd

Conares GSL BMW & Conares Leagues – round 5 13:00 shotgun Conares GSL SNTTA & WWG Leagues – round 5 13:00 shotgun

MARCH 2014 DECEMBER 2013 Sat 21st

Conares GSL BMW & Conares Leagues – round 3 13:00 shotgun

Sat 1st Sat 29th

Conares GSL League – Quarter Finals 13:00 shotgun Conares GSL League – Semi Finals 13:00 shotgun

JANUARY 2014

APRIL 2014

Sat 4th Sat 11th

Sat 12th

Conares GSL SNTTA & WWG Leagues – round 3 13:00 shotgun Conares GSL BMW & Conares Leagues – round 4 13:00 shotgun

Conares GSL League – Final, 3rd v 4th play-off & Captains and Sponsors Golf Day 13:00 shotgun

FORMAT FOR THE SEASON Each ﬁxture requires two teams (of two players) to represent each society and the two matches will be 18 holes Betterball Matchplay with ¾ handicap allowance. Three points are awarded for a victory, one point for a draw and 0 points for a defeat. The leading two teams in each league will qualify for the Quarter ﬁnals which

80 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

are scheduled to take place March 1st 2014. The wining quarter finalists will then play the semi-finals on March 29th 2014. The losing semi finalists will play a 3rd & 4th place playoff on April 12th 2014 while the final takes place immediately after on the same day. All Captains will also be invited to the complimentary Captains and Sponsors Golf Day also held on April 12th 2014.

SHARJAH GOLF AND SHOOTING CLUB www.golfandshootingshj.com

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

Sharjah-Golf-Shooting-Club

SPORT 360 RETAIN THE GOLF SOCIETY CUP THE Sport 360 team of Jonathan Gould and Rory Thomson proved it wasn’t a one-off lucky strike the first time around as they retained the fifth edition of the SGSC Golf Society Cup recently. In a full field, which included 31 pairings made up of 21 different societies, Gould and Thomson returned nines of 35 and 32 for a net 67 to walk away with the title by just one shot ahead of the father and son

team of Mohammad Bin Idris and Zubair Bin Firdaus. The pair, who were representing the Massin 1 Golf Society, dovetailed extremely well over their second nine to add another trophy to their cabinet while just missing out on the runner-up spot were Gary Langthorne and William Neilson of the Plowman Golf Society as they lost a countback against Mohammad and Zubair.

NEW CAPTAINS WELCOMED INTO OFFICE NEW Captains J.P Simon and Susie Cottam began their tenure at SGSC last month at the Captain’s Season Opener and winning the top prize on the day was Welsh wizard Gary Hibbert as he compiled a Stableford haul of 41 points. The Division ‘1’ prize went to George Liu as he finished his round fabulously with two birdies in his final four holes while in Division ‘2’ it was new member Brian Murphy who stole the show after scoring 41 points to top the pile. The best gross score on the day cam from Iranian Hassan Yazdi as a fine 35 gross points saw him win by four. Lady Vice Captain Claudette Dumoulin won the Ladies Division with a 37-point haul, three clear of Jane Armitage while the Guest’s Division was clinched by incoming Captain J.P Simon’s guest Sam McKay.

FATHER AND SON PROVE THE ULTIMATE PAIRING MOHAMMAD Bin Idris and his son Zubair Bin Firdaus made history recently as they scooped the BMW Members and Guests Social title for the fifth time together. The pair became the first team to win five of the events and did so in style as they shot a superb 63 to win by two strokes. In addition to the overall prize there were also competitions for the best scores on the outward and inward nines and they were won by Oliver Chen and Reyna Han and Sunny Ramadas and Adi Husaini respectively. Chen and Han fired a 4-under net 32 over the Shambles Better Ball format while Ramadas and Husaini went one better, shooting 31 over the standard Better Ball format. ArabianGolf - November 2013 | 81

CONTACT: Tel : +971 4 601 0101

AL BADIA GOLF CLUB www.albadiagolfclub.ae

AlBadiaGolfClub

SUMMER SCRAMBLE A SCORING SUCCESS IAN Harper, Gordon Adam, Kelly Hanwell and Gareth Hughes ﬁred a gross 61 for a net 57.7 on their way to capturing the Summer Scramble recently. The tournament, where the combined handicap of the four players was divided by 10 to form the team handicap, was played in a Texas Scramble format and ﬁnishing second with a gross 65 for a net 58 were Andy Spinks, Mike Beggs, Colin Gow and Bryan Scatterty while third place went to Chet Riley, Bill Taylor, Nick Groves and Danny Drew as they shot a gross 63 for a net 59.6. In the individual prizes Chet Riley launched the Longest Drive down the fourth fairway while Jenny Kim won the Nearest the Pin prize on the 15th.

AL HAMRA CLAIM THE INTERCLUB HONOURS AL Badia Golf Club played host to the third and ﬁnal leg of the Interclub Trivector Series Challenge between themselves, Al Hamra Golf Club and Yas Links Golf Club with the team from Al Hamra coming out on top. The month-long series saw 18 holes of competitive golf played at each course with the top 15 individual Stableford scores counting towards each team’s total. Competition was ﬁerce and the Al Hamra team posted a tally of 1,407 for the series which saw them clinch the top spot by just 5 points with Yas Links propping up the pile with 1,319 points. Taking the spoils as the top scorer on the day was Al Hamra’s Sultan Al Ali.

AL GHAZAL GOLF CLUB www.alghazalgolf.com

CONTACT: Tel : +971 2 575 5044 E-mail: golfclub@adhc.adac.ae

Al-Ghazal-Golf-Club

KEVIN AND KATE WIN IN STYLE

Club Captain Rupert Evans, Walter Tiamfook, Richard Whiteside, Harvey Jefferson and Lady Captain Kate Davies.

WHITESIDE TAKES THE GUN TROPHY

THE October Monthly medal, the first of the Golfer of the Year [GOY] qualifiers, got off to a foggy start but overcoming the early morning weather conditions were Kevin Darroch in Division ‘1’ and Lady Captain Kate Davies in the Ladies Division. Davies impressed as she carded a 3-under-par 69 to win and gain maximum GOY points in the process while Ming Brown, who has won the GOY for the past four years, didn’t play. Darroch also shot a 69 to take the top spot in the men’s Division ‘1’ by two shots from Bernie Blanchard while in Division ‘2’ David Tait won with a 67, seven clear of Kevin Schuman. Joe D’Souza shot a 77 to top Division ‘3’ by one shot from Hadi Chehade. There were four winners in the ‘2s club’ including Ken Ritzal who was also celebrating his 60th birthday.

RICHARD Whiteside returned an excellent 69 to win the 42nd staging of the Gun Trophy which was sponsored for the third year in succession by Scott Safety. After a tense battle out on the course Whiteside had a nervous wait to see if he had done enough to clinch the title as Walker Tiamfook also scored a 69. However, after their cards were compared the trophy went to Whiteside thanks to his better back nine of 35 strokes to Tiamfook’s 36. Third place went to Harvey Jeﬀerson with a 71 with Ramesh Emmanuel ﬁnishing fourth while in the Ladies Division it was Lady Captain Kate Davies who took the spoils with a 77 to win on countback from Angela Tiamfook. ArabianGolf - November 2013 | 83

YAS LINKS GOLF CLUB www.yaslinks.com

YasLinksGC

CONTACT: Tel : 7777 810 2 971+ E-mail: info@yaslinks.com

YasLinksGolfClub

SENSATIONAL SEHMI WINS THE LADIES OPEN LADY golfers from all around the UAE descended on Yas Links to battle it out for the coveted Yas Link Ladies Open title and coming out on top with a show-stopping gross 74 was Kavita Sehmi. Sehmi sealed a six-stroke victory ahead of Julia Alhemoud while

Anastasia Bakal won the day’s net prize with an impressive 71. Emily Siegal finished second behind Bakal while the on-course prizes went to Sharon Hall, who won the Nearest the Pin on hole 13, and Sehmi who launched the Longest Drive on hole 7.

HALL SEALS THE OCTOBER MEDAL SHARON Hall posted a net 73 to win last month’s Cadillac Medal by one shot from Elizabeth Campbell with Asaad Al Muharami taking third with a net 81. The gross winners on the day were all juniors as Ryan Hunter ﬁnished top of the pile with a 77, one clear of Sana Tufail with Darren Hall ﬁnishing third with an 81.

OSTOJIC WIN THE STABLEFORD A FIELD of almost 70 golfers joined Yas Links for the newly implemented 7:30am shotgun start at last month’s Etihad Open Stableford and taking the top spot in Division ‘A’ (hcp 14-0) was Emanuel Ostojic with a haul of 38 points. There was a tie for second place on 35 points and coming out on top in the countback was Joe Torrez as he scored better than David Stewart on the back nine. In Division ‘B’ (hcp 36-15) Asaad Al Muharami ﬁnished top of the pile with Teresa Sheepwash taking second.

MEMBERS WELCOMED BACK IN STYLE THE ‘Member’s Welcome Back Ecco Four-man Stableford’ saw the season get into full swing and taking the spoils was the team of Andrea and Mark Hartley and Maggie and Rick Reynolds as they totalled 97 points. Finishing just one point further back were Stephanie and Bryan Wilson and Robert Paige and Elizabeth Campbell with third place, on 95 points, went to Andrew Campbell, Damian Ward, Ian Haywood and John Craig. There were plenty of on-course prizes on oﬀer and winning the two Nearest the Pin prizes were Gregory Trinh on hole 13 and Leslie Lloyd on hole 8. The two Longest Drive prizes went to William Royce on hole 2 and Stephanie Wilson on hole 12.

CONTACT: CONTACT: Tel : +971 2 557 8000 Email: info@sbgolfclub.ae

SAADIYAT BEACH GOLF CLUB www.sbgolfclub.ae

SaadiyatBeach

Saadiyat-Beach-Golf-Club

FRANCO SAVOURS HIS PGA PROMOTION FRANCO Botha has been promoted to PGA Golf Professional at Saadiyat Beach and will now oversee and assist with all areas of the club’s operations after he successfully completed the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) of South Africa Qualification. After three years covering all aspects of the golf industry, including coaching, law and golf facility management, the 23 year-old completed the PGA of South Africa’s Qualifications with a final practical assessment in custom fitting and teaching. In his new role, Botha is responsible for co-coordinating the daily operations and supervision of up to 20 golf department associates. Botha believes that the qualification will have a positive impact on his day-to-day work at Saadiyat Beach

Golf Club. “The PGA qualification has set me in good stead, and gives me a much better understanding of the daily operation of a five-star, world class facility such as Saadiyat Beach,” he said. “I can use the knowledge I have gained in the numerous areas that I am now responsible for, including associate training according to Troon standards, which will improve the experience for everyone at the club.” Paul Booth, Director of Club Operations at Saadiyat Beach commented: “Franco is a valuable member of the team at Saadiyat Beach and we are delighted to congratulate him on his recent PGA Qualification. “We look forward to seeing him continue on his path of progression in the industry.”

CLUB PROS HOLD THEIR NERVE AGAINST THE MEMBERS A SOLID performance by members and guests gave the professionals at Saadiyat Beach a scare as 13 teams battled it out in the recent ‘Beat the Pro’s’ competition in a Texas Scramble format. The professional team of Karl Whitehead, Martin Robinson, Franco Botha and PJ Van Merch posted a gross score of 55 (-17) to claim victory by less than one point. Narrowly coming in second place was the member’s team of Sung Jin Hwang, Inki Kim, Suk Jin Hwang and Jae Min Lee, who carded a respectable net score of 56.5. Relieved to have held their ground and maintained their ‘Pro’ status, Head Teaching Professional Martin Robinson said: “After our egotistical entrance, we were glad we could back it up with a great win!” Karl Whitehead added: “On behalf of the professionals and Saadiyat Beach, we want to thank all members and guests for providing such a strong pool of competition and making it an enjoyable and successful event.”

THE ADDRESS MONTGOMERIE DUBAI www.themontgomerie.com

CONTACT: Tel : +971 4 390 5600

theaddressmontgomeriedubai

FEVRE SEALS IT WITH EASE CEDRIC Fevre clinched the ﬁrst BMW Members Stableford of the season with an impressive 37-point haul in Division ‘A’, to win by two ahead of Richard Taylor. In Division ‘B’ Nick Burton took the spoils with a two-point win over Mike Thompson with a 35-point score while Fiona Linn took the Ladies Division ‘A’ and Peggy O’Dea secured the Ladies Division ‘B’. ArabianGolf - November 2013 | 85

CONTACT: Tel : +971 2 558 8990 E-mail: info@adgolfclub.com

ABU DHABI GOLF CLUB www.adgolfclub.com

@ADGolfClub

abudhabigolfclub

CARROW CAPTURES THE RIVOLI MAGIC ROBIN Carrow sealed the top spot in Division ‘B’ of the recent Rivoli Magic which saw 30 players take on the National Course in superb condition. Carrow returned 39 points to win his division and also the main prize on the day. In Division ‘A’ Callum McKay took the spoils with 38 points, five clear of Joe Howell while the same margin of victory occured in the Ladies Division as Wanni Jefferson scored 38 to win well ahead of Sigrid Hoffmeyer Aziz.

BOU-KHIER CLINCHES THE MEDAL GEROGE Bou-Khier prevailed ahead of a field of 51 players in the recent Medal and in addition to the joy that comes with finishing first he also received an invite to play in the Luckiest Ball Grand Final for a chance to win a place in the Pro-Am at the DP World Tour Championship. Bou-Khier shot a net 69 to top Division ‘A’

(hcp 0 -14) by one from Paul Spinks while in Division ‘B’ (hcp 15-28) Shamal Karim topped the pile with a 69, three clear of Zbinden Pierre. Alastair Crombie sealed the lowest gross score on the day with a 73 while in the Ladies Division Wanni Jeﬀerson scored a net 72 to win by two from Mi Ran Lee.

AL AIN EQUESTRIAN SHOOTING AND GOLF CLUB www.aesgc.com

CONTACT: Tel : +971 3 702 6400 E-mail: golf@aesgc.ae

Golfin Alain

CUNNIFFE AND NEESE SEAL THE AFTER SUMMER OPEN A FULL field of 90 players took part in the second edition of the After Summer Open supported by Emirates Airline and coming out on top in the better-ball pairs format were home players Eoin Cunniffe and Jason Neese. The duo recorded a stunning gross 65 for a net 62 to win by two shots clear of four pairs on net 64. Taking second place after a countback were Philip Hoe and Ian Horbury with Bogdan Schiopu and Peter Scoots sneaking into third place ahead of Andre Kritzinger and Leon Herselman. The best gross score went to the Dubai Creek team of James Kachel and Ben Davies as they fired a 71 while Pierre Zbinden and Phintham Butsarawan were the best mixed pair on the day with a net 65. Other prize winners on the day were Diane Cooper, Jason Neese, Schiopu and Andy Thorpe-Willet who all won Nearest the Pin prizes.

ABU DHABI CITY GOLF CLUB www.adcitygolf.com

@adcitygolf

CONTACT: Tel : +971 2 445 9600 Fax : +971 2 443 225

adcitygolf

HURDON IN CRUISE CONTROL GRAHAM Hurdon demolished the field in the fourth round of the Peugeot Order of Merit after shooting 41 Stableford points to win by four clear points. Three players scored 37 points and needed a countback to confirm who finished in the medal positions and taking the runner-up spot was Rajesh Kholy with Mark O’Sullivan third. Kwon Hyuk Chan was unlucky to finish outside the top three while finishing fifth on 36 opints was the UAE’s Omar Thabet.

Round four Winner Graham Hurdon (centre) is pictured with Lady Captain Faye Doran and Club Captain Tim Munnerlyn.

ArabianGolf - September 2013 | 87

DIRAB GOLF CLUB

CONTACT: Tel : +966 1 812 6671 E-mail: info@dirabgolf.com

www.dirabgolf.com

SALHAB AND ALMANSOUR SHINE AT THE NATIONAL DAY OPEN FAISAL Salhab and Fahad Almansour played in perfect harmony and kept the Saudi ﬂag soaring high as they won the Almarai Saudi National Day Open Golf recently. The Saudi duo navigated the ﬂat but challenging par-72 layout for a winning net score of 11-under 61 in the two-ball Texas Scramble competition. The Australian husband and wife team of Patrick and Liz Kennedy took second place on 62 from a gross score of 71 while the Indian-Pakistan team of Kamal Fareed and Tariq Syed Khan clinched third place on countback over Jim Kennedy and Sean Boyd and Julian Bennett and John Palalagi after all three teams tied on 63. The Nearest the Pin prize went to Riyan Awni while the men’s and ladies Longest Drive prizes went to Abdulrahman Almansour, Fahad’s younger brother and a member of the Saudi team, and Liz Kennedy respectively. Khaled Abunayyan, president of the Saudi Golf Federation, and Hussam Abdulqader, head of Communications at Almarai, attended the prize distribution ceremony. “Almarai is glad to be supporting the sport of golf and the Saudi national team. We’re happy to see Saudis winning this tournament and looking forward to again support this event in future,” said Abdulqader.

VIGIL LEADS THE RACE TO MANILA JOSE Vigil re-took the lead in the Vista Land Race to Manila with victory in the Men’s Division ‘1’ in the third round of the series last month. Vigil leads with 1,490 points ahead of the likes to Eric Liquigan and Rick Ball who won the Best Gross and Best Net honours respectively on the day. Vigil, who won the Gross title in round 1 and was runner-up in Division

88 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

‘1’ in round 2, topped the pile in Division ‘1’ with a score of 71, one shot clear of Robin Williamson and Julian Bennett who took second and third respectively after a countback. Liquigan shot a gross 77 for his first victory in the four-leg series while Allan Malawanda topped the scoring in Division ‘3’ with a 68 and the promising Christer Rem Sibug clinch the Men’s Division ‘2’ title on 69.

JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES www.jumeirahgolfestates.com

CONTACT: Tel : +971 4 375 999

Jumeirah-Golf-Estates

BEARD ON TOP

HOME ADVANTAGE PAYS DIVIDENDS AT THE SUMMER OPEN JGE members made the most of their local knowledge to claim a host of top place finishes in the 2013 Summer Open on the Earth course recently. Martin Fernandez was crowned champion of the scratch division after carding a solid gross 77 with Nicolas Reincke the unlucky loser of a card countback settling for second place. Making it a JGE first and third was Chris Wilmot while in the Net Division ‘A’ there was a JGE 1-2-3 as Peter Bauer finished top with Terry

RAYMOND Beard shot a stunning net 63 to win Division ‘B’ of the September Rivoli Medal by seven strokes from Darren Jacobs, who in turn defeated Lars Nielsen on a countback. Simon Howells took advantage of the par-5s with birdies on both the 5th and 13th holes as he sealed the honours in Division ‘A’ (hcp 0-12). Howells shot a gross 75 for a net 70 which gave him a one-stroke win over Nigel Pinto who shot a net 71. Chloe Dillon won the Ladies Division with a net 73 after she defeated Ornella Parigi in a countback. There were three Nearest the Pin prizes up for grabs and they were won by Rob Duce on hole 8, Alistair Barber on hole 11 and Suad Ghalib on the 14th.

Waite and Avinash Pangarkar in second and third respectively. Gurbax Singh stormed to the Net Division ‘B’ title carding the lowest score of the day – a four under par net 68 – to finish two clear of Simon Sinclair with Steve Ramsden taking third with a 71. The Ladies title was won by Butsarawan as she compiled a net 69 to win by three from Annie Browne while in the Junior Division Matthew Laven prevailed with a 71, one clear of Aryaan Kumar.

THE ROYAL GOLF CLUB

CONTACT: Tel : +973 1 775 0777

THINK PINK BAHRAIN RAISES SOME MUCH-NEEDED FUNDS THE eighth annual Think Pink Bahrain golfing charity events were once again hosted at the Royal Golf Club as part of the Kingdom’s breast cancer awareness month and the funds raised from both golfing events will be directed towards Think Pink Bahrain’s Education Fund. This fund has successfully seen Bahraini healthcare professionals travel aboard and receive internationally recognised qualifications and return to the Kingdom to support the community. The men’s nine hole night-golf competition,

played in the Texas Scramble format, was won the by British Ambassador Ian Lindsay’s team consisting of David Wales, Ben Elsworth and Cormac Flannery who achieved a team score of 27.3 net. The women’s 18 hole Texas Scramble was won by the team of Lady Captain Hanne Hansen, Lady Vice Captain Dena Wales, Anne Quintino and Evelyn Rimmer with a team net score of 65.9. “Congratulations to all the winners and to all the competitors for looking so fantastic in their pink outﬁts,” said Bernie Morgan, the Royal Golf Club’s

Director of Golf Operations. “With the help of the local community these golf events are vital in raising money for this very important cause and everyone at the Club is happy to help out in any way they can.” Speaking on behalf of the Charity, the founder Julie Sprakel noted: “Events such as these would not be possible without the support of volunteers whom work tirelessly to provide prizes and sponsorship for the charity events, along with corporate businesses and private sponsors who are truly appreciated.”

ArabianGolf - November 2013 | 89

CONTACT: Tel : +66 (32) 616 200

BANYAN GOLF CLUB www.banyanthailand.com

email: reservations@banyanthailand.com

Banyan-Golf-Club-Hua-Hin

THREE QUALIFY FOR THE GOLF CITIZEN THAILAND GRAND FINAL BANYAN Golf Club Hua Hin held its second qualifying round of the www.golfcitizen.com Open Series Thailand last month with the top three players qualifying for the Grand Final at Banyan in December. Earning their place in the final were Steve Brighton, who topped the pile on the day with a sublime haul of 42 points, Ampika Sangwichai and Alan Thomas. Sangwichai finished second with 38 points while Thomas sealed the third and final place on the podium with a score of 35. The trio will now go on to compete in the Grand Final where the top three players will win a once-in-a-lifetime prize of a VIP trip to Dubai to attend the 25th Anniversary Omega Dubai Desert Classic and to play alongside a European Tour Pro in the official Pro-Am. Banyan Golf Club’s Director of Operations, Stuart Daly commented: “It’s great to see these players in a with a chance to win at the Grand Final. Ampika was a last minute sign-up for the event and I’m sure she is delighted to be in the Grand Final. Both Steve and Alan played great

golf and Alan just about scraped in with a back nine countback. I know that many others who failed to qualify today will be joining the forthcoming events to try and secure their places in the December Grand Final. After all, how often do you get the chance to win prize like these?”

TOWER LINKS GOLF CLUB www.towerlinks.com

Banyan General Manager Stacey Walton (right) is pictured with the three finalists (right to left) Alan Thomas, Ampika Sangwichai and Steve Brighton.

CONTACT: Tel : +971 7 227 939 Email: membership@towerlinks.com

towerlinksgc

SMITH AND COX GET OVER THE LINE IN STYLE GARY Smith and Mike Cox combined like long lost souls as they won the two-Player Daytona Social last month. The format rewards consistency and the two gentlemen combined splendidly for a total of 338 to win by eight shots from S.P Hong and J.I Park with Jihad Azzam and Ashutosh Shukla ﬁnishing third on 393. Meanwhile at the other end of the scoring spectrum Peter Wortley and Justin Wardle were inducted into the Wooden Spoon Hall of Fame after posting a whopping score of 550. There were Nearest the Pin prizes on holes 12 and 16 and they were picked up by Justin Clarke and Miller Green respectively.

LANGUID LABONTE LETS LOOSE RAY Labonte rolled back the years and climbed to the highest point on the podium after a gritty 19 point haul in a recent weekly Social Stableford. Taking the runner-up spot by virtue of a card countback was J.I Park as he relegated Phil Madin into third with the pair locked on 17 points. Park’s better ﬁnal six holes proved decisive in that particular battle. Derek Fisher took the Wooden Spoon as he managed to score just nine points while both Nearest the Pin prizes went to Paul Harrison. ArabianGolf - November 2013 | 91

GOLF

RONAN KEATING

MCLAREN MC12

The lead singer of Boyzone talks golf and reforming the band.

Win the modern day supercar with F1 pedigree with Dubai Duty Free

Sharmila Nicollet

Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s top female golfer talks about growing up in the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most cricket obsessed country determined to acheive her goal of making it onto the Ladies European Tour. WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 93

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SHARMILA NICOLLET WORLDWIDE GOLF STYLE

harmila Nicollet is India’s finest female golfer. A former junior swimming champion, she picked up golf in 2002 as an 11-year-old and by 2006 she was good enough to represent India at the Asian Games in Doha. She turned pro in 2009 and joined the Ladies European Tour in 2012, becoming at 20, the youngest Indian to qualify for the Tour. She was ranked No.1 in the Women’s Golf Association of India between 2009-2010 and first on the 2010-2011 Hero Honda Order of Merit. No stranger to mixing the worlds of fashion, beauty and golf, the stunning Nicolett, still just 22 years old, has done shoots for the likes of Vogue, Marie-Claire and Elle.

WWG: What age were you when you started playing golf and what got you interested in the game? SN: I am a sportsperson at heart. I was a state level swimmer and an athlete but I realised that it has a very short shelf-life. Golf is one game that can be played at any age. I love the game. It’s very challenging both mentally and physically which intrigued me. You play against yourself and the golf course. I started playing when I was 11 and won my ﬁrst tournament at 15 by 14 shots. I’d fallen so deeply in love with golf that I never looked back and decided to take it up as my career by turning pro at 18.

Sharmila Nicollet’s life? SN: Wake up at 7, practice till 5, work out till 7, chill out and bedtime by 10. Repeat!

turned pro at the age of 18. I was into other sports as well but it had to take a backseat to prevent risk of injuries that could aﬀect my golf.

WWG: Having been a professional golfer from such a young age, did you make any sacrifices to be where you are today? SN: I never had a normal school life, friend circle, teenage or college life. I was always traveling and had to sacriﬁce an ordinary teenager’s school life to pursue it privately after 8th grade. I was as good academically as I was on the course. It was a tough decision for me to not pursue higher studies abroad for university, instead I

WWG: What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you on a golf course? SN: I was once chased by a snake, tripped over a ball and fell backwards during a tournament.

WWG: What’s the best advice you could give to any aspiring young golfer? SN: The harder you practice the luckier you get!

WWG: Cricket is huge in India, how hard was it to follow golf when you were growing up? SN: Cricket is obviously like a religion and you cannot compare it with anything else. However, golf has been growing very fast, and it has been great for me. I am very fortunate that I have had great support while growing up in terms of access to playing golf, and now I have the backing of my sponsors. Without them I would have really struggled to play golf professionally. WWG: Which golfers do you admire the most? SN: Tiger Woods and Adam Scott. WWG: What would you be if you weren’t a golfer? SN: An athlete, maybe a swimmer, or a fashion designer or perfumer. WWG: What are your favourite courses? SN: My favourite courses are Berkshire and Torrey Pines. WWG: Talk us through a day in

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 95

Travel

Agalarov Golf & A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE OF OLD AND NEW

HE Agalarov Golf & Country Club in Russia is established against the backdrop of an inimitable landscape of protected sanctuary land and offers immaculately groomed fairways, bentgrass greens and exceptional customer service. In addition to the magniﬁcent 18-hole golf course designed by American architect Cal Olson there is a state-of-the-art Golf Academy which caters for players of all levels. The Academy oﬀers comprehensive instruction, ranging from full-swing coaching, putting and short game focus and

96 | WorldwideGolf - November 2013

on-course management to stateof-the-art video analysis, physical screening and fitness lessons, all of which are undertaken by PGA qualified professionals to ensure that everything is enjoyable, educational and progressive. At The Academy the PGA Professionals and fitness instructors are on hand to help budding golfers refine their golf game and their body through personalised attention. The Academy by Troon Golf at Agalarov Golf & Country Club, Russia is a partner of The Academy by Troon Golf at The Address Montgomerie, Dubai.

Country Club

The spiritual capital and senior imperial city of the Kingdom of Morocco, Fes, has an invaluable cultural heritage, with its old-town Medina, ranked as a world heritage site by UNESCO.

”One of our most successful attributes is coaching students to structure their practice sessions and to appropriately warm up ready for play. As we see too many players simply smashing drivers as a warm up then going to the course with a lesser sense of control and struggling from the start,” – Peter Holland, PGA Director of Golf Available coaching options: O Customised Corporate Golf clinics O Ladies and Gents golf coaching programmes from beginner to professional O Junior TPI Golf Programmes O Private instruction, including long-term golf development programmes for both individuals and group tuition O Video swing analysis / Sam Putt Lab Professional analysis / K - Vest 3D analysis O Golf club custom ﬁtting services O Platinum 3D Golf Simulators O Comprehensive grassed practice area O Extensive short game and bunker practice area O Pyramids of Taylormade Practice balls O Swing, putting and ﬁtness studios Regardless of ability, experience or age the Agalarov Academy aitake your game to an entirely new level in a fun and engaging atmosphere. For bookings and further information please contact the golf department on: Email: ae.golfreservations@gmail.com or Phone: +7 926 8001 436

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TO WIN A FLYING SPUR VISIT: dubaidutyfree.com

FORMULA 1 POWER AND ATTENTION TO DETAIL IN A ROAD CAR...WELCOME TO A NEW BREED OF SUPERCAR

TOP SPEED

333

KMPH

TORQUE

600

POWER

625

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ENGINE CAPACITY TYPE TECHNOLOGY VALVETRAIN MAX RPM POWER TORQUE

3,799CC 90째 V8 TWIN-TURBO, DRY SUMP 32-VALVE, DOHC, VVT 8,500 625PS (460KW) 616HP @ 7,500RPM 600NM (443LB FT) @ 3,000-7,000RPM

POWER & PRECISION

DRIVING RANGE

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MAXIMUM SPEED 0-100KPH (62MPH) 0-200KPH (124MPH) 0-400M (¼ MILE) 0-1,000M

329KPH (204MPH) 3.3S (3.1S WITH CORSA TYRES) 9.2S (9.0S WITH CORSA TYRES) 11.0S @ 214KPH (133MPH) 19.6S @ 271KPH (168MPH)

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FASHION Ian Poulter launched IJP Design in July 2007, after being TM@AKD SN ƥMC clothes he wanted to wear on the golf course that both looked good and performed well, combining high quality tailoring with technical perfection. IJP Design has created a name for itself as a high quality, unique and exciting golf and lifestyle brand with @ E@RGHNM@AKD DCFD ^ This is its 13th Collection and by the end of the year they will be stocked in 30 golf playing nations throughout world.

Main: Tartan trousers – $160.00 Raglan polo shirt – $74.95 Inset: Kaleidescope – $120.00 Tech trousers –$139.00

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IJP DESIGN www.ijpdesign.com

DESIGNER GOLF CLOTHING BY IAN JAMES POULTER

WorldwideGolf - November 2013 | 101

STAR SPOTTING

RONAN Keating is the lead singer in one of the biggest boy bands of all time. Boyzone, who recently began a 20th anniversary tour, and have ITRS QDKD@RDC ƥQRS RHMFKD ‘Love Will Save The Day’ from upcoming album BZ20, are followed by paparazzi and screaming fans wherever they go.

Keating is entirely at home singing in front of thousands of people in sold out arenas around the world. But while his favourite thing to do when he’s not ‘working’ is to play golf, he isn’t quite as comfortable playing in front of crowds. Mind you, with multiple appearances at events like the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the Gary Player Invitational under his belt, he should be getting used to it by now! RK: Golf is my favourite pastime. I would play it every minute of the day if I could. I love the challenge and I love the idea that you never know what’s going to happen next. I’ve been lucky enough to see and play with some of the best players in the world. I admire people like Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Tiger Woods for what they’ve done for the game. I get nervous playing golf in front of crowds and it’s not uncommon for me to be shaking on the ﬁrst tee. A quiet round of golf seems to be the only time I can play well! Give me a microphone in front of a crowd of people and I’ll give you a song, no problem. But golf is not what I do for a living so I do get nervous.”

I’m a big supporter of the Gary Player Invitational events, which have raised millions of dollars for children’s charities. I once hosted the Gary Player Invitational at The K Club which was a great honour. I also got a lesson from the Black Knight himself, which was very special for me.

SKY IS THE LIMIT

HENRIK LEADS THE JET SET In 1986, NetJets pioneered the concept of fractional aircraft ownership – allowing individuals and businesses to enjoy all the benefits of owning a jet at a fraction of the cost. Golfers represent one ets! of their key markets! our Simply top up your membership card in ou the same way you -go would a pay-as-you-go te) phone (okay not quite) and away you go!

HENRIK Stenson is on the brink of making history. If he finishes the Final Series strongly, preferably with a win at the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, he’ll be the first man in history to win both the US PGA Tour’s FedExCup and The European Tour’s Race to Dubai. Such a globetrotting feat just wouldn’t have been possible in years gone by but the big Swede has a secret weapon to help him stay fresh despite all that to-ing and fro-ing across the Atlantic – access to a fleet of private jets! One flash of his Marquis Jets / NetJets card and the 37-year-old can travel to any destination he pleases, in ultimate speed and comfort. “Henrik Stenson is one of the best, most respected golfers in the world and an excellent addition to NetJets team of professional golfers,” said a NetJets spokesman. “Henrik is a terrific ambassador for the NetJets and Marquis Jet Card brands and we are honored that he entrusts NetJets to improve his performance could pe o a ce and a d to flyy hiss family… a lyy… tthat at iss tthee finest est eendorsement do se e t Henrik e cou d ever give us.”

Night golf at The Track. Play until 11pm at The Track, Meydan Golf, Dubai. For best rates book online at www.meydangolf.com

K E E P E V O LV I N G

STREET EVO ONE Av a i l a b l e i n J a n u a r y 2 0 1 4 a t l e a d i n g G o l f C l u b s , G o l f H o u s e S h o p s a n d E C C O S h o p s i n U A E , K u w a i t , Q a t a r, B a h r a i n , I r a n & E g y p t . Te l : + 9 7 1 - 4 - 2 9 9 3 8 8 5 E X T 1 0 0 , 1 0 1 , 4 0 4

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