Charity Initiatives

The European Tour’s Golf for Good campaign was relaunched at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship with several initiatives across the tournament week aimed at supporting the local community, celebrating the heroes of the pandemic and promoting golf for all.

New for 2021 was the ‘Every Birdie Counts’ initiative, with every single birdie, eagle and albatross made in the season resulting in charitable donations. The maiden Rolex Series event of the 2021 season received a Birdie Boost, meaning €10 was donated for every birdie, €100 for every eagle and €1,000 for every albatross.

Winner Tyrrell Hatton contributed 16 birdies and three eagles to the cause as Golf for Good raised a total of €15,480 for the tournament’s Official Charity, The Reach campaign. The Reach campaign was raising awareness for World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day 2021, which took place on January 30. As part of that campaign, eventual Abu Dhabi HSBC Champion Hatton, world No.3 Justin Thomas and Ryder Cup legend Ian Poulter wore specially-branded shoes marked with World NTD Day 2021 during the first day’s play at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Those shoes, signed by each player, were placed for auction and the money raised will be added to the €15,480 raised through Every Birdie Counts, and donated to The Reach campaign. Meanwhile, the European Tour along with its Official Partner Callaway continued to give back to grassroots golf as 1,800 Callaway Chrome Soft golf balls were donated to the HSBC Future Falcons – a programme established to develop golf at grassroots level across Abu Dhabi and Al Ain.