SPECIAL PREVIEW EDITION
WEDNESDAY
NOVEMBER 4, 2020
ISSUE 1
Lights, Cameras, ACTION!
The world will be watching as Emirates Golf Club hosts an OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic unlike any of the city’s 13 previous LET stops. By Kent Gray – Editor, Golf Digest Middle East the leap from muggy May to the temperate pleasantness of November. More after hours action to accentuate the event’s unique point of difference. TV cameras focused on a cast with strength in depth and a sprinkling of genuine global stars. If it were possible to ignore the elephant in the room, the 2020 OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic could already be considered an unqualified success, everything and more than was rolled out last year when the event pivoted from another vanilla 72-holer to an energised day-night Pro-Am over 54-holes. You can’t ignore a pandemic, though, and so it is this week with the coronavirus playing the role of invisible pantomime villain. And yet, even with the gates to Emirates Golf Club closed to the general public, the $285,000 Ladies European Tour
Nuria Iturrioz plays defence
The Faldo by Sir Nick
@PeterFinchGolf
Round 1 Tee Times
The Spaniard is still smiling 17 crazy months on from her Moonlight triumph. PAGE 3
Go behind the scenes on The Faldo with golf’s latest social media Pied Piper. PAGE 4
event has found other ways to shine. As the health and safety goal posts have moved, so to has Simon Corkill and the Executive Tournament Directors initial focus on domestic engagement. The strategy has been realigned to attain a global TV audience with NBC’s Golf Channel, Sky Sport in the UK and Ireland and our own Dubai Sports Channel among the stable of broadcasters set to beam three hours of live coverage into a potential 348 million households across 60 countries each of the next three days. If fans can’t make it to The Faldo, take Sir Nick’s testy layout (and, by no accident, Dubai’s night golf offering and that stunning Marina Skyline backdrop) to the people sitting at home, many of them suddenly back in lockdown and desperate for a distraction. Turn to page 2
The six-time major champion has some advice for the LET’s finest. PAGE 5
Plan your TV viewing pleasure with all the groups and tee times for round 1. PAGE 6
E M I R AT E S G O L F C LU B D U BA I
SPEEDMASTER 38 MM
4 – 6 N OV E M B E R , 2020
PATRON & OFFICIAL PUBLISHER
@OmegaGolfDubai #TimeToShine #MadeForGreatness
More information available at OMEGA Middle East, Emirates Towers, Dubai, UAE. Tel: +971 4 3300455
NEWS
2
lydia ko
OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic November 4-6, 2020 Faldo course, Emirates Golf Club
56 168
Players
Amateurs
Format: 54-hole Pro-Am (No cut) Each pro will be grouped with three amateurs for a 36-hole “tour scramble” competition. The 56-players will then play Friday's final round on their own.
Wednesday, November 4:
Pro-Am – 10am and 4.30pm shotguns
Thursday, November 5:
Pro-Am – 10am and 4.30pm shotguns
Friday, November 6: 5pm shotgun
I have never played under lights but am really looking forward to it.” - Lydia Ko
The LET inspires women and girls to pursue their passion and realise their potential through the game of golf.
Continued from cover page... Rarely has Dubai’s annual LET stop been so visible. Former world No.1 Lydia Ko, Aussie world No.9 Minjee Lee, former British Open champion Georgia Hall and fellow European Solheim Cuppers Charley Hull, Céline Boutier and Bronte Law command the star billings. Mix in defending champion Nuria Iturrioz, rising LET star Julia Engström, reinvigorated Welshwoman Amy Boulden, socially connected Muni Lee and 14-year-old German amateur Chiara Noja, an intriguing new Dubai resident, and another high-profile name to add to Dubai’s stellar roll-call of champions seems assured. The priceless experience for 168 amateurs, who get to play the opening 36 holes alongside one of the 56 LET/LPGA Tour stars, shouldn’t be diminished either. In many ways, the fans have simply moved from outside to inside the ropes. This is an unprecedented time and the 2020 OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic will be unlike any previous edition. But everything that could
be done to promote the event and Dubai Inc. has been done. It’s show time. Lights, TV cameras and action guaranteed. It’s #TimetoShine. ◼
Dubai LET Roll of Honour OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic 2019 Nuria Iturrioz (Spain)
OMEGA Dubai Ladies Classic 2017 Angel Yin (USA)
OMEGA Dubai Ladies Masters 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009
Shanshan Feng (China) Shanshan Feng (China) Shanshan Feng (China) Pornanong Phatlum (Thailand) Shanshan Feng (China) Lexi Thompson (USA) Iben Tinning (Denmark) In-Kyung Kim (South Korea)
Dubai Ladies Masters 2008 Anja Monke (Germany) 2007 Annika Sörenstam (Sweden) 2006 Annika Sörenstam (Sweden)
Our strong, energetic, proud and confident players are driven to compete at the highest level and lead by example. A diverse and multicultural membership of 325 professional golfers representing 38 countries, we’re a global tour with roots in Europe. We aim to entertain and excite, whilst also enhancing health and quality of life, as a responsible, committed and respectful partner.
www.ladieseuropeantour.com
PLAY #RaiseOurGame >>
Editor-in-Chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer
Chief Commercial Officer Anthony Milne
Group Editor and Managing Partner Ian Fairservice
Publisher David Burke
Editor Kent Gray Art Director Clarkwin Cruz Images Tristan Jones/LET, Getty Images, Supplied by Falcon Associates
General Manager – Production S. Sunil Kumar Assistant Production Manager Binu Purandaran
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3
Smiling Spaniard ready for Dallah defence
W
h at a di f f e r e nc e 17 months make. Strike that. What a difference the last six or so crazy, wild, unimaginable months have made. Nuria Iturrioz’s defence of Dallah trophy has been delayed by the planned switch of the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight from May to November and further complicated by a global pandemic. It sees the 24-year-old Spaniard return to Emirates Golf Club nearly 18 months on armed with a healthy appreciation of just how lucky the LETs membership are to be playing at all, along with that trademark smile of hers. “It’s been a difficult year for a lot of people and I feel fortunate that I can compete,” said Iturrioz who complied rounds of 67-68-71 in May 2019 to edge eventual LET order of merit champion Esther Henseleit and fellow German Olivia Cowan by a stroke on The Faldo.
“I spent the lockdown with my family. Luckily we have a house with a big garden so I could be with my dogs and doing some exercises. The most important thing for me is to be healthy.”
Nuria Iturrioz, a three-time winner on tour, has amassed €306,575 in LET career earnings Iturrioz’s win in Dubai saw her join a rare band of back-to-back winners on the LET after her victory at the Lalla Meryem Cup in Morocco the previous week and she kicked on to capture another title on the secondary U.S. Symetra Tour a fortnight later. With the likes of Minjee Lee, Georgia Hall, Charley Hull and Lydia Ko, the youngest ever (male or
female) world No.1 and twotime major champion, bolstering this year’s field, Iturrioz knows her defence will be tough. “The field is stronger, not only because of them. I like to think that every player here wants to win and every player is getting better every day so for sure is a completely different competition and will see how it goes,” she said. “But I feel confident about my game. The key will be on the greens. Let’s see if my caddy can read the breaks good! “I love playing in Dubai, the organisation is great and playing in the dark was a different experience and fun [last year]. At my home golf course they put lights on the practice area so I’ve been able to practice a bit there. You just need to hit the driver straight and you won’t need to be worried about losing the ball in the dark!” ◼
4
GET SOCIAL
#TimetoShine
with Peter Finch and friends
I
f you w e r e n ’ t a l r e a dy
aware of Peter Finch before the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic, chances are you’ll be a follower of golf’s latest social media Pied Piper by the time the Dallah Trophy is presented on Friday evening. The Lancashire-based PGA Professional has been commissioned to share a unique take on the one-of-a-kind LET Pro-Am with his near 600,000 subscribers on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. There’s already been a teaser of a “Ultimate 14-club challenge” with LET star Emily Pedersen which will drop on Finch’s YouTube Channel on Thursday. “Me and @emilypedersen96 played a new kind of course vlog tonight, can’t wait for you to see it...and the forfeit at the end,” Finch said with a series of emojis that hint it wasn’t Pedersen waving the white flag on The Faldo. With just shy of three-million individual views and over 27-million minutes of content watched in September alone, Finch’s evergrowing following caught the attention of Tournament Director Simon Corkill and his team as a way to reach a wider audience than a linear TV broadcast. “The success of his channels, particularly in 2020, made him a natural partner to help us use social media as a brand marketing platform for the tournament,” said Corkill. “His regular YouTube videos throughout the event will help bring the venue, players, and sights of Dubai to life and share exclusive
behind the scenes action to his growing audience. Peter creates engaging content and as a result has become one of golf’s most recognisable personalities and influencers and we’re looking forward to working with him.” Finch played the mutual appreciation game. “I’m thrilled to be working with The OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic to help broadcast this unique event in a new, modern way. This year has been a huge success for the team, as the channel has gone from strength to strength. So to be working together with the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic team gives us the opportunity to create some really unique content and give our golfing audience a different perspective on the course, the host city, the tournament and its history, which is something I’m really looking forward to.” Also joining Finch on The Faldo are golfing influencers The Jazzy Golfer and Olivia Cooke. So get social folks. The #MadeforGreatness OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic is your #TimetoShine online. ◼
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5
Sir Nick’s guide to taming
The Faldo
S
Who better to help the LET's finest plot their way around The Faldo at Emirates Golf Club than the six-time major champion with his name atop the scorecard
i r n ic k fa l d o has a simple message for the pros setting out in pursuit of OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic glory today and trusts it will resonate too with the 168 amateurs luckily enough to tee it up in the LET Pro-Am. Noted for the clever course management that led to six major championship triumphs, the Englishman has offered similar tactical advice for those set to tackle The Faldo layout at Emirates Golf Club this week and beyond. Redesigned in 2005 by Faldo Design with night golf in mind, Sir Nick says a conservative strategy will
be the key to hoisting the famed Dallah and amateur team spoils. “The players will need to think carefully around this golf course,” said Faldo. “Faldo Design has been working with the club on a few changes to improve strategy and playability and there’s no real
Anyone that tries that [to overpower the course] is likely to find themselves in trouble.” - Sir Nick Faldo
benefit to gaining extra length out there. Anyone that tries that is likely to find themselves in trouble.” Indeed, Faldo expects precision rather than power to unearth this week’s winners. “From the tee, the key is very much to find the right approach angles to the greens. Good iron play will [then] be vital to get in the right spots on the big greens.” Faldo is thrilled this week’s field includes Alumni from his junior Faldo Series, including threetime LET winner Carly Booth and Solheim Cupper Florentyna Parker. “Events like this demonstrate to
me that the near 25 years of hard work with the Faldo Series is paying off, especially when I see the likes of Carly and Florentyna on the start sheet. We started the series with a mission to help to develop ‘Tomorrows Champions’ and now with over 70 players on Professional Tours, including eight of my Alumni playing this week, I can only see it as a great inspiration for all young aspiring golfers out there looking to follow in their footsteps. “This is a unique event, absolutely, and it will do a great deal to highlight where the ladies game is at right now.” ◼
ROUND 1 TEE TIMES – WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 4
6
MORNING SHOTGUN – 10AM
AFTERNOON SHOTGUN – 4.30PM
HOLE
PRO
TEAM
AMATEURS
HOLE
PRO
TEAM
AMATEURS
1A
Emilie Paltrinieri (Am)
OMEGA III
Iswar Jodha, Darren King, Martin Mcdonagh
1A
Minjee Lee
OMEGA V
Naima Maya, Martha Wong, Yana Jamieson
1B
Laura Fuenfstueck
AGMC/BMW I
Gurbax Singh, Sophia Hasnaoui, Ricky Dominguez
1B
Celine Boutier
OMEGA VI
Shiba Wahid Khan, Liang Liu, Roma Khanna
2A
Lina Boqvist
AGMC/BMW III
Anil Shivanna Hosour, Steen Jakobsen, Kristnan Subramaniam
2A
Laura Davies
OMEGA VII
Dan Byrne, Rakesh Shah, Alex Rodriguex
2B
Astha Madan
wasl IV
Lianne Scattery, Willemijn Roeterdink, Genie Owiti
2B
Alison Lee
ODMC VII
Peter Finch, Victoria Johnson, Nicsha Russouw
3
Tonje Daffinrud
ODMC VIII
James Carter, Ashley Phipps, Olivia Cooke
3
Muni He
OMEGA VIII
Marco Saviozzi, Frederic Gastaldo, Jennifer Adorsa Cruz
4
Emma Nilsson
Motivate Media Group I
Tom Rourke, Stuart Deeson, Ashley Morgan
4
Carly Booth
EGA VII
Alexander Tivi, Irfan Nasir, Sylvain Dery
5A
Liz Young
ODMC III
David Stockton, Tim Burnell, James Burgess
5A
Jenny Haglund
ODMC V
Stuart Laurie, Peter Menelaou, Chris May
5B
Aditi Ashok
Ladies European Tour
Champika Sayal, Nonita Chand, Kanchka Sayal
5B
Diksha Dagar
AGMC/BMW II
David Garland, Stephen Punch, Jugwinder Singh Brar
6A
Maha Haddioui
ODMC I
Adel Zarouni, General Abdulla Al Hashemi, Sami Nasser
6A
Christine Wolf
Emirates NBD III
Azad Virji, Aditya Ganti, Predrag Lucic
6B
Marianne Skarpnord
OMEGA I
Beatrice Galeppini Salani, Edoardo Galeppini, Max Burrow
6B
Caroline Hedwall
Dubai Duty Free II
George Horan, Michael McGinley, Bharat Godkhindi Maura Duggan, Sulafa Hamdan, Helen Srivastava
7
Bronte Law
OMEGA IX
Dhruv Gupta, Priyanka Gupta, Yves Buchard
7
Kylie Henry
wasl I
8A
Julia Engstrom
Emirates NBD IV
S.G. Nair, Ghanshayam Ram Manghnani, Arjun Manghnani
8A
Johanna Gustavsson
EGA IV
Ashok Kumar, Dalip Tripati, Vishal Tikku
8B
Olivia Cowan
JA Resorts & Hotels II
Werner Rooseboom, John Houston, Paul Nightingale
8B
Lucrezia Colombotto Rosso
JA Resorts & Hotels III
Samir Tabbah, Murdo Gordon, Wayne Jones Tom Morgans, Shane Malone, Gary Chapman
9
Georgia Hall
OMEGA II
Achal Ghai, Tom Luig, Rahul Yadav
9
Kelsey Macdonald
ODMC II
10A
Lydia Ko
EGA II
Greg Sproule, Maurizio La Noce, Walid Al Attar
10A
Gabriella Cowley
JA Resorts & Hotels IV
Natalii Gupta, Scott Flewellen, Peter Englund
10B
Beth Allen
Emirates NBD II
Neeraj Varyani, Vikas Sachar, Srinivas Chivukula
10B
Karolin Lampert
ODMC IX
Lee Lawrence, Mark Chapleski, Campbell Steedman
11A
Olivia Jackson
EGA I
Christer Sjodoff, Abdulla Alkaram, Mohammed Darwish
11A
Whitney Hillier
Motivate Media Group III
Claudine Foong, Alex Riggs, Dean Cheesley
11B
Trish Johnson
Byrne Equipment Rental II
Steve Caygill, Carl Lindsay, Jim Smith
11B
Tvesa Malik
Byrne Equipment Rental I
James Scullion, James Dodgson, Ashley Woolhouse
12
Eleanor Givens
EGA VIII
Ivan Fornazaric, Peter Jamieson, Victoria Anikina
12
Sanna Nuutinen
Emirates Golf Federation
Rabab Al Haj, Alia Al Emadi, Hamda Alsuwaudi
13
Nuria Iturrioz
CNN I
Carlotta Pretti, Edoardo Riccio, Abbas Virji
13
Hannah Burke
Emirates Golf Club
Pascal Bartette, Najla Bartette, Frank Duggan
14A
Becky Morgan
EGC Captains Team
Monica Palao, Amarjeet Radia, Josie Tracey
14A
Lydia Hall
Neo Casa Interiors
Masoud Sobati, Shahriar Khodjasteh, Mansour Khodjasteh
14B
Chiara Noja (Am)
wasl II
Rohitash Gupta, Bayhan Lakdawala, Shehzad Lakdawala
14B
Esther Henseleit
Dubai Duty Free I
Colm McLoughlin, Niall McLoughlin, James Finnigan
15A
Alice Hewson
Byrne Equipment Rental III
Richard Taylor, Simon Hickson, Brian Marshall
15A
Stephanie Kyriacou
ODMC IV
Abdulwahed Al Qasem, Eric Milne, Boyd Edmondson
15B
Celine Herbin
The Entertainer
Chris Shaw, Tapan Vaidya, Ryan Coffey
15B
Meghan MacLaren
Motivate Media Group II
Ken Owiti, Jackson Bell, Adina Cameron
16
Alison Muirhead
wasl III
Sanjay Dhandsa, Raj Janardhan, Ross Barlow
16
Manon De Roey
Emirates NBD I
Wang Xuhong, Nicolas Wright, Ashley Anderson
17A
Magdalena Simmermacher
ODMC VI
Jazzy Golfer, Aliya Al Qubaisi, Khalid Al Qubaisi
17A
Emily Kristine Pedersen
EGA VI
Naresh Handa, Andrew Wood, Graham Pascal
17B
Kim Metraux
OMEGA IV
Anthony Fernando-pulle, Stephen William Payne, Stamen Stantchev
17B
Amy Boulden
JA Resorts & Hotels I
Mrs Irem Aksay, Khalid Al Halyan, Thomas Grundner
18
Inci Mehmet
EGA III
Abdulrahman Rahmani, Noel Luzares, Alan Cedeno
18
Charley Hull
EGA V
Khalid Yousuf, Abdalla Al Musharrekh, Robert Fiala
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7 7
OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic winner to be presented with the Speedmaster 38mm timepiece
F
or the Swiss watchmaker OMEGA, golf is a passion that stretches across the globe. In the Middle East, the brand has a particularly esteemed standing as the title sponsor of two popular tournaments: The OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic and the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic. Both tournaments attract some of the game’s most talented golfers and are a notable highlight on the annual sporting calendar. This November, all eyes are on the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic once again, as the 2nd edition of the LET event plays out. At its dramatic conclusion, OMEGA will present the winner with the exclusive Speedmaster 38mm timepiece, to go along with the championship cheque and trophy. The beautiful watch features a full 18K Sedna™ gold case with a “cappuccino” dial and a taupe-brown leather strap. The watch’s bezel features the Speedmaster’s famous tachymeter scale as well as a circle of sparkling diamonds. Just like the winner of the OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic 2020, this captivating wristwatch performs with ultimate precision and flair.
E M I R AT E S G O L F C LU B D U BA I
SPEEDMASTER 38 MM
4 – 6 N OV E M B E R , 2020
More information available at OMEGA Middle East, Emirates Towers, Dubai, UAE. Tel: +971 4 3300455