Worldwide Golf December 2016

Worldwide Golf The Middle East’s No.1 Golf Magazine

ISBN 978-9948-15-427-3

December 2016, ISSUE 187

JORDAN SMITH

CHALLENGE TOUR NO.1 SET FOR TEST AGAINST THE BEST DARREN CLARKE

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Worldwide Golf is the Official Media partner to The European Tour in the Middle East and the official magazine of the Emirates Golf Federation

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Worldwide Golf Columnist

GREAT NEWS FOR AFRICA’S MAJOR

By Gary Player, Worldwide Golf Executive Editor since 1999

L

ast month’s 2016 Nedbank Golf Challenge was such an overwhelming success and for it to become an integral part of the forthcoming Rolex Series in 2017 is great news for the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City and for golf in South Africa. I am so thrilled to continue hosting the tournament.

I first envisioned this event would potentially change professional golf with big prize money by getting the four Major Champions of golf to come to South Africa to compete for millions of dollars.

Fast-forward 35 years later and the NGC is a Sunshine Tour and European Tour co-sanctioned event and part of the prestigious Race to Dubai. That in itself is special but now it is part of the seven tournament Rolex Series with each event having no less than $7million in total prize money

we all believe it will continue to grow and attract many more champions to Africa’s Major.

It was also a great thrill to be back in Sun City for our Gary Player Invitational last month. Everyone, from our Black Knight team to the greenkeeping staff to the caddies, did a magnificent job taking care of our guests. These events are not possible without our sponsors Coca-Cola, SAP, Sun International, BMW and Rolex.

Hats off to Irish singer Brian McFadden for capturing the iconic Baobab trophy. He has been a tremendous supporter of the tournament for many years, and I was thrilled to see his team along with LPGA and LET star Celine Herbin come out on top. Starting the final round six shots off the lead, Herbin and her team of McFadden and businessmen Doug Jackson and Daryl Bernhart produced an inspired performance

“The golf was truly fantastic, but the giving during our Gala Dinner and Charity Auction was even more fantastic. You see, the Gary Player Invitational series is all about raising money for those less fortunate.” that saw them win by a single shot on 36 under par at The Lost City Golf Club.

My team of Manchester United football star Andy Cole and businessmen Kelvin Balogun and Anthony Leeming had to settle for second place.

The golf was truly fantastic, but the giving during our Gala Dinner and Charity Auction was even more fantastic. You see, the Gary Player Invitational series is all about raising money for those less fortunate.

This was the final tournament

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on our 2016 global Gary Player Invitational series, and it ended on a high note with more than R3 million raised for the two South African charities of Wings and Wishes, and the Wildlands Conservation Trust as well as other selected charities.

I want to thank all of our participants and sponsors for their support in six different countries around the world. The series continues to make a huge impact in raising funds for charity. Next stop Abu Dhabi in the UAE. n

December 2016

CONTENTS 42 48 16 22 25 27 54

Cover feature: Matt Fitzpatrick

WWG have been keen followers of the career of Matt Fitzpatrick since his dazzling displays as an amateur.

This year’s he’s blossomed into a fully-fledged star on the European Tour thanks, mainly, to two victories – plus a memorable triumph at the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates last month. We take a look at the young Yorkshireman’s rise to stardom.

Darren Clarke

WWG sits down with Darren Clarke in Dubai to talk about the Ryder Cup, life on Tour after Hazeltine and why the Tour pros love coming to Dubai.

The Starter

The Championship course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club is set to host one of the strongest fields in the region when next month’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship gets underway. Plus all the latest happenings from around the globe and a look back at a historical tournament from this month in history.

Pete Cowen Column

PGA Master Professional Pete Cowen reveals to WWG the background to his and co-coach Mike Walker’s incredibly successful year coaching some of the finest players in the world.

David Howell Column

European Tour veteran David Howell looks back on a stellar year for the European Tour and ahead to what promises to be a fantastic 2017.

Rafa Cabrera Bello Column

The Spanish Ryder Cup star is ready to enjoy the off-season after an amazing year, but he’ll be raring to go again in 2017 having achieved three of his career goals in 2016.

Jordan L. Smith

The 2016 Road to Oman Champion looks ahead to his debut season on the European Tour, and he’s got his eye on a maiden tilt at the DP World Tour Championship.

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CONTENTS 30

Tour News

How Henrik Stenson won the Race to Dubai and the announcement of the Rolex Series for the 2017 European Tour.

GEAR

64

Titleist 917 – Performance and forgiveness

Jason Ashley, Custom Fit Specialist at eGolf Megastore gets his hands on the latest driver from Titleist.

Could the TaylorMade M2 work for you?

Alex Gallemore gets to grips with the TaylorMade M2 to find out why so many pros are putting it in the bag.

Ping iBlade – Start playing shots again

Elastomer inserts and a workable sole make the new Ping iBlades a shotmakers dream.

INSTRUCTION

58

PRESSURE RATHER THAN SPEED

Stephen Deane, Head Professional at Emirates Golf Club, talks us through some simple Pete Cowen Signature Moves which will lead to more consistency in your game.

PARACHUTE YOUR WEDGES

Andrew Laird, formerly PGA Golf Professional at Al Badia Golf Club by InterContinental and now at Sheshan International in Shanghai, showcases some tips on to master the flop shot.

BUILD LOWER BODY STABILITY WITH RESISTANCE BANDS PGA Master Professional Pete Cowen introduces a drill that he uses with Lee Westwood that will help with stability when hitting full shots.

71 88

Arabian Golf

All the latest news from the leading golf clubs in the Middle East.

Bom Sucesso Resort

The latest in our series of European Tour Destinations, the Bom Sucesso Resort is where modern architecture merges into the natural beauty of the Obidos Lagoon.

Editor’s Letter

By Alex Gallemore

ISSUE No.187 DECEMBER, 2016.

Published by: Worldwide Sporting Publications Ltd.

If you want to save money get our new APP!

I

T’S great to have Matthew Fitzpatrick on the cover of this month’s Worldwide Golf as I believe he’s going to be the face of European golf for many years to come. The way he won the DP World Tour Championship again displayed his maturity and Sheffield nerves of steel way beyond his 22 years.

Yes, he really is 22!

Many sports stars lose their way as the money and fame takes hold of their lives but when Matt won the British Masters last year he stopped for a Subway sandwich on his way home with his brother Alex.

The celebrations at Atlantis after the greatest win of his burgeoning career were a little more fitting to the occasion but the young Ryder Cup rookie was no different than the first time I met him at Pete Cowen’s Academy in Rotherham five short years ago.

In Pete’s Column this month he talks about Matt and the stellar season Pete has had along with co-coach Mike Walker. With two Major championship winners (Stenson and Willett); Race to Dubai winner (Stenson); DP World Tour Championship and Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner (Fitzpatrick and Willett respectively) to name but a few, 2016 is going to be a tough year to follow.

Especially, since Pete has been telling me that he’s going to start taking it easy and cut back on the amount of time he spends on the range. But we both know that will never

happen. Watch the video online at worldwide.golf to hear what Pete has to say about his players, his life on Tour and his plans for 2017.

The new season looks like it will be interesting for TaylorMade. Rumours are rife about what is happening to the brand but with so many leading Tour players opting to use the M1 and M2 driver, including Rory McIlroy, can one of the biggest brand names survive the economic climate as golf retail numbers slow in general around the globe?

The cost of living in the UAE also continues to rise and we have just launched our new Worldwide Golf APP to, helpfully, relieve some of the financial pressures.

With most of the clubs in the UAE already on board we have been able to put together a FREE APP that offers everything from 2-4-1 rounds to 50% off your food and beverages in the clubhouse. As the APP continues to gain support, the number of offers and competitions will continue to grow.

Talking about competitions, we’ve got the latest Titleist 917 driver up for grabs online. Having tested the club at eGolf Megastore it’s definitely one of the best drivers on the market right now, but you get what you pay for.

The lucky winner will also have the club fitted as there are so many elements you can tweak with the club. A professional fitter is essential to optimise those tee shots, not just for distance but also for accuracy.

Worldwide GOLF 14

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

Editor-in-Chief: Mike Gallemore.

Executive Editor: Gary Player.

Editor: Alex Gallemore. alex@wspglobal.com.

Publisher: Mike Gallemore. mike@wspglobal.com.

General Manager Dubai: Richard Bevan: rick@wspglobal.com.

Editors: Todd Staszko, Scott Grayston, Ashraf Ahmed.

Production/Design Editor: Thameem Rayyan.

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

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

Printed by: Raidy, Dubai Distributed by: Al Nisr Distribution LLC PO Box 6519, Dubai, UAE 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.

The Course

Abu Dhabi Golf Club A Championship Oasis in the heart of the city

T

HE Championship Course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club is an oasis in the heart of the hustle and bustle of one the busiest cities in the Middle East.

The 27-hole Championship course meanders through rolling terrain which features shrubbery, ornamental trees and windswept palms with seven saltwater lakes coming into play at various points of the layout. A total of 90 bunkers guard the fairways and greens – so finding the fairway is at a premium.

Designed by the renowned architect Peter Harradine and opened for play in October 2000, Abu Dhabi Golf Club has played host to the European Tour’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship since 2006, when American Chris DiMarco triumphed.

The past winners list gets more impressive with each passing year, with Ryder Cup star Rickie Fowler the latest to get his hands on the coveted Falcon trophy, joining the likes of Paul Casey, Martin Kaymer and Jamie Donaldson.

Next month’s edition features one of the strongest fields of a European Tour event outside the Majors as Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Danny Willett will joust with Fowler for the trophy, while the support cast includes the redhot Alex Noren, Ryder Cup stars Thomas Pieters, Martin Kaymer and Lee Westwood and South Africa’s Branden Grace. n

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“I’m really looking forward to it and I’m pleased to have the opportunity to play in Abu Dhabi. I’ve never been there, but I’ve heard really good things about the golf course from Rickie and Rory who tell me I’m definitely going to like it, and about Abu Dhabi itself so I’m really excited about going.” – DUSTIN JOHNSON.

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STARTER CHARLEY HULL WINS MAIDEN LPGA TOUR TITLE England’s Charley Hull clinched her first title on the LPGA Tour with a superb two-stroke victory over So-Yeon Ryu at the CME Glove Tour Championship. Hull fired a bogey-free 66 to win in Florida, with World No.1 Lydia Ko finishing in a share of tenth place. “It’s wicked to win at just 20,” said the youngster. “It feels good to be joining the winners this year.” Hull became the first player from England to win on the LPGA Tour since Karen Stupples at the 2004 Women’s British Open.

WANG NAMED ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Jeunghun Wang put the cap on a superb maiden campaign on the European Tour by being named the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, becoming the second South Koreantotakethehonourinsuccessiveyears, followingcompatriotByeongHunAnin2015.

Wang recorded back-to-back wins at the Trophée Hassan II and AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, and finished the season in 16th position in the Race to Dubai Rankings presented by Rolex.

SPIETH HONE-IN ON 2017 SCHEDULE Former World No.1 Jordan Spieth hopes that playing less in 2017 will equate to more wins than it did in 2016. Spieth won two US PGA Tour titles and the Australian Open, but his collapse at the Masters is what he will remember most from this year. Spieth made 12 starts in six countries leading up to the Masters in April, including stops in Abu Dhabi and Singapore. “I just want an offseason,” said Speith. “It's been a wild schedule, and what I've learned is that I won't bounce back and forth from the States over here as often as I did. It's just tough.”

CLERICAL ERROR LETS IN PAMPLING – WHO WINS! An admin error by US PGA Tour officials allowed for 12 extra players to be added to the field of the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas – including eventual winner Rod Pampling. The Aussie hadn’t won on Tour in ten years but took full advantage and clinched a two-shot win to earn an exemption on the Tour through until 2019.

KO SWITCHING BATS

World No.1 Lydia Ko has reportedly ended her association with Callaway ahead of the 2017 season and will sign with PXG. Ko has been with Callaway since her rookie campaign of 2014 and won all 14 of her LPGA Tour titles using Callaway clubs and an Odyssey putter.

Next year, she may well be starting her fourth season as a professional with different gear.

REED WITHDRAWAL LETS STORM IN

Graeme Storm was the beneficiary of Patrick Reed’s failure to play five European Tour events as the Englishman kept his playing rights for 2017. Storm finished €100 short on prize money but was offered the reprieve after Reed withdrew from the Turkish Airlines Open and the DP World Tour Championship.

“I’m relieved. It's been a topsy-turvy time,” said Storm (pictured right).

Q U O T E S "I'm learning to walk more efficiently. I'm doing a better job of that, but I have to work on my game. A lot of right-left, right-left."

– Jim 'Bones' Mackay, caddie of Phil Mickelson, after announcing he had surgery to replace both his knees in October.

O F

T H E

"We are huge proponents of the Olympics. We are all about the Olympics, but we also have to protect the PGA Championship and we can’t just bounce the PGA Championship around every four years," – US PGA CEO Pete Bevacqua discusses the possibility of moving the date of the US PGA Championship in 2020, to ease congestion around the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Worldwide GOLF 18

M O N T H "I don't want to put the cart before the horse. That committee is in place for a reason. If they decide '18, '20, '22, whenever it is, if they decide that I'm the right person, I would love to have that job." – Jim Furyk talks openly about his chances of becoming United States Ryder Cup Captain.

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JIMMY WALKER

TIGER'S NEW CHALLENGE

Spin Back

Tiger's comeback at an event he's won five times.

December 2011

T

HE Hero World Challenge is a significant event for Tiger Woods. In addition to it being hosted by the former World No.1, with money raised going to the Tiger Woods Foundation, he's found it to be a happy hunting ground with five wins since 1999.

His victory in 2011 represented the end of a two-year barren spell, and his announcement that he’ll play this year’s event represents a first taste of competitive action in over a year.

The importance of this event is not lost on Woods,and that showed back in 2011 when he birdied the last to win by one shot from Zach Johnson.

Woods (pictured right) let out a signature roar and pumped his first as if he’d just sealed his 15th Major. It's a celebration that has been sorely missed among golf fans around the world.

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WHAT A YEAR .. BRING ON 2017!

By Pete Cowen, PGA Master Professional

M

YSELF and Mike Walker, who works closely with me, have had a great year, starting with Danny Willett winning the Dubai Desert Classic, and then we came close with Thomas Pieters in Abu Dhabi chasing down Rickie Fowler. So we got off to a solid start in the Middle East and things just continued to build from there.

Danny carried his form into the Masters Tournament and we know what happened at Augusta. Not long after, one of Mike’s main players, Chris Wood, won the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, so again, a good team effort.

From there the momentum carried forward as Henrik Stenson went on to win in Germany in impressive style and closely followed it up with his breathtaking performance at The Open – we’ve not seen golf played like that for a long time. He was close to playing like that when he won the Race to Dubai in 2013 but it was so impressive to see him and Mickelson go head-to-head at Troon. The two of them resembled heavyweight boxers clashing with each other over twelve rounds and, thankfully, our man came out on top. It was well deserved and if you ever ask Henrik which one Major he wanted, he would always say The Open – and he certainly won it in true style.

The year continued to progress with Padraig Harrington winning in Portugal, with some of his critics reckoning he was finished. But people soon forget that he won the Honda Classic last year. I was expecting him to win again as I could see he was improving, so it was merely a matter of time.

You couldn’t have scripted a better finish to the season for Mike and myself with the

Mike Walker pictured with Matt Fitzpatrick and Pete at this years DP World Tour Championship

climax we had in Dubai last month. With Henrik winning the Race to Dubai and Danny coming second it was spectacular enough but to have Matt Fitzpatrick steal the limelight by winning the DP World Tour Championship made it a great end to the year for Mike, the players and myself. Sitting back now and looking forward to the 2017 campaign we can reflect on what has happened, and review our scheduling accordingly. It’s very hard for the European players to stay fresh all season when they commit to playing on both sides of the Atlantic. You can’t play your best golf all of the time, although we saw Tiger do that in 2000. Modern Major champions need to manage expectations. Considering the competition these days I doubt we will ever see one player dominate for an entire season again.

Danny Willett

Danny said to me at JGE last month that to win the DP World Tour Championship he needed to be as fresh coming into the final event as he does starting the season.

He agreed that he definitely wasn’t fresh

Worldwide GOLF 22

at this year’s event and he was running on empty. So we’ve got to make sure that we manage the schedule so our players are fit at the end of the year, because that’s when the big tournaments take place.

So it’s important they are in the right frame of mind and fit to compete at the highest level come any Sunday.

Henrik Stenson

Henrik has three types of hitting a golf ball: good; very good and almost perfect. But Henrik doesn’t like to play ‘good’ and ‘very good.’ He only likes to play ‘perfect.’ So if his game isn’t close to perfect he almost has to battle inwardly to grind out a result. We know you can’t be perfect all the time but Henrik’s expectations are so high and that’s a battle all the top players have.

Thomas Pieters

When Thomas won in Denmark to get into the Ryder Cup it was a very impressive feat in itself and the way he played at Hazeltine thrust himself

Worldwide Golf Columnist

onto the world stage and showed just what he was made of. We all know he’s got the potential to go all the way in the game but next year we are looking at the scheduling, as he’s going to play both Tours, which is difficult as we know, but he has youth on his side and if anyone can make it work it’s Thomas.

Matt Fitzpatrick

He won in Sweden in style, made the Ryder Cup team and then the DP World Tour Championship at just 22 years old. But with the young players we need to be careful that we don’t burn them out. Matt has been working hard on his fitness and his leg strength has improved massively, which shows in the additional yardage he’s picked up. He’s getting stronger all the time and his technique continues to get better, so the future is very bright for Matt. Despite him looking very young for his age he’s very strong all round. Kevin Duffy does a great job on his physical work. He’s hard on Matt and makes sure he’s progressing correctly with his physical performance.

Padraig Harrington

If you watched Padraig hole out at Portugal as I did you could see the putting demons certainly have left him. People think that he changed his swing after winning three Majors. But to put it bluntly Padraig has just looked to

improve his technique – not change his swing. In this game, if you don’t try to improve you tend to go backwards pretty quickly.

Lee Westwood

Lee’s long game is one of the best in the business and his short game has improved massively. What he needs to do is just hole those crutial momentum putts that he misses.

If you sink those momentum putts early in the round you go on to shoot 66 but if you start to miss them it can easily turn into a 72 or worse. When he gets in contention again, which he will, and holes those key putts going down the stretch he’ll win, that’s for sure. He’s also back in the gym with Kevin Duffy working on his strength and fitness over the winter so expect to see him fired up in 2017.

Pete Cowen

Looking forward to 2017 and beyond I’d like to spend more time in Dubai. Not many of my players are keen to come over to Sheffield to practice in the cold English winter for six hours. It would be ideal to base myself at the Emirates Golf Club and Creek academies and pass my knowledge on to the lads there.

Dubai is also a great stop-off for the players and to be based there from the months of November through to the end of February would be perfect.

Worldwide GOLF 23

Worldwide GOLF 23

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Worldwide Golf Columnist

2016 REALLY HIT THE HIGH NOTES

By David Howell, European Tour Professional

I

No sooner had the 2016 season ended last month, another one kicks off. That’s the way it is on both the main tours, so there’s a lot to reflect on and a lot to look forward to in the New Year.

Last season was a stellar year for the European Tour. Our two Major victories were definitely the high point with Henrik Stenson cementing his place as one of the top-five players with his first Major, at Royal Troon, and Danny Willett with his breakthrough Major at The Masters. Danny’s first Grand Slam event victory will do him a great deal of good and leave many of his contemporaries thinking, ‘well, if he can do it, then why not me?’

Henrik, of course, has been a star of the game for a decade or more and his long-awaited big win should serve to galvanise the older guys like Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood into believing that their time will still come. Suffice to say that the two stars of 2016 certainly gave the European Tour a terrific boost.

Of course, there were many more great story lines as well. Matthew Fitzpatrick had the sort of year you dream about, culminating in his fantastic victory over Tyrrell Hatton in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates. Matt is looking to buy a house in Florida and his biggest difficulty will be choosing his goals wisely in getting his scheduling right – which events to play on the European Tour and which to play in the USA. The golfing world is his oyster now and although I guess he will want to stay loyal to the European Tour he will still want to take on the American challenge.

Finished with a sprint Thorbjørn Olsen finished the season with a sprint with his victory in Turkey and at the World Cup in Australia where he took the title for Denmark alongside his ever-present fellowcountryman Søren Kjeldsen. The debut performances of Dubai-based Spaniard Rafa Cabrera Bello and Belgian youngster Thomas Pieters were the highlights of a difficult week for Europe in the Ryder Cup at Hazeltine. If there were a low point of 2016 then the Ryder Cup may have been it – but it’s not possible to win every time and Europe’s winning run had to end sometime.

The American team had to throw everything, including the kitchen sink, into winning and they certainly showed just how special the Ryder

Cup really is with a well-deserved victory. Paris in 2018 will have a totally different feel about it, I’m sure. It’s an incredible venue for the Ryder Cup and I feel it will leave an indelible mark on the history of the matches. With our ‘home’ advantage it will be a different proposition.

Something nobody could have predicted was the rise to fame of Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, himself included, I’m sure. Not only did he have a great season, but he became the new poster boy for bringing something a little different into the game, in some ways like John Daly did two decades ago. I can remember when nicknames were frowned upon by the TV world, but not anymore. Golf needs to appeal to as many people as possible. Beef’s arrival on the scene has helped in not taking the game quite so seriously.

Sportsmanship and fair play It’s a curious sport in many ways. The etiquette of golf brings sportsmanship and fair play and teaches lessons outside the game, which is great for kids but it can cause the youngsters to stay away from the game. A slight loosening of the rules can do so much good in attracting newcomers. A little fun does no harm and if smart jeans are deemed acceptable in normal life then why not in the clubhouse?

If in 2017 more players on Tour are known by their nicknames, and have their own brand and their own followers that, too, will be a great thing. ‘Beef’ and his supporters, along with Andy Sullivan and his travelling ‘Sullies Army,’ showed us this year is that it is possible to build your own fan base and that translates to a better atmosphere at the tournaments, which makes for better TV viewing. They deserve a pat on the back for bringing some real fun into the game this year.

This season heralds a new dawn for the Tour with the introduction of the Rolex Series. Seven events with a total prizemoney purse of no less than $7million with $8million for the DP World Tour Championship, is designed to give our star players the choice of not having to go to the US PGA Tour but to live in Europe and play a schedule that begins to rival the Americans.

These are truly exciting times for all the members of the Tour. The plan is for these events to grow to a possible 12 tournaments in the future is the ultimate goal. Quite how that will pan – out only time will tell, but it is exciting to look forward to see how many other events

Worldwide GOLF 25

might be able to take part in the Rolex Series in future seasons. I’m sure both the Tour and Rolex will be pulling out all the stops to get it right.

The first event in the Rolex Series is the BMW PGA Championship on the newly laid-out West course at Wentworth. I couldn’t think of a better way to tee it off, except for this particular 41 year veteran ‘Howler’ beating the young upstart called ‘Beef’ on the final hole. Now that would be a great way to get things started – in my mind anyway. n

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Worldwide Golf Columnist

READY FOR A BREAK BUT RARING TO GO IN 2017

By Rafa Cabrera Bello

I

’m looking forward to a break after what has been a long but amazing season for me where I achieved three of my dreams by playing in the Masters, the Olympics and the Ryder Cup. I was disappointed with my finish in the DP World Tour Championship after shooting the round of the week with a 63 in the third round – just one stroke off the course record to put myself in contention, two shots off the lead.

I had high hopes for the final round but it was a tough day for me, shooting 3-over and dropping out of contention.

But that’s golf for you, you can be up one day and down the next or vice versa – the key is not to get too carried away when things are going well, and not to get too down when they’re not.

Overall it’s been the best season of my career and one that I will remember for a long time.

The golfing year didn’t actually end for me in Dubai as I went to Australia to play the World Cup the next week and I still have the UBS Hong Kong Open to play before I can put the clubs away for a while, which will be great.

For me, Christmas is all about family time – but a bit of surfing, skiing and relaxing is on the agenda as well. I’ll also thrown in some golf here and there so that I can be ready for the start of the season.

But I won’t touch a golf club for at least 15 days, which is important in order to have some mental rest. I just want to forget about golf and do other things as there is more to life than just golf. I’d be very happy to stop for 15-20 days, depending on how much time I have.

I work on my fitness a lot during the off-season as it’s possible to spend time on areas that I don’t have time to focus on during the season. I tend to lose weight throughout the year because of the stress of competition and the amount of travel I do. It’s tough to keep a regular rhythm and normal training schedule but luckily at Christmas I get to eat a lot and then train hard in the gym to get ready for the following year.

I’m also really looking forward to making Dubai my permanent base

when I’m not on Tour as I really like the emirate. It’s a fun city and is great for golf. When I spend time here the weather is always amazing. Dubai has great practice facilities and it is the ideal location in the winter time to unwind and focus on my preparations for the new season.

My playing schedule for next year is not finalised yet but I’ll play on both the PGA Tour and the European Tour.

I’ll most likely play the bigger events in Europe and also play in the USA so I’ll be going back and forth and clocking up the air miles!

The European Tour is set for an exciting new era with the announcement of the Rolex Series starting next season which I think is fantastic news for the Tour. At the moment it’s seven events, including the DP World Tour Championship, with some significant prize funds which will compete with the money on offer on the PGA Tour. We’re all really excited about it. Hopefully it will prove to be a big success and will get the support it deserves from the top players.

This season has been a successful one for me but I will set new goals for next year for sure. I want to raise the bar and not be complacent. Don’t get me wrong, I’m very happy and fortunate to have achieved what I did this season but I dream about achieving more. Setting new goals and objectives will lead me to becoming a better player and that’s something that you never stop striving for.

RAFA CABRERA BELLO IS A JA RESORTS & HOTELS AMBASSADOR.

Worldwide GOLF 27

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LOCAL FAVOURITE STENSON SEALS SECOND RACE TO DUBAI TITLE

D

ubai favourite Henrik Stenson won the Race to Dubai for the second time after a brilliant final round at Jumeirah Golf Estates confirmed his status as European Tour Number One. The Open champion closed his season with a seven under par 65 in the DP World Tour Championship, bringing the curtain down on a season in which he became the first Swede to win a Major with his triumph at Royal Troon in July and claimed an Olympic silver medal.

That breakthrough major title along with his BMW International Open win in Germany and three other top two finishes helped Stenson top the Race to Dubai Rankings presented

by Rolex ahead of Masters Champion Danny Willett.

“I'm very pleased to get my name on this trophy once again,” said Stenson. “It's been a great year, the best year of my career. I've always thought it was going to be hard to top 2013, but I think I've done that this year.

Maybe not to the same level of golf over six months, but certainly with the highlights of winning The Open, silver medal in the Olympics and managing to win the Race to Dubai again. So it's been a great year and it feels lovely to finish in this way.

“If you're going to be Europe's No. 1, you don't want to finish with a 75, even if you can afford it. It was nice to play some good golf finally and to shoot a good number on a Sunday. That never hurts.”

Stenson's victory in the Race to Dubai also

Pictured L-R: Yousuf Kazim, CEO of Jumeirah Golf Estates; Saeed Harib, Secretary General, Dubai Sports Council; Keith Pelley, Chief Executive, European Tour; Henrik Stenson; His Highness Sheikh Mansoor Bin Mohamed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum - Chairman of Dubai International Marine Club; His Excellency Sheikh Fahim bin Sultan Al Qasimi – Chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation

secured an additional $1.25 million bonus from the $5million Bonus Pool awarded to the top ten at the season's end.

Having previously won the Race to Dubai in 2013, Stenson, an honorary member of Jumeirah Golf Estates, becomes only the third continental European and 12th player in total to finish Number One on more than one occasion, joining the likes of Seve Ballesteros Bernhard Langer, Rory McIlroy, Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie, and Sir Nick Faldo.

“There are some very nice names on this trophy, so I'm delighted and proud to get my name on it again,” he said. “It's hard enough to do one time, but to do two is something I'm very pleased with.”

Having started his season with a second place in the Nedbank Golf Challenge and joint third in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, it was not until June that Stenson first tasted victory, winning the BMW International Open in Munich with a threestroke victory at Gut Lärchenhof.

Buoyed by the confidence brought by winning, Stenson produced one of the greatest performances ever witnessed in

an Open Championship to win the Claret Jug. Going toe-to-toe with Phil Mickelson, Stenson’s closing 63 broke a host of records including the lowest total to par in Open history and the lowest ever final round by a winner.

His 63 - a total matched by Mickelson on Thursday - equalled the lowest round in Major history and his 264 aggregate score was the lowest ever in a Major Championship.

From that moment Stenson and Willett, who made his own breakthrough with his Masters victory in April, were fighting for top spot on the Race to Dubai, with Stenson edging ahead after finishing joint second in the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai and then holding the challengers at bay over the course of the Final Series.

As to what he would do with the latest addition to his trophy cabinet, Stenson, who loved in Dubai for ten years, said: “I'm very pleased because I've got two DP World Tour Championships and I've got two Race to Dubai titles. I have my home in Sweden and I have my home in America, so I can spread it out and make it look good in both places.”

Amateurs enjoy the Earth course in Championship condition A

selection of lucky amateurs got the opportunity to play on the same Championship layout as the Race to Dubai’s elite immediately prior to and immediately after the DP World Tour Championship.

The Tuesday before the tournament began was the Rolex Pro-Am, where in a sign of things to come Matthew Fitzpatrick led the Rolex team of Marco Saviozzi, Franco Saviozzi, Rishad Moloobhoy (pictured right) with a score 34 under par in the morning shotgun while the afternoon winner was Danny Willett and his DP World team of Simon Pitout, J.S. Park, H.Y. Chung with a

score of 33 under par. On the Monday after the DP World Tour Championship it was the turn of the competitors in the European Tour Golf Day, which was hosted by renowned coach Pete Cowen and trick shot maestro David Edwards, to play on the pristine conditioned course.

Winning the morning shotgun where Peter Matsson, Ulla Matsson, Andrew Crone and Michael Warnock with a score of 16 under par, while the afternoon contest was won

by Edoardo Galeppini, Beatrice Galeppini, Giovanni Galeppini and Ed Fern with a score 17 under par.

DATES ANNOUCED FOR 2017 DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP:

Matt Fitzpatrick is pictured with his Rolex Pro-Am-winning team.

NOVEMBER 16-19, 2017 EARTH COURSE Worldwide GOLF |30|AT JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES

TOUR NEWS DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP BIRDIE BLITZ RAISES FUNDS FOR FRIENDS OF CANCER PATIENTS L ast month’s DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates witnessed some world-class golf as Matthew Fitzpatrick pulled off the biggest win of his career while Henrik Stenson was crowned Race to Dubai champion for the second time.

But while top quality golfing action is central to the star-studded tournament, a key component of the event is the utilisation of one of the region’s premier sporting platforms to raise funds and awareness for good causes.

Event partners, Friends of Cancer Patients, do a wonderful job at the tournament raising awareness of male cancers through the Shanab initiative at their stand in the Championship Village while the players themselves help raise money for the notfor-profit organization through the ‘Birdie Pledge’ which sees the European Tour Players’ Foundation, supported by title sponsor DP World, the European Tour and Jumeriah Golf Estates, donate $50 for every birdie made at the event and $100 every eagle. And with the Race to Dubai’s star players in electrifying form all week at Jumeirah Golf Estates, this year’s tournament saw a whopping $51,400 raised for Friends of Cancer Patients with 974 birdies and 27 eagles registered at the tournament.

“Once again we have raised not only a great amount of money but also heightened the awareness of cancer, particularly

male cancers, and the work that this great organisation does,” said Kathryn WightmanBeaven, Director – Global Sustainability, DP World. “This tournament is also a major platform for raising issues around male cancers and is part of our mission to contribute to social issues of importance.

The work of FOCP is very important and they support many families and patients through their treatment for cancer.”

Nick Tarratt, Director of The European Tour International – Dubai Office, commented: “The DP World Tour Championship, the Tour Players Foundation and The European Tour were delighted to continue its commitment to Friends of Cancer Patients in UAE. Our corporate responsibility programmes around the tournament are an important aspect of the event and the Birdie Pledge is a great way to drive contributions to the community and making a difference to issues of social importance.”

Dr Sawsan Abdul Salam Al Madhi, Director General of Friends of Cancer Patients, said: “I’d like to thank DP World, Jumeirah Golf Estates and The European Tour for hosting Shanab, a men’s health initiative that falls under FoCP's umbrella “Kashf” for early detection of cancer, addressing prostate cancer and testicular cancer, at the tournament.”

Dr Al Madhi added: “Friends of Cancer Patients has been working for the community for the past 16 years raising awareness about

DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP GOES VIRAL

T

different types of early detectable cancer, and supporting patients financially to help them get the required treatment and of course this is where the money from DP World activation will go.”

The Shanab awareness campaign at the event was based on an advert for golf fans to bring in their old golf balls and change them for new ones, provided by host venue Jumeirah Golf Estates, in packaging that explained issues around prostate and testicular cancer and how to check for it.

Four doctors from the Shanab medical team also advised visitors during the four-day tournament about testicular and prostate cancer.

The DP World Tour Championship has had a corporate responsibility programme through the Tour Players Foundation from the first tournament in 2009 when a contribution of $50,000 was made to SNFG. Since then contributions of $350,000 have been made by the DP World Tour Championship making a grand total to date after the 2016 tournament of around $400,000.

Golf Gamebook Scores big at DP World Tour Championship

he 2016 DP World Tour Championship proved to be smash hit in the world of digital media after a huge online audience watched two hilarious video productions made at the event.

The stars of the Race to Dubai got in on the current ‘Mannequin Challenge’ craze with the video currently receiving over 4.2m views (look out for Rafa Cabrera Bello reading his own column in the November issue of Worldwide Golf). Rory McIlroy also got a grilling from the European Tour’s resident ‘enfant terrible’ Billy with the wonderfully awkward encounter currently at 3.7m views and counting!

G

olf GameBook partnered the DP World Tour Championship this year with the scoring services for both the Rolex Pro-Am and the European Tour Golf Day as part of the DP World Tour Championship tournament week.

Live scoring on digital devices kept the players fully updated with the leaderboard during play as well as the opportunity to engage with photos and social media through this platform.

Fun days were had by all the players which included on the Rolex Pro-Am the 18th hole Leaderboard Screen giving players the experience of playing like a pro in a European Tour event.

Worldwide GOLF |31|

TOUR NEWS DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP TO FORM PART OF NEWLY ANNOUNCED ROLEX SERIES

D

URING last month’s DP World Tour Championship, the European Tour announced the Rolex Series, an exciting new alliance of leading tournaments, including the Race to Dubai’s season-ending grand finale at Jumeirah Golf Estates, which will strengthen the golf schedule from the 2017 season onwards.

The innovative concept — launched with the European Tour’s longest standing partner, Rolex — is one of the most significant advancements in the Tour’s 44 years and will enhance both the competitive and entertainment experience for members and fans around the world.

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “We are delighted to unveil the Rolex Series and we are committed to developing and building on it over the coming years.

“The Rolex Series will celebrate the highest

quality of golf and the international spirit of the game; values that Rolex and the European Tour strengthen with this announcement. We are tremendously proud to have Rolex as our partner in this exciting new venture and we thank them for their continued support.”

In 2017, the Rolex Series will feature a minimum of seven tournaments in seven iconic golfing locations across the world, all offering minimum prize funds of US$7 million, with the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai featuring a prize fund of US$ 8 million.

Plans are in place to increase the number of Rolex Series tournaments in future seasons as part of the multi-year commitment made to the European Tour by the world’s leading Swiss watchmaker. As the scope of the European Tour expands around the world, golf fans will be brought closer than ever to the leading professionals on the

world’s best courses thanks to significantly enhanced television and digital production as well as increased hours of coverage distributed worldwide.

The 2017 Rolex Series will begin in May with the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club in England and will be followed by two tournaments in July: the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open hosted by the Rory Foundation at Portstewart; and the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Dundonald.

The fourth tournament of the Rolex Series next year will be the Italian Open in October while the final three Rolex Series events will be in November, comprised of the Turkish Airlines Open at Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort; the Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City in South Africa, leading up to DP World Tour Championship, Dubai at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

ARABIC SCHOOLCHILDREN VISIT DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP AS PART OF EMIRATES GOLF FEDERATION INITIATIVE

A

round 180 students from six local schools visited Jumeirah Golf Estates for the star-studded DP World Tour Championship where they were given a tour of the world-class facilities before seeing the top 60 players on the European Tour Race to Dubai rankings competing in the tournament.

The children enjoyed a fun filled day at the spectacular venue as part of an Emirates Golf Federation initiative, which is supported by the European Tour and DP World and aims to introduce the game of golf to more Arab juniors across the region, continues to make strides.

Robert Fiala, Marketing Manager of the Emirates Golf Federation said: "We took the kids around for a short tour of specific areas.

We started off at the driving range then went to the Media Centre and on to the 18th green.

We finished off the tour in the Kids Zone showed them to the area in the Championship Village where they can receive some free and private golf lessons."

The hugely successful programme has seen specialist coaches from Golf DXB host ‘introduction to golf’ sessions to over 6,000 students at UAE National Schools including American Academy Al Mizar, School of Research Science, Al Itihad Al Mamzar, Rashid School For Boys, Al Itihad Jumeirah and Al Khaleej School.

Fiala added: "We’ve had some really good engagement. They enjoyed seeing Rafa

Did you know?

Cabrera Bello on the putting range. He waved at the kids which was great as he’s been directly involved with the initiative after visiting one of the schools and taking part in a golf coaching session. Rafa recognised some of the boys and they all wished him good luck, so I think that was a highlight. We saw that the youngsters are interested in this game. On the driving range you can see that they took serious interest in what is going on.”

OVER 63,000 SPECTATORS ATTENDED THE TOURNAMENT OVER GOLF OF |33| THE 2016 DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP. THEWorldwide 4 DAYS

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TOUR NEWS

Bernd Ritthammer (left) and Jordan Smith (right) pose with their trophies.

Hammer seals hat-trick at NBO Golf Classic Grand Final Smith completes Road to Oman victory

B

ernd Ritthammer sealed a third victory of the year on a day of high drama at the European Challenge Tour’s season finale, the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, at Al Mouj Golf.

The German’s triumph was not quite enough to overtake Jordan Smith as Road to Oman Rankings winner but few would begrudge the Englishman his prize after a season of outstanding consistency.

With birdies and bogeys dropping simultaneously out on course, and the most competitive season in memory, the projected make-up of the top 16 was in doubt until the final putt dropped, with France’s Joël Stalter ultimately taking the last European Tour spot at the expense of compatriot Adrien Saddier.

Ritthammer had looked in total control for much of the day, moving four shots clear on the front nine, but a faltering back nine gave Jens Dantorp – for whom only a victory would suffice for graduation – a chance to pull level.

Ultimately a bogey on the last derailed the Swede’s chances, and Ritthammer was able to secure one final win with a regulation par on the last and a 21 under par total, much to his delight and relief.

“I haven’t got used to it yet but it’s a pretty good feeling,” said the 29 year old. “I actually struggled quite a bit today, especially with my long game, but I lost a bit of confidence on the back nine.

“My putting saved me out there, I was able to scramble well and made some crucial putts, and I am just so happy to have got it done – it’s important, it gives me a slightly higher ranking than I would have had without the win, which might be crucial to get into some bigger events next season.

“The pressure definitely increased as the week went on. I expected it to be pretty tough today, but I started well, then a bogey on nine led to a few more mistakes, and I was feeling the pressure even more and grinding to get it done.

“I knew Jens needed to win because I played with him in the last two rounds, so when I saw him climbing the leaderboard I knew what was happening for him and I feel really sorry for him

The 16 'Class of 2016' Challenge Tour graduates celebrate at Al Mouj Golf in Oman.

because he had a great week and he would have deserved to win and to graduate.

“We’ve been talking about the Rankings all week, and my group today of Ryan Fox and Matthieu Pavon and me all knew we were safe, and how good it is not to be on the bubble – we were all in a good position no matter what the outcome was here.

“I know it can be very intense on this final day because I had a similar thing in the Grand Final two years ago, so I know how those guys feel and I feel sorry for everyone who just missed out, but that only means they are really close and they will make it soon.

“I’m looking forward to getting some rest in the next few weeks, putting the clubs away for a while, and try to be fresh going down to Leopard Creek in December with this confidence I will definitely be taking with me.”

Dantorp’s bogey on 18 was the only blemish in a sensational seven under par 65, the low round of the day, while a similar fate befell Adrien Saddier, another on the bubble coming into the week in Muscat.

The Frenchman needed to finish in third outright to earn enough points for a top 16 spot but found a greenside bunker – as did Dantorp – and failed to get up-and-down, dropping into a share of third with compatriots Julien Guerrier and Pavon, to miss out by just 732 points.

Meanwhile, Smith who finished tied 17th in the tournament on eight under, was delighted to wrap up the Road to Oman Rankings title after a wonderfully consistent season which has yielded victories in the Red Sea Egyptian Challenge Presented by Hassan Allam Properties and last week’s Ras Al Khaimah, 2016 Golf Challenge along with a further six top ten finishes.

“I didn’t play my best this week but I just went out there to enjoy it,” said Smith. “I had my mum, my coach and my auntie all out supporting me this week and it has been great to be able to have them here.

“Walking off the green it was emotional, mainly from my mum, and it was really nice to be able to have her here to when I finished.

Worldwide GOLF |35|

“I was over the moon to finish top of the Order of Merit on the EuroPro Tour last year, and I never would have imagined I would go on to do what I have on the Challenge Tour this season.

“My aim at the start of the year was to keep my Challenge Tour card, and now I have a European Tour card, so now I can go out and play next year and have fun.

“The Challenge Tour has definitely prepared me for next season. Travelling inside and outside of Europe and living out of a suitcase is something that has taken some getting used to, but I feel ready for next year.

“I like to think that I will be able to go out and compete on the European Tour next year, and hopefully win.”

Ultimately, the 16 who occupied the European Tour spots going into the week finished in them, with a little bit of reordering, but that did not lessen the spectacle of another thrilling conclusion to a Challenge Tour season in Muscat.

Pos NAME

COUNTRY

POINTS

1

Jordan L SMITH

(ENG)

239,985

2

Bernd RITTHAMMER

(GER)

209,952

3

Alexander KNAPPE

(GER)

193,500

4

Ryan FOX

(NZL)

160,767

5

Sam WALKER

(ENG)

158,370

6

Matthieu PAVON

(FRA)

150,503

7

Alexander BJÖRK

(SWE)

135,006

8

Dylan FRITTELLI

(RSA)

120,892

9

Romain LANGASQUE

(FRA)

118,087

10 Duncan STEWART

(SCO)

115,764

11 Marcus ARMITAGE

(ENG)

115,759

12 José-Filipe LIMA

(POR)

100,107

13 Damien PERRIER

(FRA)

95,368

14 Pep ANGLES

(ESP)

93,286

15 Thomas DETRY

(BEL)

92,852

16 Joël STALTER

(FRA)

91,578

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WORLD ROUNDUPS Date: October 27-30 Event: Sanderson Farms Championship Venue: Country Club of Jackson, Jackson, Mississippi Winner’s Cheque: $756,000

Date: October 27-30 Event: WGC-HSBC Champions.

Venue: Sheshan International Golf Club, Shanghai, China Winner’s Cheque: €1,467,338

GRIBBLE GOBBLES UP FIRST WIN

MATSUYAMA ON TOP IN SHANGHAI

Cody Gribble blew away the field with a closing seven-under 65 to win the Sanderson Farms Championship by four strokes in Mississippi.

Gribble, playing only his eighth event on the US PGA Tour, bolted clear of a tight leaderboard with a hat-trick of birdies from the 15th hole to finish at 20-under 268, with Chris Kirk, Luke List and Englishman Greg Owen all in a share of second place.

Hideki Matsuyama became the second Japanese winner in European Tour history as he romped to a seven-shot victory at the WGCHSBC Champions. The 24 year old entered the final day at Sheshan International Golf Club with a three-shot cushion and he cruised to the biggest title of his career with a superb 66 for a 23 under par total.

"Winning this title gets me closer to being able to compete more in the Majors. My next goal is, of course, to win a Major and I'm going to do all that I can to prepare well for that."

Pos. Name

Country

1 Hideki Matsuyama JPN T2 Daniel Berger USA T2 Henrik Stenson SWE

-23 -16 -19

"It was pretty rough towards the end of the year... but here I am with a win! This has been an unbelievable experience.

R1 R2 R3 R4

Total

Pos. Name

66 65 68 66 66 70 67 69 65 68 69 67

265 272 269

1 Cody Gribble T2 Greg Owen T2 Luke List

Country USA ENG USA

-20 -16 -16

R1 R2 R3 R4

Total

73 63 67 65 67 67 70 68 71 66 65 70

268 272 272

Date: November 03-06 Event: Turkish Airlines Open Venue: Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort, Antalya, Turkey Winner’s Cheque: €1,065,388

OLESEN HANGS ON FOR BIG WIN Thorbjørn Olesen overcame a spirited challenge from David Horsey to claim his fourth – and biggest – European Tour victory the Turkish Airlines Open. Some sensational golf over the first three days in Antalya had given the Dane a seven-shot lead heading into the final round, but when Horsey rattled in a 30 footer on the ninth to turn in 29 that advantage was down to two.

Horsey then birdied the long 12th to get within one, but Olesen matched it with a birdie of his own and then added further gains on the 14th and 15th to pull clear once more.

Pos. Name 1 T2 T2

Thorbojrn Olesen David Horsey Haotong Li

Country DEN ENG CHN

-20 -17 -17

R1 R2 R3 R4

Total

65 62 68 69 67 67 68 65 66 68 68 65

264 267 267

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“This win means a lot. The last couple of months have been pretty poor and I haven’t played well and all of a sudden you’re leading by a big margin. I must admit it was difficult to cope in that situation when you haven’t been playing very well for that length of time."

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WORLD ROUNDUPS Date: November 10-13 Event: Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player Venue: Gary Player Club Course Winner’s Cheque: €1,048,522

Date: November 03-06 Event: Shriners Hospitals for Children Open Venue: TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, NV Winner’s Cheque: : $1,188,000

PAMPLING ENDS DECADE-LONG DROUGHT Rod Pampling won for the first time in 10 years on the US PGA Tour as a superb 6-under 65 final round earned him a two-shot victory at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. The 47-year-old put the cherry on his victory with a raking 30-foot birdie put on the last, which closed the door on Brooks Koepka for his first win since the 2006 Bay Hill Invitational.

''It's extremely rewarding. Winning Arnold Palmer's event at Bay Hill is still on top. But coming back from what we've had the last few years, to get a win under the belt, it's phenomenal.''

Pos. Name 1 2 3

Rod Pampling Brooks Koepka Lucas Glover

Country AUS USA USA

-20 -18 -17

"I've tried to get into this tournament for so many years, and now that I get in here – I end up winning. It feels unbelievable."

Total

Pos. Name

60 68 71 65 62 67 70 67 68 65 65 69

264 266 267

1 Alex Noren SWE 2 Jeunghun Wang KOR T3 Alejandro Canizares ESP

Country -14 -8 -7

R1 R2 R3 R4

Total

69 67 75 63 68 73 64 75 71 68 74 68

274 280 281

Date: November 17 - 20 Event: The RSM Classic Venue: Sea Island Resort, South Carolina Winner’s Cheque: $1,080,000

HUGHES CLINCHES MEMORABLE WIN

PEREZ CLINCHES OHL CLASSIC Pat Perez was calmness personified as he won the OHL Classic at Mayakoba in just his third start since returning from shoulder surgery in March. Perez closed with a 4-under 67 for a two-stroke victory over thirdround leader Gary Woodland on the Greg Norman-designed El Camaleon course.

“I woke up this morning and I knew I was going to win. I didn't take a step from getting out of bed this morning that I didn't have it in my mind that I was going to win."

Country

Alex Noren posted a closing 63 to win the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player by six shots and claim his fourth European Tour victory of the season.

The Swede carded an eagle, eight birdies and a solitary bogey to finish the week on 14 under par, well clear of Jeunghun Wang with Ricardo Gouveia, Alejandro Cañizares, Victor Dubuisson, home favourite Branden Grace and Andy Sullivan in a share of third place.

R1 R2 R3 R4

Date: November 10-13 Event: OHL Classic at Mayakoba Venue: El Camaleon GC, Playa del Carmen, Mex Winner’s Cheque: : $1,260,001

Pos. Name

NOREN IN COMMAND ONCE AGAIN

Mackenzie Hughes became the first rookie to seal a wire-to-wire maiden victory on the US PGA Tour in 20 years with a Monday morning play-off win The RSM Classic. After it was deemed too dark to continue on Sunday, the Canadian drained an 18-foot par putt from off the green on the third hole of the play-off and then watched as Blayne Barber, Henrik Norlander and Camilo Villegas each missed their par putts from 10 feet or closer.

"I made the putt of my life right there and as each guy missed it got more and more real that I could end up winning."

R1 R2 R3 R4

Total

Pos. Name

1

Pat Perez

USA

-21

68 66 62 67

263

2 3

Gary Woodland Russell Knox

USA SCO

-19 -18

64 65 66 70 68 65 67 66

265 266

1 Mackenzie Hughes CAN T2 Blayne Barber USA T2 Henrik Norlander SWE

Worldwide GOLF 41

Country -17 -17 -17

R1 R2 R3 R4

Total

61 67 68 69 63 68 68 66 67 67 66 65

265 265 265

FEATURE

MAT T FITZPATRICK

MATT FITZPATRICK CELEBRATES AFTER SINKING THE WINNING PUTT ON THE EARTH COURSE AT JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES TO WIN THE BIGGEST TITLE OF HIS CAREER AT THE DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP.

MATT FITZPATRICK

MAN OF STEEL SMILING ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK

HAVING FOLLOWED THE FORTUNES OF MATT FITZPATRICK FROM HIS PROMISING AMATEUR CAREER THROUGH HIS TIME ON THE EUROPEAN CHALLENGE TOUR TO EARNING HIS EUROPEAN TOUR CARD AT Q-SCHOOL FOR THE 2015 SEASON, BACK IN MAY OF THIS YEAR, WORLDWIDE GOLF SPOKE TO THE 22- YEAR-OLD ABOUT ‘STEADILY FULFILLING HIS POTENTIAL.’

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PROUD FAMILY MOMENT: MATT GETS A HUG FROM MUM AFTER WINNING THE DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP.

MATT IS PICTURED WITH THE DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP TROPHY ALONGSIDE EUROPEAN TOUR CHAIRMAN DAVID WILLIAMS (LEFT) AND EUROPEAN TOUR CHIEF EXECTUTIVE KEITH PELLEY (RIGHT).

F

ast-forward six months and we can heartily sing his praises in full voice after he won the DP World Tour Championship in the style of a true champion thanks to a steely display of courage and deftness.

With a splash of sand and a testing 4-foot birdie putt on the final hole on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Fitzpatrick closed the door on fellow youngster Tyrrell Hatton to clinch the biggest title of his fledgling career to date.

“It’s the most I’ve shaken over a putt in… well, forever!” said Fitzpatrick, with his now famous broad smile, after banking $1,683,300 in prize money ($1,333,300 for winning the DP World Tour Championship; plus $350,000 for finishing sixth in the Race to Dubai Bonus Pool).

Asked about the contrast with the ‘Mr. Cool’ image he has perfected, he commented: “I surprised myself. I’m normally sort of okay with my nerves, but yeah, it was a tough one.”

The likeable Yorkshireman from Sheffield, the City of Steel in the North of England, has been holing putts with no sign of nerves since taking up the game as a youngster, and

I’M ALSO SO GRATEFUL FOR WHAT MY MUM AND DAD HAVE DONE FOR ME FOR THEM TAKING ME HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE TO COMPETITIONS AND SPENDING A LOT OF MONEY TO GET ME TO PLACES. THEY HAVE FUNDED EVERYTHING FOR ME SO A SPECIAL MENTION WOULD BE TO THOSE TWO.” Worldwide GOLF 43

his journey from those humble beginnings to becoming DP World Tour Championship winner has been eventful and recordbreaking.

There has been expert help along the way, and Fitzpatrick is quick to heap praise on those who deserve it most. “Working with Mike Walker and Pete Cowen has made the difference. I believe they are the best coaches in the world for multiple reasons. Obviously, I’m biased but it’s not just what they teach regarding the game of golf but general lifecoaching. I wouldn’t be here without them, certainly not playing the standard of golf that I’m playing anyway.

“I’m also so grateful for what my Mum and Dad have done for me for them taking me here, there and everywhere to competitions and spending a lot of money to get me to places. They have funded everything for me so a special mention would be to those two.”

Fitzpatrick had shown tremendous promise as an amateur, winning the Boys Amateur Championship in 2012 and then having a superb year in 2013. He won Low Amateur honours at The Open at Muirfield and one month later he became the first Englishman

FEATURE

MAT T FITZPATRICK

STAR MAKERS: MATT IS JOINED BY COACHES PETE COWEN (RIGHT) AND MIKE WALKER (LEFT) WHOM THE YOUNG STAR CREDITS WITH TURNING HIM INTO A WORLD-BEATER. to win the US Amateur in over 100 years at Brookline CC in Boston.

It was a victory that launched him to the top of the World Amateur Golf Rankings and earned him an invitation to the following year’s Masters Tournament and US Open. At Augusta he was rubbing shoulders with the great and the good, playing alongside Major champions Adam Scott and Jason Dufner as he narrowly missed the cut by one stroke.

Three months later he found himself in the company of Justin Rose and Phil Mickelson for the first two rounds at Pinehurst and made the cut, finishing in a share of 48th to win Low Amateur honours in a Major for the second time in his fast-blossoming career.

He decided to turn professional shortly after and made his debut at the Irish Open.

A few appearances on the Challenge Tour towards the end of the season prepared him for a trip to Qualifying School and he duly earned his card for the 2015 European Tour season, finishing in 11th place in the Final Qualifying Stage in Spain.

Buoyed by his progress, Fitzpatrick won his maiden title in sublime fashion towards the end of 2015, with a wire-to-wire victory at the British Masters supported by Sky Sports at Woburn. He continued his good form with a share of fourth place at the DP World Tour Championship and that helped him end his rookie campaign in 12th place in the Race to Dubai rankings.

His British Masters win propelled him straight into Ryder Cup reckoning and

throughout the qualification process he never lost his place in the team – such was his high level of consistency and ability to deal with pressure – eventually qualifying as the eighth ranked player.

He returned to Augusta National earlier this year and finished in a share of seventh place – his career best finish in a Major. He added a second title to his C.V. with a win at the Nordea Masters in Sweden in June. That victory cemented his place firmly in Darren Clarke’s Ryder Cup side where he found himself playing alongside many of his idols growing up.

Despite Europe’s tough defeat to the United States at Hazeltine, Fitzpatrick was quick to turn the disappointment into a positive, focussing his attention on a strong finish to 2016.

After two rounds over the Earth course in Dubai he was three shots back with consecutive 69s. He moved up the leaderboard with a third round 66 and sealed the deal with a final round 67 – exactly two years to the day when he first secured his European Tour playing rights.

“It’s crazy to think that I was just earning my Tour card two years ago,” he said. “I’ve won the final event of the year, and two years ago, I was just getting on the Tour and I was happy to keep my card.

“Now I feel this win gives me confidence to push even further and further ahead, keep working hard, doing the right things, and I’ll see what we can do next year.”

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COACH PETE COWEN ON FITZPATRICK: YOU ALWAYS WANT TO WORK WITH A KID WHO’S GOT A BIT OF STREET FIGHTER IN HIM. THAT’S WHAT YOU NEED. MATT IS THE IDEAL EXAMPLE. HE’S GOT THAT LOOK IN HIS EYE. HE’S A BORN COMPETITOR. HE DOESN’T KNOW STAGE FRIGHT. HE CAN PLAY UNDER IMMENSE PRESSURE WITHOUT FEELING A THING. YOU CAN’T TEACH THAT. IT HAS TO BE IN THEM. YOU’VE JUST GOT TO FIND IT AND BRING IT OUT.”

EQUATORIAL GUINEA

GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP

Road to 8-11 DECEMBER 2016 Don’t miss the action as an international field gathers on the Presidential Golf course in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea, for the

2016 3e Actuaries Open

FEATURE

MAT T FITZPATRICK

Fitzpatrick’s

2016 Stats: Greens in Regulation:

74.3%

282.9 yards

Driving Distance:

Driving Accuracy:

Putts per round:

62.7%

30.2

Sand Saves:

67.5% NOVEMBER

2002

STARTS PLAYING GOLF WHEN HIS FATHER, RUSSELL, JOINS HALLAMSHIRE GOLF CLUB IN SHEFFIELD.

2012

WINS THE BRITISH BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP.

2016

Fitzpatrick is the youngest Englishman to win three European Tour titles. At the age of 22 years and 60 days, Fitzpatrick beat the previous best of Sir Nick Faldo, who was 22 years and 300 days when he won his third title in 1980.

Fitzpatrick became the first amateur since the legendary Bobby Jones in 1930 to hold Low Amateur honours at The Open and the US Open at the same time.

SEPTEMBER 2013

JULY 2013

WINS THE SILVER MEDAL AT THE OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP.

2015

PLAYS IN THE WALKER CUP, WINS 3 POINTS IN HEAVY LOSS FOR GB&I.

AUGUST 2013 WINS THE US AMATEUR.

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WINS THE BIGGEST TITLE OF HIS CAREER AT THE DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP.

2014

RECEIVES AN INVITE TO THE BRITISH MASTERS AT WOBURN AND PROMPTLY WINS, WIRE-TO-WIRE.

PLAYS IN THE MASTERS AND US OPEN BEFORE TURNING PROFESSIONAL.

JUNE 2016

WINS SECOND TITLE AT NORDEA MASTERS, LATER MAKES RYDER CUP DEBUT.

FEATURE

DARREN CLARKE

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DC Time out with

Exclusive with

DARREN CLARKE DELIVERS A CANDID ASSESSMENT OF THE RYDER CUP AND EXPLAINS WHY THE PLAYERS LOVE COMING TO DUBAI

Worldwide Golf met Darren Clarke at last month’s DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates and discussed a variety of topics from his captaincy of Europe’s 2016 Ryder Cup Team to his forthcoming career on the European Senior Tour, to the season-ending climax to the Race to Dubai and its world class golf courses. The likeable Irishman talks about Europe’s defeat at Hazeltine and the end of their long-term winning run.

DARREN CLARKE: I’m obviously disappointed with the final result but the guys did their best, they just came up a little bit short. The American team played a little better and certainly putted better than we did.

Our preparation was good and everything we could have done, we did.

Sometimes in professional sport that happens, and the opposition simply has a better game. When that happens you’ve just got to hold your hands up and congratulate the Americans because they were the better team overall and they deserved the win.

WWG: With hindsight was there anything you could have done differently?

DC: I think if you were to take a look back at recent years, most of the time the Ryder Cup has been decided by the team that performs best on the greens. Europe has certainly been better on the greens in previously encounters but in this edition the Americans, obviously, were the better side and basically, that was the difference.

WWG: A lot has been said in the media about the poor behaviour of the American fans but how much of an impact did they really have?

DC: Home support is huge and it always plays a massive part in the outcome. It’s what makes the Ryder Cup such a great spectacle. The American fans gave their team great support throughout. They are very patriotic and rightly so.

WWG: There were a lot of positives to be taken from the tournament, particularly Rory McIlroy’s talismanic role compared to when he started as a rookie in the European team.

DC: You can’t play that role when you are a rookie. You need to have

4

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Worldwide GOLF 50

FEATURE

DARREN CLARKE

Darren Clarke sits down with the Worldwide Golf team in Dubai

performed in a few Ryder Cups before you can comprehend the role and how to play the part. Rory was certainly inspired throughout the week. He played phenomenal golf, especially against Patrick Reed. Patrick let off a little bit of steam afterwards but to see Rory performing so well and to see him as vocal as he was behind the scenes was fantastic. It was a privilege for me to see him in such good form. I have known him well from a young age and to see him turn into the man he is now is a wonderful thing.

WWG: Some of the players in the team have played in numerous Ryder Cups - who would you recommend as the captain in Paris?

DC: It’s not up to me alone. There will be a few people who will have their names put into the ring. We will then see who wishes to be Ryder Cup Captain and have a discussion between us on who would be the best man for the job. The three most recent captains, the Chairman of the Tournament Committee and Chief Executive of the European Tour, Keith Pelley, are involved in making that decision. It would be unfair for me to recommend anyone at the moment.

WWG: Whoever that man is, what would be the best piece of advice you would give to the next man in the hotseat?

DC: There would be a big guarantee that the elected Captain had already been a Ryder Cup vice-captain.

You just can’t take on the role unless you have played that part to understand what is required. Past captains have always been there to offer any advice required and certainly I asked all the recent captains for advice and they were all happy to help out. If the new captain decides to ask my opinion I’d be more than pleased to do that. There are many different factors and many different jobs that you would not

fully realise until you become a captain. The job of leading the team is an all-encompassing role and it gets bigger as the tournament progresses. There will be certain things that the new captain will not be familiar with and that’s why you need to consult the previous captains. If a new captain were to ask my advice then I will help him as much as I can - and hope that it will be beneficial.

WWG: Another huge positive was how the rookies performed, particularly Thomas Pieters and Rafa Cabrera Bello.

DC: I think that all the rookies played well. Just because they didn’t win doesn’t mean that they didn’t play well. We had six rookies out there and I am sure that they will be there for Paris. The team will change but those six guys will definitely get stronger for the experience of this Ryder Cup.

WWG: For the last 15 years, the European team has won seven out of eight Ryder Cup tournaments.

Looking at the squad of players available do you expect the winning habit to continues?

DC: I think it will be a very strong European team for Paris in 2018. The team was already in good shape in this last tournament but home advantage played its part in the Americans’ victory. In two years’ time we will play in France with ‘home’ advantage. The golf course is incredible for the tournament, and I am expecting the Ryder Cup to come back to Europe.

WWG: What would you make of Lee Westwood’s form in the Ryder Cup and how do you think his form has improved since?

DC: Lee didn’t play well on that Friday, by his own admission. However, he bounced back and played fantastically on Saturday and Sunday, he just didn’t get the results he deserved. There was a lot of focus on Lee missing out on the team but he played so well to get on the team. In terms of his form I think he was great. He just carried on and played the way he always does.

WWG: Now that the pressure of having to focus on the Ryder Cup is off, are you looking forward to playing tournament golf again?

DC: Yes, I’m looking forward to playing in the Gary 4

Worldwide GOLF 51

FEATURE

DARREN CLARKE

Player Invitational and then the Alfred Dunhill. I’m a professional golfer and I’m eager to play again and get back into the game. With concentrating on the Ryder Cup now behind me, I have the time and dedication to get back to form and enjoy the game and do what I love doing best.

involved with them and I have even more respect for them now that I am working with them. One of the best watch brands in the world, they aspire to be the best and they are pushing innovation forward as much as they possibly can. For me to be associated with them is a huge honour.

WWG: What are your plans over the coming years? It’s not too long before you are eligible to play on the European Senior Tour?

DC: Yes. I certainly want to play on the Senior Tour and keep enjoying the game that I love so much. I am sure that I will keep on playing competitive tournament golf.

WWG: I noticed you are wearing a nice piece now?

DC: This one looks better when I am in the sunshine! It’s a white 44 Offshore - this one is ceramic. They do different colours. I have three or four very special APs that I like to wear most of the time.

People might not recognise a difference in these watches but the people who are into watches certainly do. They are beautiful.

They stand-out but they are also subtle.

WWG: As a patron of the MENA Tour, what do you make of the emergence and the development of the tour in the region?

DC: I think it has been huge. We have a pool of players here who can play in the MENA Tour and gain more ranking points to become eligible to play in the Olympics. For the UAE to be able to have that and to be represented in golf at the Olympics is a huge step forward. I think David Spencer and everybody involved in the Tour should be congratulated for what they have achieved. It is the fastest-growing professional golf tour in the world and I hope the growth continues.

WWG: What are your roles as a patron of the MENA Tour?

DC: I tend to be an advisory and I keep tracks on the tour. I also play once a year and get involved.

I like to see how it progresses and how we can make it better.

WWG: You have a long-term partnership with Audemars Piguet, what is it about the company that you enjoy working with?

DC: They are one if the best! I was a big watch collector before. I was fortunate enough to join AP, and I have been with them since 2005. They are a brand that I had respected before I became

WWG: For someone who has visited the UAE for so many years, how do you think golf has developed in Dubai and the UAE? DC: My first time coming here was in February 1991 when I played in the Dubai Desert Classic and there was just one building between the airport and the Emirates Golf Club! The city has grown at an unbelievable rate and the golf courses are some of the best in the world. I have always enjoyed every course I have played here. I visited the Trump International Golf Course, and it it’s a fantastic challenge. It’s also a bit different from most of the courses here in Dubai.

Pictured: The par 3, 17th hole at the Trump International Golf Club which Darren visited on his recent trip to Dubai.

Worldwide GOLF 52

WWG: What do you think the DP World Tour Championship has added to the European Tour and what is your favourite memory from the tournament?

DC: My regret is not having played enough times in the tournament! I do think that the Earth course is developing well and it’s getting better and better. The players certainly love coming here. Dubai has been very good for the European Tour. They give us a venue where we come and play at the start and the end of the year. The players really enjoy it here. They can go to their favourite hotels and they know their way around Dubai. They work all year to get into the top 60 of the Race to Dubai to become eligible to play and compete here. We have had some great champions in this tournament, and some of the shots we have seen up at the 18th have been simply mesmerising. With champions like Henrik, Rory and Lee, the championship is getting bigger and better year on year. n

FESTIVE SEASON’S GREETINGS

FEATURE

JORDAN L SMITH

SMITH SET

SIGHTS ON DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP NEXT SEASON

T

HE FUTURE IS LOOKING BRIGHT FOR JORDAN L SMITH. THE 24-YEAR-OLD TOPPED THE CHALLENGE TOUR’S ROAD TO OMAN RANKINGS AT HIS IS FIRST ATTEMPT AFTER VICTORY IN TWO TOURNAMENTS, INCLUDING THE INAUGURAL RAS AL KHAIMAH GOLF CHALLENGE, EARNING A SEASON-TOTAL OF €239,985. THERE WAS NO TIME TO REST FOR THE 2016 CHALLENGE NO.1 AS HE HEADED TO DUBAI TO PRACTICE AT JUMEIRAH GOLF ESTATES’ RENOWNED EUROPEAN TOUR PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE BEFORE HEADING OFF TO AUSTRALIA FOR THE START OF THE 2017 EUROPEAN TOUR SCHEDULE. WORLDWIDE GOLF’S SCOTT GRAYSTON CAUGHT UP WITH THE GIFTED LIVERPOOL FAN IN DUBAI TO REFLECT ON HIS TRIUMPHANT SEASON AND LOOK AHEAD TO HIS FIRST TASTE OF THE BIG TIME.

Worldwide Golf: You had a tremendous season on the European Challenge Tour. How well do you think it’s prepared you for the European Tour?

Jordan L Smith: I had an awesome time on the Challenge Tour and it’s definitely prepared me really well for the elite Tour because I’ve done lots more travelling than I did the previous year on the Euro Pro Golf Tour. I have been living out of a suitcase week in, week out this season in different hotels and different countries each week. This will certainly put me in good stead for next season on the European Tour.

JS: It has to be my two victories in Egypt and Ras Al Khaimah and obviously the experience of the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final in Oman.

I didn’t play my best in that season-ending event –I finished tied-17th– but I loved the whole week because I had my family and coach there so it was really nice to enjoy topping the season with them.

WWG: What were the highlights from your season on the Road to Oman?

WWG: Which tournaments are you most looking forward to participating in?

WWG: What are your targets for next season?

JS: My main aim is to keep my European Tour card. Once that’s achieved I can look at hopefully winning a tournament and see how it goes from there.

Worldwide GOLF 54

JS: I can’t wait to play at Wentworth in the BMW PGA Championship because I’ll be able to have some support from my local golf club and have my family there so that will be a fun experience.

WWG: Have any players given you some advice ahead of your maiden season on the European Tour?

JS: Yeah I have spoken to a few guys and they have just told said that it’s important not to play too many events and burn yourself out.

WWG: You are here practicing at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ European Tour Performance Institute (ETPI), how do you rate the facilities?

CHALLENGE TOUR NO.1 JORDAN SMITH IS PICTURED AT THE EUROPEAN TOUR PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE AHEAD OF HIS EUROPEAN TOUR DEBUT.

JS: It’s an awesome facility. It’s the best place for training I’ve been to by far. The guys here are so helpful and you’ve got everything you need so it’s perfect.

WWG: What have you been working on whilst you’ve been at the ETPI? JS: I’ve been mainly working on some spin work with my coach and practicing my putting so I’m more used to different grain and slopes.

WWG: Ricardo Gouveia was

triumphant in the 2015 Road to Oman and finished 54th in this year’s Race to Dubai, meaning he earned a spot in the prestigious DP World Tour Championship. Is he a great inspiration for you?

JS: Yes certainly. I want to try and emulate what Ricardo has done and also attempt to achieve what this year’s champion, Matt Fitzpatrick, has been able to do as well. It would be a dream to perform well enough this season to finish in the top 60 and earn a place in the DP World Tour Championship.

Worldwide GOLF 55

SMITH’S CHALLENGE TOUR ‘CLASS OF 2016’

Which graduates Smith feels will make the grade

THOMAS DETRY

RYAN FOX

BERND RITTHAMMER

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Worldwide GOLF 56

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FEATURE

JORDAN L SMITH

How to optimise your distance with the driver

LOTS OF AMATEURS HIT DOWN ON THE BALL BUT TO IMPROVE YOUR DISTANCE OFF THE TEE YOU NEED TO HIT THE BALL UP. THIS WILL REDUCE THE SPIN AND ADD MORE YARDAGE.

Strike Set up

GET YOUR HIPS TILTED A LITTLE BIT BACK

MAKE SURE YOU HIT UP ON THE BALL TO GET IT LAUNCHED HIGHER. IF YOU HIT IT DOWN IT DOWN IT WILL SPIN MORE AND GO LOWER.

WATCH THE VIDEO AT

WorldwideGolf

SWING

Worldwide GOLF 57

INSTRUCTION

PRESSURE RATHER THAN I

SPEED!

BY STEPHEN DEANE, HEAD PROFESSIONAL, EMIRATES GOLF CLUB

T WAS GREAT TO WITNESS MATTHEW FITZPATRICK CLAIM THE DP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP AND HENRIK STENSON BE CROWNED THE RACE TO DUBAI CHAMPION LAST MONTH HERE IN DUBAI. BOTH PLAYERS ARE COACHED BY OUR ACADEMY’S ASSOCIATED MASTER PROFESSIONAL PETE COWEN. BOTH PLAYERS GENERATE TREMENDOUS CLUB HEAD SPEED BUT THEY ALSO PUT PRESSURE DOWN ON THE BALL THAT GIVES THEM THE CONSISTENCY

THEY’RE AFTER. OBVIOUSLY A COMBINATION OF SPEED AND PRESSURE IS DESIRABLE BUT THE PRESSURE GIVES YOU THE CONSISTENCY AND THAT’S REALLY WHAT MOST GOLFERS’ LACK. IN THIS ARTICLE I’LL SHOW YOU SOME SIMPLE PETE COWEN SIGNATURE MOVES THAT WILL ALLOW YOU TO FEEL THIS PRESSURE WE’RE TALKING ABOUT. IF YOU CAN IMPLEMENT THESE SUCCESSFULLY, IT WILL CERTAINLY LEAD TO A MORE CONSISTENT PATTERN WITHIN YOUR GAME.

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Golf Academy at Emirates Golf Club Worldwide GOLF 58

To get started put yourself into a good setup position and hinge your wrists up so your palms face down. When you do this, you’ll immediately start to feel you’ve engaged the muscles in your forearms and shoulders.

1

3

From the top again feel the pressure by pushing the palms and arms back down underneath your body. You’ll sense the muscles are pushing down and applying pressure to the legs.

You will also sense the unwinding of the body and a resistance from the ground that will create a springing motion up into your finish position. This is the essential move to the consistency we’re after.

From here, lets load the shoulders whilst maintaining our spine angle and good posture.

As you swing up into this position, you’ll feel the pressure working down into your legs as you hold the ground.

2

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO MASTER THESE MOVEMENTS, PLEASE WATCH THE ATTACHED VIDEO OR CONTACT THE DUBAI GOLF ACADEMY AT EMIRATES GOLF CLUB ON +971 4 417 9999 OR EMAIL EMIRATESACADEMY@DUBAIGOLF.COM

WATCH THE VIDEO AT WorldwideGolf

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Worldwide GOLF 59

INSTRUCTION

PARACHUTE YOUR WEDGES W

e have all been there when you have to hit a shot over a bunker or water with little or no green to work with. Many who attempt the shot without being 100% either fat it into the bunker or water, or thin the shot through the back into a hazard or worse your playing partners!

The following will give you some tips to work into your game and hopefully help you hit high flop shots with ease.

ANDREW LAIRD Formerly PGA Golf Professional at

Al Badia Golf Club by InterContinental now at Sheshan International.

SETUP

Pick your most lofted club, ideally a 56 or 60 degree wedge.

You should also check what bounce your wedge has and what type of turf conditions you generally play on. A good rule of thumb to go by is softer turf conditions = higher bounce and harder turf conditions = lower bounce.

Take your grip with your bottom hand and turn the clubface open i.e. pointing right. It should be an open grip with your higher hand.

This will allow you to keep the face open during the shot and add loft. It will also add bounce to your wedge allowing the club to slide under the ball instead of digging.

Next step is to place your ball forward in your stance.

This will help you deliver more loft at impact.

Worldwide GOLF 60

School of

golf AL BADIA GOLF CLUB BY INTERCONTINENTAL DUBAI FESTIVAL CITY

EXECUTION

During the shot we really want the ball to go high, make sure to have a full swing with plenty of speed coming into the ball.

A great feeling while practicing this shot is to imagine the grip end of your wedge is always pointing at your belly button or belt buckle.

This is to help us keep loft on the club and again allow the club to skid in the grass and not dig. This may take a few tries but persist until you get comfortable.

PRACTICE DRILL

WATCH THE VIDEO AT

While practicing this shot take some sand out of your practice bunker and perform half swings where you aim to avoid the sand from falling off the clubface. This will give you a nice feeling of how the clubface should stay open as you come into the ball.

WorldwideGolf

Good luck learning this beneficial type of shot.

Your mates will be impressed when you pull it off in your next round.

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INSTRUCTION

BUILD LOWER BODY STABILITY WITH RESISTANCE BANDS

BY PGA MASTER PROFESSIONAL PETE COWEN

T

his is a drill that I used with Lee Westwood at the DP World Tour Championship. He ended up finishing tied 13th but was leading after the first day.

Tie a resistance band around your thighs, just above the knees, to help keep the legs a lot more stable when winding up on the backswing. This creates a stretching feeling between the legs and then the band will always pull into the left leg during the downswing.

This drill concentrates mainly on lower body stability and not losing position through the swing. It feels like the band holds the position then the body works against the resistance. It’s a great drill to try on the range.

WATCH THE VIDEO AT WorldwideGolf

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The new Titleist 917 is brimming with technological advancements and can be a weapon for any golfer from the tee. Worldwide Golf’s Alex Gallemore headed down to eGolf Megastore’s new premises in Al Wasl to speak to their techfitting guru, Jason Ashley, about the innovative product.

Active Recoil Channel: Titleist introduced this when they released the 915, which basically helps out with off-centred hits as it maintains the ball speed. When you don’t find the middle of the golf club, it won’t affect your distance that much with this piece of technology.

Jason Ashley

Custom Fit Specialist eGolf Megastore

Titleist 917 Worldwide GOLF 64

GEAR TEST SureFit CG:

This is basically a weight that is sitting in the back of the golf club and you are able to adjust it from the heel to the toe. This has an influence on how you rotate the face through impact. Most guys that are fading the ball are leaving the face open to their path so when they cut across the ball the face imparts some side spin. However with the 917, the weight is more towards the heel so that helps you square the face up a lot more so you’re getting a much straighter ball flight. The opposite effect is if you are hooking it, then you can move the weight to the other side and it will slow the toe down to produce straighter shots.

SureFit Hosel:

This is a great feature with the 917 because it gives you lots of options in loft as well as lie angle. You can adjust the lie angle as well as well as the SureFit CG so you can really optimise that shape of ball flight that you sought after.

The one thing I really like about the SureFit CG is that it’s not like other brands in the past where you have the adjustable weights on either side. The 917 has a column of weights which helps with the stability at the back of the golf club and forgiveness.

917 EDITOR TEST by Alex Gallemore The Titleist 917 has to be the most premium driver in the UAE golf market at the moment but the aim of this test was find out if it’s worth that bit extra over its competitors.

The best way to value the test is to compare it to the leading drivers on Tour: the TaylorMade M2, Callaway XR14 and Ping G30 are the three that come to mind. When you pick up the 917 head the first thing that impresses you is the quality of the materials and the way it has been crafted in comparison to the others.

There is no denying the M2 and XR14 are long but with the frequency in which TaylorMade and Callaway release new models they tend to feel mass-produced and in some ways disposable. This is something you don’t get with Titleist as they change their only, yes, only driver every two to three years. I’m huge fan of TaylorMade and Callaway but I admire Titleist for not getting dragged into the

retail dogfight and sticking with their trusted formula.

The quality of the 917 is unquestionable but that doesn’t guarantee performance off the tee. Drivers are about distance and forgiveness, though the true beauty can been seen on your scorecard not in the bag. The outgoing 915 was a great product but I really battled with that club to drop my spin rate and heavy draw. It produced great carry but I couldn’t get the ball to roll out and chase those valuable extra yards.

THE FITTING RESULTS

Jason set the 917 with a stock 60gram stiff shaft with the loft at 10.5 degrees. At address you have to admire that classic Titleist head that has kept on evolving since the 901. The first three balls had a high spin rate but it resonated the characteristics of what

CONCLUSION

I’d expect from Titleist. It has to be the best driver on the market when it comes to feel off the face. You just know exactly where you have struck the ball and the feedback through you hands is excellent.

Even out of the heel I was only dropping a couple of miles per hour in ball speed but I needed to deal with my spin rate which was about 1,000 rpm too high.

Jason added a 70g extra stiff shaft and dropped the loft one degree which did the job along with switching the club weight in the head to the heavier 16g from 12g. All the little changes added up and we got some great numbers.

Unfortunately we can’t publish the test figures but what I can say is it’s easily up there with the best performance drivers on the market and stands out when it comes to feedback and forgiveness from off-centre strikes. I like the fact that despite the cost, Titleist will not be bringing a new model out for a few years at least. Definitely worth the money just make sure you get fitted correctly as Jason at eGolf Megastore knew how to fine-tune the numerous settings to not only get those extra yards but gain more control.

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GEAR TEST

Could the TAYLORMADE

M2 WORK FOR YOU?

BY A LEX G AL L E M O R E

W

hen a manufacturer gets put up for sale the alarm bells start ringing, especially with the players, as those lucrative performance bonuses start to disappear when the accountants plead poverty.

At this stage you will start to see players switching clubs to bag some easy cash, others will move as the research and development programmes will be put on hold.

Well this is the normal scenario as it has played out with the likes of Slazenger, Maruman and plenty of other well-known brands over the years but TaylorMade seem to have broken the “For Sale’ mould as their M2 driver continues to dominate the bags of the leading professionals free to tee it up with whatever brand they want.

There looks to be a void of Nike players on the open market sampling other brands and it was interesting to see that their leading staff player, Rory McIlroy, has been playing the TaylorMade M2 for a while. Having said that, he could probably launch it 300 yards with most drivers on the market at the moment.

But considering he could play anything, he’s opted for a brand that wouldn’t be paying him a great deal or even anything.

Then you have the DP World Tour Championship winner, Matt Fitzpatrick, who isn’t regarded as a long hitter but was triumphant

in the European Tour’s seasonending event at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course, which is geared up to reward the bombers.

At the Championship he averaged 298.3 yards all week and was 16th in overall driving distance against the elite field. To put that in perspective, that’s on average two yards further than Kaymer, six yards longer than Westwood and eight yards past Cabrera Bello – and these players are all regarded as long hitters.

I know Fitzpatrick has been working hard this season on his leg and core strength to boost the power delivery in his swing but by shifting to the TaylorMade M2 he’s found a good 10 yards off the tee.

Ever since TaylorMade launched the R7 Quad back in 2004, with the movable weight technology, I’ve always wanted to get on with the brand, mainly down to the gadget use and tinkering appeal. To be able to play around with a club to rectify any flaws is a huge bonus. However, I always felt that although the club evolved from the R9 to the R15, one negative

characteristic was always present and that was dramatic loss in distance from heel strikes. The clubs were unbelieveable from the sweet spot and it’s no wonder the Tour pros made them the number one driver on Tour but for mere mortals like myself I had to opt for a more forgiving club.

The M2 has tried to rectify this fault with a higher Moment of Inertia and redesigned Speed Pocket, so it has to be their most forgiving performance driver to date. The M1 is less forgiving and geared for the Tour players who hit the centre for fun but interstingly the most prefered model on Tour is the M2.

With the 2017 TaylorMade M2 driver set to hit the shelves early next year, the 2016 M2 driver could be a great buy if you can pick one up for a good price.

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CHANGES FOR 2017 M2 TaylorMade has yet to announce the new drivers, but it looks like the company has made some noticable changes that look to be geared around rectifying the age old problem of performance from off-centre hits.

The images show they are looking to boost consistency by moving the removable weights to the rear portion of the sole to shift the centre of gravity back.

It looks like the adjustable hosel and Speed Pocket will remain the same as the outgoing model. But, having hit the M2 I’m in agreement with the saying, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’.

No doubt the 2017 model will be at a higher price point than this year’s M2 and we also need to find out when the 2017 M2 will make it to the shelves in the UAE.

Fitzpatrick averaged 298.3 yards on the Earth Course with the M2- 16th longest!

YOUR SCORE CARD WILL LOOK JUST AS CLEAN.

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PING engineers designed the new iBlade iron for golfers who rely on the workability, precision and control to execute the most demanding shots in the game. Precision cast from 431 stainless steel, the compact head delivers the softest, purest feel ever in a PING iron. The thin face accelerates ball speeds for added distance, and tungsten weighting provides forgiveness when you need it.

Visit a PING Authorised Clubfitter today and get fit for technology that rewards your 100% commitment to every shot.

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GEAR TEST

HIGH SPEED FACE The thin face (half the thickness of the S55 iron) yields greater ball speeds for increased distance throughout the set with higher overall trajectories and precise control. A hydropearl chrome finish repels water for more control and helps minimize fliers from wet conditions and lies in the rough.

PING iBLADE

Start playing shots again

BY A L E X G AL L E M O R E

A

blade makes your golf set look elite and has huge kudos on the first tee.

Unfortunately your glory can be short lived if you can’t handle the temperamental characteristics of the low handicap weapon of choice.

In the past the forged blade gave scratch golfers and leading professionals that feel at impact and the ability to work the ball at ease. The downside was there was very little room for error and slight mishits were punished for distance and physically through the reverberation up the shaft.

Over the years the blade has dwindled in numbers and even now they are a rare sight on Tour.

Manufacturers have evolved forged cavity back clubs to give feel and forgiveness but for the elite golfer out there, the blade is still the purest form of golf. It’s way of playing without safety nets and getting an exhilerating challenge from really taking the course on.

Mizuno and Titleist are renowned for being the front runners in the blade market but now Ping has shaken things

up with their new iBlades. The clubs aren’t the purest blade and beat you up for fun after a slight mishit. However, they have the narrow soles, thin top lines, short blade lengths, minimal offset, maximum workability, excellent feedback and a soft feel.

The soft feel normally comes from being forged but Ping opted for a multi-material, cast body to enhance forgiveness and distance.

So the iBlade has been designed for the purest in mind but has added a few safety features to make sure you still feel the bad shot but enable you to enjoy your round, in many ways. Think of them as having intrusive traction control. If you drive a Ferrari 458 in the wet with traction control off, you’d have to be Lewis Hamilton to keep it on the road. Turn the traction control on full and that’s just like having a gameimproving club, in that anyone can hit those and look good.

Opt for the traction control to step in just allow you to light up the back end without spinning out of control and

Name: Todd Staszko

you have the concept of the IBlade.

I tested these clubs at Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club as it’s a good track that’s kind to your game. This enabled me more to focus on the clubs instead of panicking about the trouble ahead. My current clubs are the Callaway Forged Apex which give great feel, distance and forgiveness but working the ball never comes into play.

I did notice straight away that the iBlades were about half a club shorter in distance but I wasn’t losing any more when I struck the ball closer to the heel. Now that surprised me as my old Miura blades would have been a good 25% shorter in yardage.

As a result you gain confidence in a quick manner with the iBlade so it doesn’t take long before you start thinking about shotshaping. This is a thought that only came into my mind when I was playing competitive golf.

ACTIVATED ELASTOMER The unprecedented feel is achieved through a combination of soft 431 stainless steel and a larger surface area behind the face that houses an elastomer insert. The insert is “activated” at impact, resulting in more vibration damping in your hands for a softer feel and pleasing sound.

WORKABLE SOLE Refined bounce angles and ample heel relief, optimised with the same sole width as the S55 iron, produce a workable sole design for confident shot making from all conditions. Further precision comes from the milled tourspec grooves and precision-machined fly-cut face.

Handicap: 7 OOSTHUIZEN PLAYS:

“Never in a million years would I have thought I could ever enjoy playing a blade again, let alone trying to play a cut 7-iron over water to hold a tight pin position.

These clubs look amazing and once you get over the fear of the thin top line Verdict you will have a grin like a cheeky school boy.”

9

Worldwide GOLF 69

4Ping iBlade 3-PW 4Shafts: Dynamic Gold X100 1 degree flat Weight: D1

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ARABIAN GOLF News from the leading clubs in the region

EMIRATES GOLF CLUB - DUBAI, UAE, HOST VENUE FOR THE OMEGA DUBAI LADIES MASTERS

Worldwide GOLF 71

SAADIYAT BEACH GOLF CLUB

INSPIRING A GENERATION AT SAADIYAT BEACH GOLF CLUB

Stars of the LET line-up on the pristine oceanfront at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club.

FBMLO winner Beth Allen is awarded the trophy on Saadiyat’s 18th green, becoming the first LET Champion to be crowned in Abu Dhabi.

Worldwide GOLF 72

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Camilla Lennarth, Sara Al Nowais and Mel Reid share what they think makes women great.

Saadiyat’s #WomenOnCourse message has reached millions of people around the world.

H

eralded as one of the world's most captivating golfing projects, Gary Player’s oceanfront championship course, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club managed by Troon Golf, made history recently by welcoming the Ladies European Tour (LET) to Abu Dhabi for the first time ever.

Last month, the resort was host to the inaugural Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open (FBMLO), organised by the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy (FBMA) in cooperation with Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC), and not only excited Abu Dhabi golf fans with some stunning golf on the course, but has been inspiring a generation of women with its unique #WomenOnCourse campaign.

Saadiyat Beach Golf Club recognised the opportunity to immerse its position as the Official Host Venue for the FBMLO, creating a unique campaign that engaged the local community, LET players and sport fans worldwide, celebrating women on and off the

golf course. The #WomenOnCourse campaign was created to showcase and celebrate women, asking participants to share in one word, what it is they think makes women great. The initiative allowed participants to share the rationale for their word choice, which resulted in some emotive and reflective descriptions: World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam shared ‘family’, whilst Melissa Reid and inspiring Emirati, Sara Al Nowais, declared ‘perseverance’ and ‘passionate’ as their words.

In addition, Sweden’s Camilla Lennarth and England’s Reid spent time reflecting on their experiences and what drives them to succeed. Joined by some local Emirati sportswomen, the group discussed their experiences and shared what they felt inspired them and made them and their peers great. Two videos have been produced capturing the inspiring conversations and activity that took place throughout the

Worldwide GOLF 73

tournament week at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, and after amassing great support from the industry and worldwide golf fans, Saadiyat’s #WomenOnCourse message has successfully reached millions of people.

Clinton Norris, Sales Manager, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club said: “The FBMLO has been a milestone event and we’re thrilled at the response our #WomenOnCourse campaign has received. With support from truly inspirational and influential figures including many of the players, our designer, Gary Player and the tournament’s guest of honour, Annika Sorenstam, we’ve been able to reach and inspire more Emirati women than we could have hoped to.”

TO FOLLOW IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE LET’S INSPIRING STARS, AND EXPERIENCE THE ISLAND LIFE AT SAADIYAT BEACH GOLF CLUB, CONTACT +971 2 557 8000 OR INFO@SBGOLFCLUB.AE.

ABU DHABI GOLF CLUB

Worldwide GOLF 74

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ABU DHABI GOLF CLUB PREPARES TO HOST SENSATIONAL 12

A

bu Dhabi Golf Club managed by Troon Golf, known as one of the most luxurious golf resort experiences in the UAE, will for the 12th consecutive year, be hosting the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, from 19 to 22 January 2017.

The Championship is the marquee event at the beginning of the golfing season and is largely recognised as one of the highest ranked events on the European Tour, consistently billing some of golf’s biggest names. The 2017 tournament will be no different as defending champion Rickie Fowler is set to do battle against a long list of world-class players including three of the world’s top four including Dustin Johnson who is making his debut appearance!

To match the quality of play on course, Abu Dhabi Golf Club will be offering the players world class practice facilities and exceptional championship course conditions. For spectators, there will be a host of hospitality options that rival the very best: For premium Championship hospitality with a spectacular view of the 9th and 18th greens, unlimited food & beverage will be served on the famous clubhouse ‘Falcon Terrace’. Out on the course the ‘Sky Lounge’ overlooks the iconic 17th green and 18th tee, offering you unlimited sparkling, grapes, hops and a light cold food selection right in the heart of the Championship action.

Callum Nicoll, Director of Golf, Abu Dhabi Golf Club, says: “We strive to deliver the very best in all that we offer our guests

Worldwide GOLF 75

and partners – 2017’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship will be no different. I speak on behalf of all our members when I say we are absolutely thrilled to be continuing our partnership with the Abu Dhabi Sports Council in hosting The European Tour for this spectacular event.”

Players will be tested over the par 72 Championship course, featuring seven lakes and 90 bunkers spread strategically across the 7,440 yards of undulating terrain.

Overlooked by the iconic Falcon Clubhouse, built to represent a falcon with its wings outstretched, the clubhouse dominates the backdrop of the 9th and 18th greens and has become an iconic symbol of the European Tour’s ‘Desert Swing’.

Nicoll continues: “Our members enjoy both relaxed and competitive rounds on our championship course, testing their abilities on the lush fairways and immaculate greens, and it’s always a joy for them to watch some of the biggest names in the world testing themselves on our course. It will be a joy to watch the pros show us how it’s done! We are very much looking forward to a week of world-class golf and continuing our association with the event.”

With a range of packages available for food and beverage as well as night golf during the championship week, why not learn from the Championship professionals by day and put it to the test over the Garden Course by night. Contact +971 2 885 3555 or info@adgolfclub.ae for details.

CONGRATULATIONS TO MATTHEW FITZPATRICK, WINNER OF THE 2016 DP WORLD TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP, DUBAI

The European Tour and its players would like to thank DP World, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Emirates, BMW, Rolex, sponsors and all the Government of Dubai authorities including the Dubai Health Authority, Ambulance Services, Civil Defence, Dubai Police, Fire and Emergency Services, Roads and Traffic Authority, Security and Health and Safety Officers, Trakhees, Dubai Sports Council, Dubai Tourism and Emirates Golf Federation for making the 2016 DP World Tour Championship a success.

P77 ARABIANGOLF

AED 180,000 raised for Friends of Cancer Patients

Success of the Sixteen10 ‘Mike Clark’ Charity Golf Day ensures the legacy lives on

T

he 2016 staging of the Sixteen10 ‘Mike Clark’ Charity Golf Day, with the support of new title sponsor, FLASH Entertainment, raised a staggering AED 180,000 for the Friends of Cancer Patients charity.

Held at The Address Montgomerie Dubai, the special event was held in memory of Mike Clark, a former FLASH employee who tragically passed away at a young age from cancer on October 16, 2012.

Organised this year by Sixteen10, the 2016 staging was a phenomenal success for a golf day that grows in stature each and every year and raises much needed awareness and funds for cancer research.

This year 88 hopeful golfers, united by a common desire to support this special cause, took to the ‘Monty’ course in the team competition over 18 holes on a stunning day under perfect conditions and blue skies.

Special guests adding to the occasion including sporting legends and former England footballers Teddy Sheringham and Trevor Steven, and World Cup winning English rugby player Mike Tindall.

With competition high and scores low, the team competition was won by the inspired

play of James Kachel, Stephen Barker, James Sibley, and Fraser Dawson, playing under the name of the ‘Dubaider Originals’.

Off the course the prize giving took place as part of an unforgettable gala dinner attended by 200 people on the magnificent lawn of The Address Montgomerie, followed by both silent and live auctions with the evening completed by a celebrity Q&A. Reza Sazegar, founder of Sixteen10 the company he established in Mike’s memory to help raise money for charities through events and fundraising auctions said: “Firstly I have to thank all those who contributed and gave so generously to the success of the day. Everyone who played, who sponsored and made it possible made a difference just like Mike did.

“Mike was a very special guy. He touched the lives of so many people, brought smiles to so many faces and was always there to help and support those lucky enough to know him. We wanted to create an event that was true to him and really captured his unique warm spirit. I believe we managed to do that while raising vital funds in his honour. We now have a wonderful occasion, fixed annually in the calendar that has its

own memories and truly connects with people. So already we’re looking to build on that momentum and planning to make the 2017 event an even bigger success.”

Alongside title Sponsors FLASH Entertainment, the Sixteen10 ‘Mike Clark’ Charity Golf Day was kindly supported by: Zenith Health and Wellness, Links Group, Ghaf Kitchen, Six Senses Zighy Bay, Worldwide Golf and Kotak Mahindra, as well as a large number of companies who donated some great auction prizes including: Lamborghini Dubai, Fanatic Sports, Soneva, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Italian Hospitality Collection and Jumeirah Group.

To view highlights of the day please visit: www.sixteen-10.com/mikeclarkgolfday

The 2017 event is already being planned and dates will be confirmed shortly. For further on the 2017 event, please email info@sixteen-10.com and for updated information, please visit the official Facebook page.

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P79 ARABIANGOLF

YAS LINKS GOLF CLUB

CLUB IMPROVEMENTS KEEPING YAS LINKS AHEAD OF THE PACK Y as Links in Abu Dhabi, the stunning Kyle Philips design which was the first Links course in the Middle East, has a track record for setting new benchmarks in the region and the team at the club has been busy implementing a range of improvements this year to stay at the forefront of the UAE’s golf offering.

As General Manager Howie Roberts explains: “The goal at the beginning of the year was to be voted in to the top 100 clubs in the world. However, the club surpassed all expectations after making it into the top 50.

“We carried out extensive course renovations over the summer months, which meant temporary closures for a limited time in August, but the results have been excellent and the course is in the best condition it has ever been in.

“We’ve invested in a full fleet of new course maintenance machinery and have put in place an annual maintenance programme

to ensure that our members get to enjoy the best possible playing conditions.”

The course was not the only thing that was extensively revamped as Hickory’s bar and restaurant has also been widely refurbished. The area is now much bigger, brighter and more modern.

“The views from Hickory’s new terrace area rival that of any on the Arabian Gulf, as it looks over the 18th hole of the championship course and native mangroves,” adds Roberts. “It’s a great place to enjoy a meal and some drinks – whether you’re a golfer or not.”

A state-of-the-art gym with spa facilities is currently under construction at the club and expected to be completed by the middle of this month.

With Roberts, who took the reins at the club last October, at the helm along with new Director of Golf James Ibbetson, who joined in June this year, the future for Yas Links looks very bright indeed.

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P80 ARABIAN GOLF

FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE INTRODUCING THE FIRST OF OUR REGULAR MONTHLY COLUMNS FROM GOLF DXB DIRECTOR TOM GREEN.

F

irstly, I’d like to say how excited I am about having the opportunity to write for WorIdwide Golf and share some thoughts on topical issues in the Middle East golf scene. I graduated from the Applied Golf Management Studies degree at the University of Birmingham in 2013 but felt uninspired by the prospect of continuing as a golf professional back in the UK. I decided to return to Dubai, the place where I really found my love of the sport, and channel my passions for both golf and business into the Golf DXB program as you see it today. After living in Dubai for a number of years as an expat and playing here as a junior myself, I wanted to find a way to give something back to the golfing community where I grew up. This became the foundation of my vision for Golf DXB: “To make golf available and accessible to as many people as possible by providing a pathway from beginner to mastery for all ages and abilities.”

With golf in the UAE really taking off since the first golf course was built more than 25 years ago (now boasting over 20 world class courses, three major tour events and the rapidly growing MENA Golf Tour), it is an exciting time for all things golf in this part of the world. In line with this rapid growth, Golf DXB identified the need to develop the next generation of players to grow with the country and create a golfing legacy to match the high

profile venues. With this in mind I have since worked closely with schools around the region to develop the Tee It Up Scheme; a program lead by PGA professionals which has now introduced approximately 40,000 children to the game during school PE lessons.

The team at Golf DXB has also been working in partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation to strengthen the grass roots level of the National Junior Development Program. This has seen 3,000 Emiratis involved in the sport at an introductory level through a DP World and European Tour powered initiative. Our elite performance coaches Aaron Williams and Jordan Patmore have worked with the EGF to formulate a pathway program for the initial stages of learning.

I could not be more excited about the future of golf in the UAE and the effects that increasing the depth of junior golfers will have on the development of promising young stars. With the top quality coaching available and the excellent facilities on offer, I think we can expect more youngsters to follow in the footsteps of Matt Turner, Khalid Yousef and Rayhan Thomas in the near future.

MY VISION IS TO MAKE GOLF AVAILABLE AND ACCESSIBLE TO AS MANY PEOPLE AS POSSIBLE BY PROVIDING A PATHWAY FROM BEGINNER TO MASTERY FOR ALL AGES AND ABILITIES.

THE ELS CLUB

AWESOME ABREU AT THE DOUBLE Chris Abreu hit a purple patch last month after winning two events in the space of five days. He shot a superb net 66 to win the Monthly Medal by three shots ahead of Guiliano Franzot and he followed that with victory in the Monthly Stableford thanks to a 40-point haul.

Abreu won by six points ahead of Wessel-Jan Kos who took second place on a countback ahead of Kevin Black.

The gross prize in the Medal went to Kory Thompson (pictured below) while the gross Stableford honours went to Alaister Murray.

THOMPSON AND HENDERSON SEAL THE MONTHLY PAIRS Mike Henderson and Kory Thompson dovetailed wonderfully to win the gross prize in the recent Monthly Pairs tournament with a Stableford score of 37 opints. In the net category there was some excellent scores and coming out on top with

a haul of 40 points were Paul Moir and Jeff Strachan.

Two teams finished with 39 points and after a countback Dave Morais and Chris Waldie took second place, relegating Paul Hawkins and Dave Cracknell into third.

ARABIAN GOLF LOCAL NEWS ▶

E M I RATES GOLF CL UB VICTORY FOR VENEET IN SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIP Veneet Mohan’s three-over par performance on the Majlis steered him to triumph in the 2016 Seniors Championship as he beat Ranjinder Razdan and David Waite to the title.

In the over 60’s category, the “Super Seniors” champion was Qamar Rasheed with a fantastic score of 79 gross. The net winner was Wookhwan Kim with a fantastic score of 69 as Alan Salem and Ishu Rupani took second and third place respectively.

SHARMA CLAIMS THE OMA EMIRATES MEDAL

MAGNIFICENT MAYA LIFTS LADIES SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIP

Madhu Sharma shot a superb four-under par net 68 on the Faldo course to win the OMA Emirates November Medal. Sharma also topped the pile in Division B ahead of Nitin Kripalani who shot a net 70, and Mike Butler who shot 73 on what was a difficult day of scoring. Bhipin Bhatia claimed victory in Division A after scoring a net 72 to finish clear of Priyam Godiwala and Anil Shivanna who shot 73 and 74 respectively. Division C was won by Suresh Shewakramani on net 79 whilst Bradley Mogire’s net 75 helped him clinch the best gross prize.

Naema Maya was crowned the 2016 Seniors Club Champion after a blisterning back nine saw he finish with a 79. New member Cathy Lajotte was the runner-up with an 81, and one stroke further back was past captain Mitsuko Emmerson. In the Net Division, Katrine Karlsson was victorious after shooting a superb 65.

The Past Lady Captain’s Trophy had six past captains in Martha Wong, Maria Petre, Jenny Ayres, Mitsuko Emmerson, Helen Srivastava and EGC’s very first lady captain Margaret Bain taking part. was 2009-10 skipper Martha Wong who scored a fantastic 40 points to seal the trophy while Annette Carstanjen scored 39 points to win the regular Stableford Competition which ran alongside the Lady Captain’s event.

FORESOME FIND THE WINNING FORMULA IN DIWALI SCRAMBLE The team of Naema Maya, Tej Chhabra, Swati Singh and Dileep Kumar shot a fantastic scramble score of net 57 on the Majlis course to seal the MiDCOM Diwali Scramble. The eventual runnersup were Achal Ghai, Rajesh Sethi, Sanjay Kao, and Anil Kumar who finished a close second with net 58 after they downed the team of Maria Petre, Ringo Leung, Kish Bandopadhyay and Dalip Tripathi on a countback.

MAJESTIC MAYA WINS MONTHLY MEDAL IN FINE STYLE Despite a triple bogey start, Naema Maya fought back to card a superb net 68 and seal November’s Monthly Medal.

Maya made three birdies in a row approaching the turn which reversed her early misfortune and propelled her towards an

excellent victory. Finishing behind Maya in the Silver Division A was Tania Sangani with a 73, while Maureen Platt recorded a fantastic net 70 in Division B to take the spoils.

Shiba Khan won the Bronze Division with a solid score of net 72.

S U R PRISE PRESENTATIO N FOR G EORGE H O R A N AT T H E D P WT C GEORGE’S FRIENDLY FAREWELL George Horan, who retired earlier this year as President of Dubai Duty Free after 33 years service, received a surprise presentation of two double page spread pages from Worldwide Golf depicting his remarkable career since coming to Dubai from Ireland to establish the world’s most successful Duty Free, with his close friend, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of DDF, Colm McLoughlin who headed up the Irish contingent from Shannon Airport.

Pictured left to right: Breeda and Colm McLoughlin, George’s wife, Carmel, Mike Gallemore, Publisher of WSP and Worldwide Golf, and George Horan.

P83 ARABIANGOLF D UBAI CREEK GO LF CL UB NORTH AND HAMOOD WIN THRILLING NEW PAIRS EVENT The first edition of the newly launched Links Group Pairs was a great success as Dubai Creek Lady Captain Vanessa North and Dubai Creek’s Golf Services Manager Rashid Hamood were crowned the winners amongst a field of almost 60 players.

The pair finished tied on 42 points with Jamal Saab and Sharam Shamsee, but it was North and Hamood who had the stronger finish to come out on top. Mark Jolliffe and Warren Panting finishing in third place.

HILL RISES TO WIN DUBAI DUTY FREE JUNIOR MEDAL

SUPER SHIBA SUCCEEDS IN EMIRATES MEDAL

A multitude of UAE National Juniors and regular participants took part in the growing nine-hole Dubai Duty Free Junior Medal Championship in November and it was Harry Hill whoe took the spoils after shoting a net 32. Rishi Nair was the Best Gross winner while Samuel De Souza and Jacobo Fisas were crowned the Boy’s Winner and runner-up respectively after net scores of 35 and 36. Ailsa Brannock was victorious in the Girls Division after a net 36 and Faisal Sowaidhan was triumphant in the Non-Member’s Division.

Shiba Wahid shot a superb seven under 64 to win the recent OMA Emirates Medal Championship while in Division A Ashok Sindhu defeated John Fellingham on a countback to take the spoils.

Division B saw Tauseef Khan clinch a threestroke win over Paul Robeiro while Dino Varkey shot a sublime gross 67 to take the gross prize.

Ishwar Jodha and Glory Xavier won the Seniors Division and the Ladies Division respectively.

EMIRATES GOLF FEDERATION

SAUDI ARABIA WINS ARAB GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP AS UAE FINISH IN SIXTH PLACE Saudi Arabia were victorious in the 36th Arab Golf Championship in Muscat, Oman at the Ghala Golf Club.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) team of Rashid Hamood, Khalid Yousuf, Saif Thabet, and Sohail Al Marzouqi finished in sixth with a score of 937 as the Sultate of Oman hosted the event for the first time.

Leading the way for Team UAE was Rashid Hamood as he shot rounds of 75-78-73-81 for a championship total of 307 to finish ninth in the Individual Category.

Khalid Yousuf finished tied-tenth in

the Individual Category with rounds of 74-73-79-83 for a total of 309 while Saif Thabet finished 24th with a 321 total and Sohail Al Marzouqi finished 40th on 340.

Winning the Gold Medal in the Team and Individual Categories was the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They finished with a team score of 887 and their top player was Khalid Attieh with rounds of 74-74-74-69 for a championship total of 291.

Morocco was runner-up with a team score 903 as Qatar finished third with 916.

Team UAE and Team Saudi Arabia at the Championship’s Opening Ceremony

UAE TEAMS AIM TO BUILD ON SOLID DISPLAYS IN JUNIOR & LADIES ARAB GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP THE UAE Ladies team finished fourth in this year’s Junior & Ladies Arab Golf Championship at Palm Hills Golf Course in Egypt while the juniors finished seventh in both the Under 18 and

Under 15 categories. In what was the 17th edition of Junior Arab Golf Championship and the 8th edition of the Ladies Arab Golf Championship under the Arab Golf Federation, Morocco were the

standout performers as they won the Ladies tournament and Under 15 category and took the silver medal in the Under 18s.

The UAE Ladies team, made up of Reema Al Heloo, Hamada Al Suwaidi, and Tara Al Marzooqi, compiled a score of 521 for their fourth place finish, with Al Heloo the stand-out performer with rounds of 87-84-89 for a 260 total.

The Under 18 team of Mohamed Al Hajeri, Saeed Al Balooshi, and Mohammed Abdulla Saeed scored a 523 total with Al Hajeri top scoring with rounds of 87-82-87 for a 256 tally. Rashid Al Emadi, Obaid Al Heloo, and Khalid Al Mutawa made up the Under 15s team and they scored 564 for their seventh place finish with Al Emadi performing the best with rounds of 95-89-89 for his 273 total.

In the Individual categories Suad Al Sharif of Saudi Arabia won the Gold in Under 18s with rounds of 79-76-68 for a championship total of 223. Shergo Kurdi of Jordan won the Gold in the Under 15s with three rounds of 74-70-75 for a 219 total and in the Ladies Division, Belmati Lina of Morocco won the Gold with rounds of 73-69-78 for a total of 220.

Khalid Mubarak Al Shamsi, Secretary General of the Emirates Golf Federation and National Team Manager said: “The Emirates Golf Federation is proud to have participated in this event. This event always shows the direction and strategy of the Arab Golf Federation in developing golf across the region. The UAE Teams will build on their performances in this event.”

The Ladies Division Winners at the 2016 Junior & Ladies Arab Golf Championship

CONARES GOLF SOCIETY LEAGUE

TIGHT AT THE TOP AFTER ROUND 2 T

HERE are no clear leaders in two of the three leagues after the second round of fixtures in the 2016/17 Conares Golf Society League. Three teams share six points to lead the way in the Conares League while four out of the five teams in the BMW League sit on six points.

The clear leaders in the SNTTA Travel League are the Naboodah SGB team with nine points from four matches.

The Indian Expats opened their account for the season after a bye week on the opening weekend and with two wins against the GTI team they move to the top of the Conares

Conares League Indian Expats Vikings KEGS 1 GTI South African Golf Society

League table with six points. The Vikings and the Kegs both won one and lost one match each to move to six points alongside the Indian Expats – but it is advantage the Expats with them having played one less fixture.

In the BMW League the Gulf Rock team are rock bottom after four defeats in two fixtures while the White Rose society moved into a share of the lead on six points after winning their matches against Gulf Rock. The GODS stay on six points after their bye week while the ASEAN team bounced back from a disappointing start to move to six points.

Emphatically topping the table in the SNTTA

Played

Won

Lost

Tied

Points

2 4 4 4 2

2 2 2 1 1

0 2 2 3 1

0 0 0 0 0

6 6 6 3 3

MEET THE TEAMS

Asean

Asean are a society on a mission, looking to avenge the defeat in the quarter finals last year against the Indian Expats. Team Captain and Club personality Ramli Sulaiman has set his stall out for a victory this season.

Indian Expats

Indian Expats, who return as defending champions, have high expectations for the season. They have a great leader to guide and inspire them – this year’s Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club Captain Vivian Verma. To further add to the team’s strength they are also supported by Vivian’s Vice Captain Mukti Rai.

BMW League

League is Naboodah SGB, they were able to add to their steady start in round one with two victories over DKN Law, who now find themselves at the bottom of the group.

KEGS 2 were the in-form team to beat after round one but they were brought to their knees with two very impressive displays from the Sport 2 Business 2 team, who move to six points and in a share of second place alongside their opponents.

The DKN Law team now have bye week, giving them a chance to regroup and come back strong in their next fixture in the New Year on 7th January.

Played

Won

Lost

Tied

Points

White Rose Golf Society GODS Sport 2 Business - 1 ASEAN Gulf Rock

2 2 4 4 4

2 2 2 2 0

0 0 2 2 4

0 0 0 0 0

6 6 6 6 0

SNTTA Travel League

Played

Won

Lost

Tied

Points

4 4 2 2 4

3 2 2 1 0

1 2 0 1 4

0 0 0 0 0

9 6 6 3 0

Naboodah SGB KEGS 2 Sport 2 Business - 2 Happy Hookers DKN Law

White Rose Golf Society

White Rose Golf Society take a step into the unknown in their first season in the Golf Society League. However, they have been very resourceful in their recruitment in the off season, bringing talent, experience and enthusiasm galore in Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club members Mark Dupree, Ryan Taylor, Ben Mulvaney and Team Captain Rory Thomson. Following their first league fixture they really have stamped their mark of authority and intention, taking full points from their first two matches following a rest week for round one. Can they maintain this kind of momentum throughout the season and is it possible for the debutant Society to take the Championship title?

Time will tell.

P85 ARABIANGOLF ARABIAN RANCHES GOLF CLUB BIRCH AND MCKELVEY PREVAIL IN RIVOLI MONTHLY MEDAL In what was another scintillating edition of the Rivoli Monthly Medal, Aaron Birch and Adele McKelvey prevailed in their respective divisions.

In the Men’s Division Aaron Birch fired a brilliant one under par 71 to win by five strokes from Sean McLauglin, Kevin Barrett, and Eddie Ramage.

In the Ladies Division, Adele McKelvey held off the challenge from Emma Rooms to shoot an 82 and win by two shots. In the net competition, Heather Totten shot level par for the day to outpace Pauline Wallace who shot 74.

Over in the Men’s Division A, Mark Phillips shot the lowest round of the day – a 68 – to seal a one stroke victory over Mike Henderson while in Division B Joe Main also shot a 68 to clinch a five-stroke victory over Giovanni Galeppini.

Winners McKelvey and Birch are pictured receiving their prizes from the Club Captains.

▶

SHARJAH GOLF AND SHOOTING CLUB SANJOY DAS ON POINT WITH THE PUTTER

SANJOY Das overcame some testing conditions to shoot a net 70 and win the second round of the Orient Travel, Malaysia Truly Asia Monthly Medal ahead of M.Y Cho by one stroke.

Das, who has been receiving lessons from the club’s putting coach Chris Dennis, recorded five net birdies and a net eagle on his way to victory.

The wind picked up in the morning and Das played superbly well in the circumstances to shoot a one over par back nine. The conditions also affected the afternoon session and Cho battled bravely against the breeze but came up one shot short.

KJ LEE CONQUERS THE CENTRO MEDAL

DOMINGUEZ DOMINATION AT MIDAMATEUR GROSS EVENT

KJ Lee carded back-to-back net birdies on the eighth and ninth to finish in style and win at the Centro Medal by two strokes.

The Division 1 title on the evening was taken by No Ma Yeou after shooting net 37 while the Division 2 winner was Yang Ho Kim, who also carded a net score of 37.

Ricky Dominguez dominated the Mid-Amateur Gross Strokeplay event taking victory with a threeshot margin. SGSC’s Ramli Sulaiman was the runner-up after posting a one over par score for his back nine, resulting in an overall gross 78.

SGSC member Ramesh Wijeratne won the Net event as he recorded a net birdie, a net eagle and – remarkably – a net albatross with a hole in one on the 17th.

Shiraz Hasan carded two net birdies and a net eagle on his back six holes to take the overall victory via a countback in the recent Centro competition. Maizeen Bhyat and David Murphy were the unlucky duo to miss out on the overall prize but they did take the spoils in Divisions 1 and 2 repesctively on the day.

SOLID SHIRAZ WINS ON COUNTBACK

ANDERSEN DOMINATES IN UNITECHNIK STABLEFORD Frederik Andersen claimed the Unitechnik Monthly Stableford in fine style after dominating the field with a score of 42 points, two clear of his nearest competitor Club Captain Vivian Verma won the Division 1 title on a score of 40 and was able hold off strong competition from Vice Captain Mukti Rai and Namir Al Naimi.

The Division 2 title went to Max Hibbert after he scored 36 points.

Hibbert started promisingly with 19 points on the front nine and was able to hold his nerve, scoring a further 17 points on the back nine. to close out the win. Nathan Fisher claimed the best gross score of the day. with a round of 38 points for a two under par medal score of 70.

YAZDI COMES OUT ON TOP IN MONTHLY MEDAL THRILLER Hassan Yazdi narrowly claimed the recent Unitechnik Monthly Stableford with a haul of 39 Stableford points. It was an extremely close event as the scores when to a back-nine countback against Namir Al Naimi.

However, Al Namir didn’t go home empty handed as his 39 points score earned him the Division 1 title beating the overall gross winner Roy Holmes by two points.

The Division 2 title went to long time member Hans Ettengruber after scoring 35 points.

CHO THE MIDWEEK MASTER The recent Midweek Centro Medal saw M.Y. Cho clinch a one-stroke victory over Faizeen Bhayat thanks to a strong finish. Cho hit three net birdies to finish level par in the 9-hole competition and deny Bhayat, who had to setle for the honours in Division 1.

Yangho Kim sealed the Division 2 title with a score of 39.

▶

AL HAMRA GOLF CLUB

JOHNSON CLAIMS HARRADINE CUP VICTORY Tony Johnson was triumphant in the tenth staging of the Harradine Cup after a solid score of 39 points. Johnson overcame eventual runnerup Riaz Khan on countback as both players produced a terrific score. Third place went to Al Hamra member Tracy Scott, who was thrilled with her score of 38 points.

LUBBE RUNS RIOT WITH SEASON-BEST SCORE Dewald Lubbe ran riot in the last month’ Medal as he produced his season-best score of 74. Lubbe recorded five birdies in his round, which included the only birdie on hole 7, to finish a massive 11 shots ahead of John Wilby and 13 shots

ahead of Jae Woong Lee. Wilby would take the top spot in the Net Division after a 72. This meant Jae could pick up the runners-up gross prize whilst Wilma Fernandes claimed the runners-up net prize after a round of 75.

HARRADINE SEALS RAK MENS OPEN TITLE Michael Harradine clinched his second career RAK Mens Amateur Open title in the 11th staging of the event with a score of 142.

Craig Vance finished runner-up after leading the first round but dropping four shots down the

final stretch, whereas Harradine performed solidly with three birdies on the front nine. The net division saw a clear winner in the form of Christoph Hager as he finished on a whopping 10 under par after rounds of 66 and 68.

▶

DOHA GOLF CLUB

BASSNETTS SEALS MONTHLY MEDAL

KAURA CLINCHES MONTHLY MUG

Eight-handicapper Alan Bassnetts’ net 69 saw him take top spot in Division A of the recent Monthly Medal while Neil Flanagan came out on top in Division B after shooting a 67. Hiroaki Oishi carded a 72 to seal the third Division title while the Ladies’ Division was won by Yunhee Lee with a tremendous net 69.

Shiv Roy Kaura was victorious in Division A of last month’s Mug competition with a credible score of 39 points, while Jonathan Osborne snuck the Division B honours with a total of 37 points.

Division C was won by Abdulrahman Al Dehaimi with a stellar score of 43 points and Yuk Yeong Kim was triumphant in the Ladies Division.

THE ADDRESS MONTGOMERIE DUBAI GOLF RESORT & SPA

SENIOR AMATEUR TOUR PROVING A BIG HIT The region’s ‘ever-green’ golfers continued to enjoy the action on the Senior Amateur Tour in November with two great events taking place.

First up was The Els Club where Dick Fear came out on top of Division A while Karl Johan Sandesjo triumphed in Division B and Ramneek Datt took the spoils in Division C. Sean Ewing showed his muscle by scooping the award for Longest Drive while Alan Salem took Nearest the Pin (winners pictured right).

Next the tour swung by Arabian Ranches and this time Sean Ewing was in the main prizes after sealing the win in Division A. Rohit Nath turned on the style to emerge victorious in Division B while Ramneek Datt continued to dominate Division C. Datt basked in double glory by also taking the Longest Drive gong while Genaro Gonzalez was Nearest the Pin. The Senior Amateur Tour is proving a big hit with the UAE’s over 50s and they’re the best dressed golfers in town thanks to Bespoke Tailoring who have provided all Tour members a welcome gift of a free measuring session and a tailored business

GRAY TRIUMPHANT IN ECCO MEDAL

shirt. The Senior Amateur Tour is supported by Mercedes (Gargash Enterprises), Rivoli Group, Alpha Golf, Jebel Ali Resort, Icflix, Davidoff, Bespoke Tailoring, Nike Golf, Voss Water, Jazz Lounge Spa, Thracian Cliffs and the EGF. For more information about the Senior Amateur Tour please visit: www.thesenioramateurtour.com or on Facebook: The Senior Amateur Tour

Malcolm Gray was victorious in the Men’s Gross Division of the recent Ecco Medal with a countback win over Paul McMillen after both players shot a gross 78. Young Cho sealed the Ladies Gross Division with an 80 as Elizabeth Samuel was runner-up, eight shots back. In the Men’s Division A, Sean Millensted’s net 69 saw him win by one from Maneesh Dungarwal, followed by Quentin Morel with a 72. Division B was clinched by Alan Salem with a net 67, as Yongkyu Yang beat Michael Hess to second place on countback with both scoring 71. Elsie Bruce claimed the Ladies Net Division with a 66, three clear of Oksana Hess.

P87 ARABIANGOLF ▶

SAADIYAT BEACH GOLF CLUB

▶

YAS LINKS ABU DHABI

MCCARTHY AND WEBB CLAIM XEROX CORPORATE GOLF CHALLENGE

KUNT IN CONTROL Thomas Kunt won Category A (hcp 0-12) in the recent Audi Medal after compiling a round of net 71, two strokes clear of Charles Hardy.

Terese Sheepwash shot a 69 to claim the top spot in Category B (hcp 13-28) by five strokes from Ahmed Al Menhali.

Dan Kirkwood shot an impressive gross 71 to take the day’s best score while Richard Henderson, despite narrowly missing out on the main prizes, was the 2s winner on the day.

ENGSIG WINS THRILLING OPEN A countback was needed to settle the Etihad Open as Yas Links guest, Sara Engsig, came out on top over Luke Maguire after they both recorded 40 points. Maguire won Division 1 and in Division 2 Corinne Martin secured the win after scoring 36 points. Martin’s better back nine score of 19 saw her defeat Hye Heong Ka on a countback.

Patrick McCarthy and Theun Webb of team Celtic Thunder (Abu Dhabi Aviation) won the Xerox Corporate Golf Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club after carding 44 points.

Craig Hanson and Darren McClelland of team Mizuno (HNI / Etihad) missed out on the top spot after a countback while third place went to Thomas and Rune Rassmussen of team Palmer’s.

SAADIYAT SEAL THE OPENING ICC LADIES EVENT ON HOME TURF Saadiyat Beach Golf Club hosted the first round of the Inter Club Challenge Ladies 2016/17, welcoming teams from The Address Montgomerie Dubai, Arabian Ranches Golf Club and Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club and it was the ladies of Saadiyat who came out on top with a great total score of 259 points.

▶

AL AIN EQUESTRIAN, SHOOTING & GOLF CLUB

COTGAVES DO THE DOUBLE ON NOVEMBER HANDICAP DAY Scoring was tough in last month’s Handicap Day and Johan Potgieter was the only player who managed to break par as he compiled a net 68 to take top spot in Division B. Ron Gladish edged out Carel Nolte on the countback to take second.

Top spot in Division A went to Tommy Cotgrave whose gross 76 off of a 6 handicap meant a solid net 70. Three players finished a stroke further back and needed a countback to settle the scores and it was Sakura Kawakami who emerged victorious to better Dan Hockings and David Nabi, with Dan taking third and David missing out.

In Division C, Sharon Cotgrave made it a Cotgrave double as she took top honours courtesy of a net 70. Phil Dawe had to settle for a runner-up spot via countback while two shots adrift in third place was Gerry Madden.

The gross prize on the day went to Robert Horridge who managed a very credible two over par 74.

MAGIC THREE DAYS FOR GLASGOW

NOLTE IS NOVEMBER’S MVP Carel Nolte recorded the lowest net score of the day in last mont’s Medal as he shot a gross 78 for a sensational net 63 to take the spoils in Division B. Dan Whittakker’s route 66 was only good enough for second spot with Frederic Rouyer a shot further back in third.

Jeff Glasgow kept up his impressive form with a superb 66 to take the spoils in Division A with

Eric Smith two strokes further back and Nick Van Blerk in third place.

In Division C Mohammed Shariff produced a solid 69 to take first spot ahead of Konstantin Varga and Ed Chaffin who both returned 71, with Konstantin pipping Ed on countback. Robert Horridge’s 74 was enough to take the Gross prize.

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AESGC Member Jeff Glasgow recently had a three day spell that most golfers can only dream of. He hit an ace on the 8th hole on the Thursday, then shot a net 66 the following day to win the Monthly Medal. Then, he went out on Saturday and his incredible streak continued with yet another hole in one on the 2nd hole. What a three days!

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Worldwide GOLF 88

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Worldwide GOLF 89

About European Tour Properties European Tour Properties is a network of world class golf venues, all of which have a close relationship with The European Tour, one of the game’s leading global sporting organisations.

Our internationally-recognised network currently spans Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South East Asia.

We are proud to present a collection of Member Venues that all boast the hallmark of tournament quality and which offer extensive off-course facilities guaranteed to provide a memorable golfing experience for members and visitors alike.

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B

om Sucesso Resort is situated on the banks of Óbidos Lagoon, by the Atlantic Ocean, 80km north of the Portuguese capital, Lisbon. Óbidos is a mediaeval village and part of the western tourism region of Portugal, which is renowned for the preservation of its natural landscapes and the beauty and white sands of its coastline. The entire region is an excellent destination for playing and practising golf, with several championship courses within a few kilometres drive, and its privileged location enjoys a mild climate. The area also offers outstanding gastronomic choices and vast architectural and historical heritage.

At the centre of the resort is Guardian Bom Sucesso Golf, a challenging 18-hole layout designed by Donald Steel which extends

along the resort on a rugged slope with spectacular views of the sea and the lagoon.

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Hundreds of olive trees were planted, combined with azaleas and magnolias framing the course.

In addition to the clubhouse, where dishes made from fine local ingredients are served, the resort also caters for a wide range of leisure activities with tennis courts, paddle courts, multigame field, soccer and paintball fields and bicycles for hire. Cultural and gastronomic tours can also be arranged, along with more extreme sports and adventure experiences. There is also a private beach.

The Bom Sucesso Resort presents an innovative concept. The project, recognised

Worldwide GOLF 91

by the Portuguese government as a “Project of National Interest”, involved 23 Masters of Contemporary Architecture to create an innovative and unique luxury tourist resort where modern architecture merges into the natural beauty of the Óbidos lagoon.

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5

FIVE THINGS

THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT ME…

Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston

AGE: 27 FROM: LONDON, ENGLAND TURNED PROFESSIONAL: 2009 PROFESSIONAL TOUR WINS: 4

I HAV E HAD O N E C L EA N S HAV E I N T HE L AST 1 0 YE AR S, S O I ALWAYS HAV E A ST UB B L E O R R O U G H B E AR D. MY HEA D IS ACT UA LLY REA LLY SMA LL . I H AV E THE TINIEST H ATS. NO ONE CA N F IT TH E IR H E A DS IN THEM, NOT E V E N KIDS.

I WAS 24 WHE N I HA D MY F IRST KISS!

I A BSOLUTELY LOV E ARCA D E G A MES, P LAYSTATION A ND ALL V ID EO G A MES. W HE N I WAS A K I D I B R O K E M Y ARM R O LL E R - S K AT I NG . THE D O U B L E F R ACTURE O N M Y L E F T AR M LO O K ED L I K E A BAN AN A!

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