An amazing seventeen different nationalities were represented within the top twenty on the final round leaderboard... a group that included at least one player from every continent except... Antarctica! I wrote about the awesome event at length, because to me there was just so much about it that was exciting; the sparkling desert venue, the unique events taking place in conjunction with the tournament and of course, the stellar field. I wrote about the Middle Eastern golfers who were playing in the championship for the first time... I also wrote about the tensions that had arisen when Anthony Kim and other PGA Tour players opted to play in Abu Dhabi rather than at the Bob Hope Classic. ~ It looks like that particular issue might be back again in 2011.
Yesterday Phil Mickelson declared that he'd be making his first competitive appearance in the Middle East to play in the Abu Dhabi Championship in January. There'll probably be other US players making the same decision.
I'll keep you posted on that and on other events leading up to this fabulous tournament. I'm definitely looking forward to it.
I'm happy to see events like this growing in importance and attracting players and fans from all over the world. I've lived in the UAE for almost a decade and it saddens me to see that there are still so many misconceptions about the Middle East, most often perpetuated by people who haven't been there. Thank you for writing about this too.
ReplyDeleteAbu Dhabi is on my list, especially after Sex in the City. :)1
ReplyDeleteSome US fans are questioning this decision as one would expect, but what doesn't make sense to me is that at the same time they're also questioning the European player's decisions to play more events in Europe, even if that means... gasp... quitting the PGA tour.
ReplyDeletePhil Mickelson among other players is dismayed with the state of golf in the US. He sees the sport growing in other countries while it stagnates or even declines here. He said as much in China and I'm sure it figures into his decision to play in Abu Dhabi. Criticize him if you want to but if we don't work to grow the game we're going to be seeing a lot more of this.
ReplyDeleteIt's one tournament. Why is anyone making a big deal of this?
ReplyDeleteI don't know how much they're going to like Lefty in the Middle East. Just a feeling I have, and I lived in Saudi for three years.
ReplyDeleteA couple we know went to Abu Dabhi on business and stayed at Emirates Palace. They said it was the most fab place they'd ever stayed.
ReplyDeleteA well written post which highlights the fact that golf is gaining popularity all over the world. I agree with your point of view that golfers are looking forward to playing in different countries. In a recent interview Phil Mickelson appeared impressed with the fact that golf has managed to successfully establish itself in a number of countries and declared that he is proud of the fact that golf is going international. I would like to add an interesting information which will highlight the popularity of golf in Asian countries. Development of new golf courses is banned in China, but the surprising fact is that number of golf courses in the country has been tripled since the year 2004. The ban is avoided by simply not including the term’ golf’ in the development plans! For more information about golf, click at www.boxgroove.com.
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