Monday

Retief Goosen Wins Middle East Curtain-Raiser

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It's one of the most popular and prestigious Pro-Ams in golf... and the field this year certainly reflected that.

41 European Tour Champions, 11 Ryder Cup players, three Major Champions and the reigning World No.1 played in surprisingly undesert-like conditions today, at Yas Links Golf Club in the Emirates Airline Invitational, hosted by Abdullah Al Naboudah.

Yas Island Links Golf Course where the invitational took place for the first time this year, is the first links golf course in the Middle East.  Designed by Kyle Phillips who created The Kingsbarn Course at St. Andrews it no doubt evoked the images of the Scottish seaside today in overcast conditions uncharacteristic of Abu Dhabi.

Goosen's eight-under 64 win in the professional round today, coming at the start of the European Tour's Middle East Swing may help reignite the two-time US Open Champion's winning fire.

The tournament's hospitable host Abdullah Al Naboodah... a passionate and prodigious golfer himself... played with W#1 Lee Westwood today. The pair didn't manage to defend their 2010 team title this year however...  and the 2011 win went to Ross McGowan and former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan.  50% of all of today's winnings will go to charity.

Later this week the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship tees off at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, followed by the Volvo Golf Champions, in Bahrain, The Commercialbank Qatar Masters in Doha, Qatar, and the Omega Dubai Desert Classic in Dubai.  It's the The Middle East Swing, and the number of events, the elite fields and the spectacular courses are all evidence of how dramatically the region's golf profile has grown.

Photos: Emirates Airline Invitational, official site
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6 comments:

  1. thegolfshark1/17/2011 9:33 PM

    I've heard great things about Yas Links. It's amazing that they can reproduce anything like a Scottish links course in the Arabian Desert.

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  2. langston1/17/2011 11:50 PM

    Retief said it himself, it the ability to put together four rounds that wins tournaments. It'd be nice to see him have a good year.

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  3. Groove Sharpener1/18/2011 12:27 AM

    I have played the course - it is sublime ! Keep up this great blog Patricia :-) Also I would like to say that you are a very beautiful young woman ^^

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  4. Anonymous1/18/2011 6:21 AM

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    well i still don't get it - maybe it's just that a golf course is something that can't be blown up

    however, if i was mr abduhla, i would comp any "religious" types, just to be on the safe side of things

    which reminds me, pete dye uses a lot of railroad pilings to secure dirt and bob hope once remarked a distinguishing feature of dye's golf courses are they are the only ones built that could burn down

    anyway why go to the middle east to play a scottish golf course ? why doesn't mr abduhlah just buy scotland ?

    just sayin

    frankD
    ftliquordale so FLA

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  5. golf growl1/18/2011 3:50 PM

    Abdullah Al Naboudah seems like someone with a passion for golf who also happens to be in a position to support its growth in his region of the world, which is clearly a good thing. As for the recreation of a Scottish Links course in the desert, I do feel that golf courses should reflect the environment they're located in and use as much of the naturally occurring topography and vegetation. This for environmental as well as cultural assimilation reasons.

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  6. LisaS1/18/2011 3:54 PM

    I read recently that scientists from the UAE and/or Saudi Arabia had discovered a way to create rain storms. Has anyone else heard about that, how it's done and if it's currently being used anywhere?

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