IT TAKES something to attract five of the world’s top 15 players to a new tournament at a venue that has not held an event of similar importance before in the Middle East, where there is only a limited history of big-time golf. What is it that has enticed Vijay Singh, the world No 2, Sergio García, the No 6, Colin Montgomerie, the No 10, Chris DiMarco, the No 11, and David Howell, the No 14, to be in Abu Dhabi for the inaugural golf championship this week? The short answer to the question is business, which means money either in incentives or in future work in the form of designing a golf course, or both. Singh said that it was the “opportunity to come here (the Middle East)” and inspect a course he is designing in Dubai that enabled him to kill two birds with one stone. The same for Montgomerie, who will open the clubhouse of the course in Dubai named after him.
We have to assume that even though García does not have any design work in this part of the world, he has not come this far so soon in the year just for the love of camel racing. And as for Ian Poulter and Paul Casey, the Europe Ryder Cup players, they took part in a promotion for Etihad Airways, trying to break the record for the world’s longest drive. Casey’s best, measured on a runway at Abu Dhabi international airport, was 689 yards, while Poulter hit a drive 696 yards from the wing of a Boeing 767.
This is the start of an important run of events for the tour in Europe, ones that George O’Grady, the executive director of the European Tour, hopes will become a key feature of the early season and will help to persuade the best players to compete in this part of the world and not go off to the United States. The purses are ones that only a sheikh can shake a stick at — $2 million (about £1.13 million) here, the same in Qatar next week and $2.4 million in Dubai the week after next.
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