A host of top international golfing names and celebrities from the world of sport have thrown their hats into the ring for this month’s inaugural Saadiyat Beach Classic - a top-tier international charity golf tournament created by Master Developer, Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) and hosted by golfing legend Gary Player.
Leading the playing field for the event, running 28th January and staged to officially mark the launch of the Gary Player-designed Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, will be Northern Ireland’s golf prodigy, 20-year-old Rory McIlroy, praised by Player himself as being the world’s most exciting young player.
He is joined by fellow European Tour regular, Darren Clarke, who famously beat Tiger Woods in the 2000 WGC-Andersen Consulting Match Play Championship.
In addition, a wealth of top female golfers including British Open Champion and MBE award winner, Catriona Matthew; Melissa Reid and Henrietta Zuel, rising stars of the Ladies European Tour; and Maria Verchenova, the first Russian to become a full-time member of the Ladies European Tour. They will also be joined by BBC Sports News Presenter, Sarah Stirk.
“We want to create a unique golfing experience, which brings together a one-of-a-kind cache of top sports personalities from around the world, to mark the opening of the breathtaking Saadiyat Beach Golf Club. This event perfectly complements the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship by bringing a new dimension to the emirate’s overall golf offering, whilst raising funds to support charities globally,” said Ahmed Hussein, Chief Operating Officer of TDIC and Deputy Director General of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA).
Golf legend Player, whose on-course accomplishments include three Masters wins, three British Open titles, two PGA championships and the US Open, was full of praise for the top-draw turnout to support the charity event.
“I am very pleased at the level of support this very exciting event has received both from my fellow professionals as well as the numerous celebrities that support our efforts and events in many parts of the world, all aimed at raising funds for charity”, said Player, who has a long track-record of hosting charity events.
Other big names attending the Saadiyat Beach Classic include Scotland’s enigmatic golfer, Sam Torrance OBE, who was the winning non-playing captain of the 2002 European Ryder Cup team and the European Tour’s ninth most successful golfer of all time.
Joining Torrance, who currently plays on the European Senior Tour, will be fellow compatriots Peter Mitchell, the long-standing English golfer who is widely regarded as one of the game’s top instructors, and Costantino Rocca, Italy’s most successful golfer of all time.
Also looking to flex their golfing muscles on the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, the Arabian Gulf’s first and only beachfront course, will be rugby legends, Gavin Hastings - the British and Irish Lions star who is widely tipped as one of his generation’s most outstanding rugby union players - and South African Springbok, Victor Matfield - one of the best locks in the world.
And swapping a bat for a club is former English cricketer and current cricket analyst, Allan Lamb, who will be looking to transfer his hitting skills into low scores on Saadiyat Beach Golf Course – which is being developed by TDIC on Saadiyat Island, the global leisure, residential and cultural destination under development just 500 metres offshore Abu Dhabi city.
“It is a great boost to Abu Dhabi credentials as a world-class emerging golf destination of distinction to have attracted such a diverse compilation of the most revered names in sport. From rising stars to legends of their games, the field for the inaugural Saadiyat Beach Classic hosted by Gary Player will certainly be one to remember,” added Lee Tabler, Chief Executive Officer, TDIC.
At the centre of the two day spectacle will be an 18-hole tournament, where teams of four – including a top international golfer or celebrity – will battle it out on Saadiyat Beach Golf Club’s lush fairways and greens.
Tickets for the Saadiyat Beach Classic are complimentary to the public and can be downloaded from www.saadiyatbeachclassic.com Beginning at 9.30am, the tournament will boast unrivalled viewing of all the action throughout the day. Food and beverage will be available at the course and car parking at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is free to ticket holders.
Five charities, local and international have been identified as beneficiaries for January’s Saadiyat Beach Classic, which are the Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs ; Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation; Red Crescent UAE; Future Centre for Special Needs; and the Gary Player Foundation.
To raise funds for the nominated charities, TDIC will host a black tie gala charity dinner, where an auction will take place for more than 50 must have items donated by corporate sponsors and partners. Taking place at Emirates Palace on Saadiyat Beach Classic’s final day, the 350-person evening extravaganza - boasting an impressive entertainment line-up and some of the biggest names from the sport and entertainment worlds - will be one of the most sought-after events in town.
The Saadiyat Beach Classic has attracted a strong line-up of corporate partners which include Emirates Palace and Emirates Airline as Platinum sponsors, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Al Habtoor Leighton, Al Jaber LEGT Engineering & Contracting, HILALCO, Jan De Nul Group, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Parsons and Saif Bin Darwish as Gold Sponsors, and Abu Dhabi Media Company, Motivate Publishing and Gulf News Broadcasting as media partners.
