N. Ireland’s Young Gun On-Course To Be Next World No.1, Says Gary Player at Saadiyat Beach Classic
Tourism Development & Investment Company’s (TDIC) Gary Player-designed Saadiyat Beach Golf Club opened today in emphatic fashion with a host of golf stars and big names from the world of sport teeing off in the inaugural Saadiyat Beach Classic charity tournament.
Hosted by golfing legend Gary Player, the Classic swung into action when the ‘Black Knight’ - arguably one of the greatest golfers of all time - hit the first drive on the stunning ‘Prelude’ 1st hole and presented TDIC’s COO, Ahmed Hussein, with the signed club, officially marking the course’s launch.
“When we first sat down and came up with the plans for Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, we wanted to create something special that set the global benchmark and resonated with visitors and residents who wanted to connect with a truly world-class destination,” said Ahmed Hussein.
“Gary has helped bring this course to life and created what we firmly believe will be a truly unparalleled golfing experience for amateurs and professionals alike.”
It was hotly-contested affair on the course, with Northern Ireland’s young prodigy, Rory McIlroy, leading the charge with a combined team score of 27-under-par to win the debut Classic.
And with a wealth of golf’s future stars playing the lush fairways and sweeping greens at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Gary Player was optimistic about the future of the sport, with the 18-time Major winner tipping McIlroy as the next possible world number one.
“He has a great team behind him, bags of talent and one of the best swings in golf. If he continues the way he is going, I have no doubt Rory has the potential to be the next number one,” said Player.
McIlroy, the current world number 11, was full of praise for the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and its role in helping establish the emirate as a world-class golf destination of distinction.
“We start our season in Abu Dhabi and have a three week ‘swing’ in the Middle East. The UAE has become a great destination and with facilities like Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, I can only see more and more golfers coming to play here. It’s ideal for practising and the facilities are world-class,” added McIlroy, who finished third in last week’s 5th annual Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.
A wealth of up-and-coming talent on display - in the form of Melissa Reid, Maria Verchenova and Henrietta Zuel, the Ladies’ European Tour rising stars, and England’s Oliver Fisher – showed the watching crowds why they were widely-regarded as the future of the sport with an impressive on-course display. And the quartet was full of praise for Abu Dhabi’s newest golfing centre of excellence.
“I’ve had a really good time, and it’s been great playing on this fantastic course. To see projects like this coming online here in Abu Dhabi is important for golf. I think we will definitely see more local players taking up the sport, and more international players coming over here. I would definitely like to come back,” said Zuel, who will be staying in the emirate for the next two-weeks for warm-weather practice.
And Verchenova, Russia’s first female European Tour player, said she hoped to stay on after the tournament.
“It has been wonderful to come and meet up again with my friends from the Gary Player Group. Mr Player has designed many great courses but this surely has to be one of the most spectacular. I’m looking forward to spending a few more days here in Abu Dhabi and experience as much of the local culture and ambience as possible,” she said.
Oliver Fisher, the youngest-ever player to take part in the Walker Cup, was also full of praise for the emirate’s emergence as a top-draw golf centre.
“Abu Dhabi is really a golfing oasis. Having played last week as part of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship and then to be here on this brand new and beautiful course has been a really good experience. The emirate is really driving forward its golf offering, which is great to see,” he added.
With the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club - the Arabian Gulf’s first and only beachfront course – proving to be a hole-in-one with players and spectators, the news that world-renowned architect, Frank Gehry, will be designing the clubhouse, has only served to increase the development’s reputation globally.
As the centrepiece for the stunning course, the 18,000 sqm clubhouse will boast unique design statements, which incorporate Saadiyat Island’s stunning natural beauty, to create an instantaneously recognisable international landmark when it open in 2012.
The Saadiyat Beach Classic closed on Thursday night with TDIC hosting a black tie gala charity dinner, with an auction for more than 50 must-have items donated by corporate sponsors and partners. The money raised was donated to local and international charities, which were 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. A proportion of the proceeds also went to aiding victims of the recent Haiti earthquake and to assist with the growing relief efforts.
The Saadiyat Beach Classic 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.
Managed by Troon Golf, the world’s largest golf management company, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is the latest world-class golf destination in Abu Dhabi.
Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is the flagship sports facility on Saadiyat Beach, a future magnet for high-end visitors and residents with its host of exclusive 5-star resorts that will create one of the world’s most premium and stylish destinations.
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