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Rugby Star Hugo Porta Wins The Laureus Golf Challenge, Presented By Mercedes-Benz, And Hosted By Golf Legend Gary Player |
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Player ’in awe’ of Laureus Academy Members’ passion and desire. Legendary Australia cricket captain Steve Waugh says ’It was an outstanding day. Gary is such a fantastic ambassador for sport and for Laureus’. Laureus Sport For Good Foundation receives cheque for €500,000. For video footage go to www.laureusdigital.com.Hugo Porta, the Argentina rugby union player regarded as one of the best fly-halves ever to have played the game, proved he is as expert at wielding a golf club as he was catching and passing the oval ball when his team won the inaugural Laureus Golf Challenge, presented by Mercedes-Benz yesterday. Porta and a host of fellow sports stars gathered at the acclaimed Gary Player-designed Saadiyat Beach Golf Club to play 18 holes, with a special test awaiting at the 17th where Player hit a ball off the tee against each team. Porta’s team of four players emerged victorious with 100 points, 20 points better than the second-placed team led by Michael Lynagh, a World Cup winner with the Australian rugby union team. Dwight Yorke, still a hero to supporters of the Aston Villa and Manchester United football clubs in England, impressed Player by getting closest to the pin on the 17th where his tee shot finished just 2 feet 7 inches from the hole. At the prize-giving, a cheque for a total of €500,000 was handed over by Laureus Academy Member Gary Player to Edwin Moses, Chairman of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. The funds raised came from the proceeds of the 2011 Laureus World Sports Awards, which are being staged with the generous support of the Global Partners – Mercedes-Benz, IWC Schaffhausen and Vodafone - and Host Partner Aabar, who have been instrumental in bringing the Laureus Awards Ceremony to Abu Dhabi. This donation includes funds that were raised from the magnificent efforts of the competitors in the Laureus Golf Challenge, presented by Mercedes-Benz, today - which has contributed €300,000 of the total. But this was a day in which every golfer was a winner. And nobody enjoyed himself more than the legendary Player, winner of nine major championship titles and still competing hard at 75 years of age. The ‘Black Knight’ said, “I was in awe to be in the company of so many world champions; amazing people who have so much dedication, passion and desire. And they are all giving their time to make a difference and to help others fulfil their dreams. “I was very impressed at the standard of the golf. There was Wladimir Klitschko, the heavyweight boxing champion. He is such a big man but he had a nice swing – he has taken lessons from a pro – and played a very nice putt on my hole.” Steve Waugh, the former Australian Test captain and inductee into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame, said, “It was an outstanding day. The course was in fantastic condition and I just thoroughly enjoyed it. “I’m pretty happy with the way I played. I don’t play a lot but it was such a nice course and we were in good company. In those circumstances you tend to play probably better than you think you’re going to play. “As for Gary, he is such a fantastic ambassador for sport and for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. He’s a remarkable guy, he has so much energy and that impacts on everybody around him. Just to play that one hole of golf with him was a real treat for me. “I’m proud to be a Laureus Academy Member, and I particularly enjoy working with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation which is the basis of our work. There are some 80 projects around the world and I get really excited every time I go to visit one of those projects because you can see kids’ lives changing for the better. So we are having an impact.” Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation which supports 83 community sports projects around the world. Since its inception, Laureus has raised over €40 million for projects which have helped to improve the lives of more than one-and-a-half-million young people. The Laureus World Sports Awards is returning to Abu Dhabi thanks to the support of Aabar Investments PJS, who will once again be Host Partner for the event. His Excellency Khadem Al Qubaisi, Chairman of Aabar, said: "The Laureus World Sports Awards is a unique event. It was magnificent, a great success for Abu Dhabi when it was held here last March. The whole event was really superb. We will certainly try to do something special for this year’s Awards.” Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates, offers a fascinating combination of the old and the new; a blend of Arabic hospitality and mystique where a mixture of culture and tradition come together against a backdrop of the most modern world-class infrastructure. Abu Dhabi is developing a reputation as a great sporting venue as host city for the FIFA Club World Cup, the Etihad Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, all highlights of the sporting calendar in the city. Aabar Investments PJS is an investment company headquartered in Abu Dhabi. It invests in various sectors including aerospace, real estate, automotive and financial services. Its largest stakeholder is the International Petroleum Investment Company, which is wholly owned by the Government of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Proceeds from the Laureus World Sports Awards directly benefit and underpin the work of the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation which supports 83 community sports projects around the world. Since its inception, Laureus has raised over €40 million for projects which have helped to improve the lives of more than one-and-a-half million young people. |
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