The European Tour and its partner Leisurecorp this week commence a trilogy of international golf tournaments that will end in the lucrative inaugural Dubai World Championship next November.
The 99th South African Open Championship, Africa’s oldest tournament, takes place at Leisurecorp’s own Pearl Valley Golf Estates and is the first in Leisurecorp’s hat-trick of tournaments which will span across three continents.
It will be followed by the the world’s oldest tournament, The Open Championship held at the historic and Leisurecorp-owned Turnberry in Scotland.
The trilogy will then be completed by the Dubai World Championship, the richest tournament in golf held at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Leisurecorp’s flagship development in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from November 19-22.
That tournament will mark the end of the first year of The Race to Dubai, a new US$10 million season-long competition which has replaced the longstanding European Tour Order of Merit and is part of Leisurecorp’s partnership with The European Tour.
Abdul Wahid Al Ulama, Vice-Chairman, Leisurecorp, said: “The inaugural Race to Dubai is arguably one of the most exciting seasons in The European Tour’s history. For Leisurecorp, this will see three of our golf courses rise to the occasion with The South African Open at Pearl Valley Golf Estates, The Open Championship at Turnberry, and the Dubai World Championship - one of the most important sporting events to ever be held in the Middle East. We are certain that each of these tournaments will prove our passion and commitment to the golf world.
“It’s not an understatement to say that The Race to Dubai has taken the golf world by storm. The season-long competition will include 52 tournaments in 26 destinations and is keeping Dubai at the forefront of the sporting world throughout the entire year, while taking the game to fresh audiences around the world. I believe it is emblematic and reflective of what Dubai stands for.”
Players in The Race to Dubai are ranked during the season according to their earnings from all events. At the end of the 2009 season, only the top 60 players will qualify to compete in the Dubai World Championship where they will battle it out for the prestigious trophy and a share of an additional US$10 million prize fund.
The South African Open Championship is a key tournament in this season-long journey with the €1 million prize fund giving players the opportunity to move up the rankings and get one step closer to making the cut for the Dubai World Championship. This year’s tournament boasts the strongest field in South African Open history, with three Major Champions, four Ryder Cup players from Valhalla, and six of South Africa’s top players set to tee up at Pearl Valley Golf Estates.
The field is headlined by a trilogy of the greatest South African golfers - triple Major Champion Ernie Els, double US Open Champion Retief Goosen and Masters Tournament Champion Trevor Immelman. A total of 35 countries are represented in an international field which also includes Darren Clarke, defending champion James Kingston, Rory McIlroy, 2007 European Tour Order of Merit winner Justin Rose, Dubai-based Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood,.
David Spencer, CEO-Golf, Leisurecorp, said: “We have assembled one of the greatest fields ever seen at a tournament in the southern hemisphere and intend to make this year’s South African Open the greatest golfing tournament the country has ever hosted. The beautiful setting of Pearl Valley Golf Estates combined with free entry, a bumper crowd, and such an incredible field means that this year’s tournament will be the best the country has ever hosted.”
With Leisurecorp’s recent acquisition of the Turnberry in Scotland, Leisurecorp will cement this hat-trick of prestigious international golf events when it hosts the Open Championship on the Ailsa Course at Turnberry in Scotland in July 2009.
Alan Rogers, Group Chief Executive Officer for Leisurecorp, said: “When the eyes of the world fall upon Turnberry next summer, we are determined that the venue will stand tall with pride, taking its rightful place as one of the top golf courses in the world. When the first ball is hit at perhaps the most prestigious golf tournament in history everyone at Leisurecorp - and the entire city of Dubai - should feel great pride and perhaps get a few goosebumps at the realisation that the greatest sporting event in the history of golf is being played on not only a piece of historic Scotland, but also a small piece of Dubai!”
