One of the most prestigious amateur series in the world has been furrowing its path through some of the UAE’s favourite golf courses since April with the Emirates NBD Race to Malaysia powered by Thriwe making its debut in the country in conjunction with Sport 2 Business, Dubai Sports Council and the Emirates Golf Federation.
The series will see 17 qualifying events take place over seven consecutive months culminating in a grand final at Al Hamra Golf Club in Ras Al Khaimah on October 1st where the winners across five different categories will be selected to represent the UAE in the World Final from November 12-19 in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, competing against 46 other countries over six rounds on Malaysia’s finest courses (www.worldgolfers.com).
The 2022 Race to Malaysia commenced at the Montgomerie Golf Club, Dubai, on April 10 and has since taken in events at Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, Yas Links, Arabian Ranches, Saadityat Beach Golf Club, Trump International Golf Club, Dubai Hills, Abu Dhabi Golf Club and Ja The Resort Golf Course (see www.racetomalaysia.golfgenius.com for results and highlights) with upcoming events at Emirates Golf Club, Al Hamra, Els Club, Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club and Al Zorah.
“We are delighted to work with Emirates NBD and Thriwe to bring this established global event to the UAE,” said Russell Yeomans, Founder of Sport2Business events. “This is an amazing and unique opportunity to offer UAE amateur golfers a superb ‘Olympic’ style experience to represent the UAE in the world final in November. With flag-raising events, tourist experiences and a bonanza style presentation ceremony, it will quite simply be a money cannot buy experience of a lifetime for the UAE team.
“More importantly, this is another opportunity to highlight the world-class golfing assets of the UAE as we work with the UAE Tourism teams to potentially bring the World Finals to UAE in 2023 and 2024.”
He added: “Opportunities like this cannot exist without great sponsors, so we are really enjoying working with Emirates NBD and Thriwe to create more memorable experiences for the amateur golfers of Dubai. We are also delighted to now have AARO, AGMC (BMW), Athletic Drive, Accuracy, Suited & Booted, Msangai Adventures, WeTel TV, Landhouse Properties, Papa Johns, eGolf Megastore and Terra Virtua supporting our Gold Sponsor Emirates NBD – all helping enrich the amateur golfers experience.
Marwan Hadi, Executive Vice President and Head of Retail Banking, Emirates NBD said: “As a leading bank in the region, we are happy to be a part of one of the most prestigious golf events in the UAE, reiterating our commitment to encouraging sporting activities in the region. In line with the bank’s commitment to engage the wider Dubai community in the great game of golf, we have sponsored many golfing events in the UAE over the years including the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, an event that we have been supporting for over 30 years. Staying true to our “Passion for Sport” strategy and through our GolfLan (Thriwe) programme, we continue to offer our customers access to attractive golfing privileges and benefits.”
Dhruv Verma, Founder and CEO, Thriwe, said: “Thriwe has always supported golf in the region and will continue to do so. We are thrilled to have entered into strategic partnership with Sport2Business via the Race to Malaysia tournament and we’re geared up to imbibe the newer trends around the game. Via this amazing podium, we are looking forward to building strong colossal synergies that will enhance the golfing ecosystem and make it a new networking platform to connect business enthusiasts across the globe through golf.”
The sanctioning body, Emirates Golf Federation through Director General, Akram Skaik, said: “We are delighted to support an amateur series like this adhering to the World Handicap System (WHS) and EGF guidelines so amateurs at all levels can enjoy local and global competition knowing handicaps are monitored and respected. We see this as one of a growing number of EGF sanctioned events adding value to the ever increasing number of EGF members as golf continues to prosper as a sport in the UAE.”
The golf clubs of the UAE have embraced this simple concept and are instrumental in running successful member events to send their best golfers to represent their club in the National Final at Al Hamra in October. There are a total of 1400 qualifying events globally, and over 50,000 amateur golfers will aspire to reach the World Final in Malaysia in November – who will be the five UAE representatives?
For golfers wishing to enter the events, please www.racetomalaysia.golfgenius.com to see the schedule (you can enter through your club or through the EGF).
For sponsors, this series provides a unique opportunity to engage with the amateur golfing population of the UAE (Please contact Russell.yeomans@aaro.ae or visit www.racetomalaysia.golfgenius.com to find out how to get involved.
