The partnership will position Destination Sport to help golf fans get closer to the action, through exclusive Majesticks GC ticket and hospitality packages curated by its brands Sportsbreaks.com and Sportsworld, unlocking access to the team consisting of Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson and Sam Horsfield. They will also work together to provide premium benefits to fans & followers of Majesticks GC via giveaways, discounts and more.

Destination Sport will also provide business travel services to Majesticks GC, supporting with global travel and accommodation across the team. The group’s specialist division for elite sports travel management – Destination Sport Travel – works with

35+ teams and governing bodies, including Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, British Cycling, Football Association of Wales, Scottish Rugby and International Ice Hockey Federation.

“I am thrilled to announce this long-term partnership with Destination Sport. As a truly global team with tournaments in 14 destinations around the world, we’re not only excited to work with Destination Sport to expertly deliver for our team and staff, but to also create unique and engaging experiences as well as exclusive offers to benefit our fans,” said James Dunkley, Team Principal Majesticks GC. “Alongside Destination Sport, Majesticks GC are looking forward to building on the success of our 2023 fan experience by delivering unique access and behind-the-scenes opportunities for fans in 2024.”

With over 250 staff in 14 countries around the world, Destination Sport have expertise in travel management for elite sports clubs and governing bodies, supporter travel, global hospitality, youth development programmes, endurance, and participation travel plus global destination management.  

“We’re delighted to announce a new partnership with Majesticks GC, representing our first involvement with the LIV Golf League. It’s fantastic to be working with a team who are leading the way in innovation in this new format of golf, and as two organisations with British roots and a global outlook, it’s a perfect fit for us,” said Destination Sport Group Managing Director Paul Hemingway. “The global nature of LIV Golf results in a significant volume of travel so we’re excited to provide Team Majesticks’ players, caddies and staff with a best-in-class travel provision to support their preparations and performance.

“The LIV Golf League is a unique, engaging format of professional golf which lends itself to exciting experiences for spectators. We look forward to working closely with Team Majesticks to create new fan travel and event hospitality experiences via our Sportsbreaks.com and Sportsworld brands which we hope will appeal to new and existing golf fans alike, starting at next year’s UK tournament.”

Ian Poulter, Co-Captain of Majesticks GC, added, “We’re really excited about the possibilities of the partnership between Destination Sport and Majesticks GC, and are looking forward to being involved in some fantastic bespoke fan experiences. We also know the level of support and service that Destination Sport provide to elite sports teams, and we are thrilled to have them on board to offer their expertise and help the team.”

Main image: LIV Golf

The post Destination Sport announced as Majesticks GC’s Official Travel Partner appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

We’re here to help. I’ve been scratch-ish—sometimes worse, sometimes better—since I was 16 years old. My current index is a +1.2, although that’s sure to bite me once the weather warms and I have to play to my late-season handicap despite early-season rust. I have played dozens of rounds with men and women who’ve told me I’m the best player they’ve ever played with. And, once they shake off the nerves, these have often blossomed into some of my favourite days on the golf course. The key is knowing what to do, and more crucially, what not to.

Here are the dos and don’ts of playing with a scratch-level player.

Don’t insist on playing the same tees

Warren Little

You’re coming from a good place—you don’t want to be a burden, and you figure having everyone in the group play from the same tees will speed up play. Only it’ll have the opposite effect: You’ll be looking for balls and hitting so many extra shots. Always be ready to step right up to the tee when it’s your turn, and any added time will be minimal.

Be very careful with your “Good shot!” shouts

Your standards for a good shot are very, very different than the scratch players. You might be thrilled every time you make solid contact with an iron from the fairway, but I can tell you from experience that hearing “Great shot!” when a ball is flying right to a bunker gets very old, very quickly.

Don’t ask him if he’s ever thought of turning pro

The difference between a scratch golfer and a touring pro is, functionally speaking, wider than the difference between you and the scratch golfer. Unless this scratch golfer is 14 years old or younger, or a highly delusional person, there is very little chance he or she will ever turn professional.

Don’t be afraid to get some action going

laflor

There’s a reason the handicap system exists, and it’s to mitigate differences between players—even if those differences are huge. Theoretically speaking you have a 50 percent chance of winning the match. Don’t be intimidated.

Do give gimmes

Some mid-handicappers I’ve played with have assumed that I’m keeping score as though I were playing a tournament, so they’ll hesitate to pick up the 18-inch par putts after a missed birdie attempt. Unless your playing partner explicitly says, “I’m going to putt everything out today,” you should absolutely kick away anything that’s within the leather. If it’s longer than that, simply look at them. Their reply will tell you how he feels about putting that one out.

Don’t offer swing advice

You might think this goes without saying but you’d be surprised. My tempo is quick, and I’ve had legitimate 15-handicaps tell me after a bad shot to “slow down” or “that looked pretty quick.” There is nothing more infuriating than hearing advice from a non-PGA professional who is significantly worse at golf than you.

Don’t ask for swing advice

Unless they’re a teaching pro, the last thing they want to do is spend an afternoon trying to help you stink less.

Play fast, but don’t rush

Andrew Redington

I’ve had playing partners visibly rush because they’re so worried about slowing everyone down—that just makes the good player in the group feel guilty. That’s not to say you shouldn’t pick up when you’re clearly headed for a quadruple bogey or worse, because you absolutely should. But take your time when you’re in the hole.

Don’t apologize for your game

You have nothing to apologize for, so hold off on the sorrys after you slice one into the trees. It doesn’t make your bad shots any less bad, and it only contributes to a sense of imbalance that you’re trying to avoid. Do you. Play your game.

Be yourself

A scratch player is good at a game—they’re not some sort of freakshow. So don’t treat them as such. Be you. Don’t be afraid to talk and shoot the breeze as you would in your normal foursome. This golfer just happens to swing a club better than your buddies do. Nothing more, nothing less.

Main Image: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

The post The dos and don’ts of playing with a scratch player appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The duo scored an outstanding nine holes of net 29, seven under par, on the front nine of the Earth Course for a two shot victory.

Simon Astrom and Lukas Astrom secured a second spot with a net 31, five under par. While reigning JGE Club Champion David Bainbridge and partner Jill Bainbridge carded a net 32, four under par for third place.

On Course Competitions:
Longest Drive with a Putter – Hole 3 – Lukas Astrom
Nearest the Pin – Hole 6 – Lewis Delaney

Concluding the prize-giving presentation, Ed Atack Golf Services Executive at Jumeirah Golf Estates, thanked everyone for participating. “A big thank you to Kasturi for once again hosting us and putting on a wonderful selection of food for us all this evening. A big thank you also to you guys for continuing to support this event and we wish you a Merry Christmas!”

Image: Jumeirah Golf Estates

The post Cracking Christmas Curry Club captured by O’Connor and Schoombie appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

“I think what Jon said about growing the game and stuff, that’s obviously what they have to say,” Lowry said, according to the Irish Independent, at a press conference this week promoting next year’s Amgen Irish Open on the DP World Tour. “They’ve signed on the dotted line. They’ve been told by the communications team that this is what you say when you’re asked this and you have no other choice really because they own you now.

“I don’t know if it’s been damaging, but people who have spent their hard-earned money going out to join a golf club and buy golf clubs and play golf for the weekend, it’s tough for them to listen to the guy who’s already worth whatever say he has to do this to put food on the table for his wife and kids.”

Lowry is one of many who hopes that the standoff between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour will come to a halt sometime soon as the disruption caused by LIV has put golf in a “funny place.” He didn’t go so far as to attack executives at the PGA Tour, à la Viktor Hovland, but the 2019 Open champ is undoubtedly exhausted by the never-ending news cycle.

“Do I think they’ve been amazing? No, probably not,” Lowry said. “But I’m not going to criticise them because I think they couldn’t foresee this coming. It was something that just happened. I don’t really know.

“A lot of players have a lot of opinions on the leadership of the tour. But I don’t consider myself clever enough to be able to comment on running a billion-dollar organisation.”

Lowry echoed those comments while speaking with Irish sports website Balls.ie, where it was obvious his disappointment that he won’t get to tee off against Rahm until the Masters. His fellow pros hopping around has forced him to become a bit more “selfish” as well.

“Because it’s been going on for so long now, at the start it was dispiriting, but now, I’ve talked about this a lot with my team, you just have to worry about yourself,” Lowry told the website. “You just have to become that selfish golfer who picks their schedule and wants to play and win the best tournaments in the world. The best tournaments in my mind are Riviera, Bay Hill, the Players, and then leading up to the Masters. They are the tournaments I want to win.”

With all that said, Lowry is fanatical when it comes to the Ryder Cup, and he doesn’t see a reason for Team Europe to lose Rahm just because of his recent about-face. When it comes down to it, Lowry wants to win (and celebrate) the biennial event, and having Rahm on the team is certainly better than not having him.

Rory McIlroy recently called for a rules change to insure the Spaniard could make Team Europe’s Bethpage squad in 2025, but Lowry seemed confident that it won’t need to come down to that.

“The reason they [Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood] couldn’t play Ryder Cup this year was because they resigned their [DP World Tour] membership,” Lowry said Irish Open press conference. “There were certain players that would have been able to make the team if they played good enough, but they just didn’t. I am sure Rahmbo can play well enough to make the team, so if he doesn’t resign his membership, he can still make the team.”

Image: Andrew Redington

The post “They own you now”: Shane Lowry not surprised by Jon Rahm’s LIV jump, still wants him at Bethpage Ryder Cup appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

According to an OWGR release, a new “points distribution curve” will be applied to official OWGR events that have fields of 80 or fewer competitors, with a greater percentage of available points (around 21 percent compared to the usual 17 to 18 percent) allocated to top finishers. This would apply to the majority of the “signature events” on the PGA Tour in 2024, which will have smaller fields.

“Following internal and independent analysis, OWGR determined its standard distribution curve did not accurately reflect performances in these events,” read an explainer from the OWGR.

Meanwhile, if such events have no cut (again the case for several of the upcoming signature events, including The Sentry, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship and Travelers Championship), the number of players receiving points will be limited. Approximately 15 percent of the finishers at the bottom of tournament standings will walk away without any points. Likewise, in any match-play tournaments, first-round losers or players who fail to win any match in a pool format won’t earn points.

The effective impact of this change will be that players competing in limited-field, no-cut events are no longer guaranteed points simply for having qualified to play in the event. Players will have to perform in order to be rewarded for competing, a criticism of the system previously where tour pros who shooting high scores were still rewarded simply for finishing 72 holes.

Interestingly, had this policy been in place this year, the three bottom finishers at the Hero World Challenge earlier this month would not have received World Ranking points. That would have included Tiger Woods, who finished 18th and was able to jump from 1,328th to 898th in the OWGR.

OFFICIAL WORLD GOLF RANKING GOVERNING BOARD ANNOUNCES UPDATES TO THE RANKING SYSTEM

Read more here –https://t.co/uJ2HHlsm3y#OWGR#OfficialWorldGolfRanking pic.twitter.com/jArqVEDa6G

— OWGR (@OWGRltd) December 21, 2023

There are a few exceptions to tournaments where these changes will apply. The OWGR noted that season-ending events on various tours are exempt from. Points still will be awarded to all players in FedEx Cup Playoff events on the PGA Tour, the DP World Championship and the Nippon Series JT Cup on the Japan Tour, among others.

The second broader change is more basic: the OWGR will reward a 60-percent points bonus to a player who wins twice on any eligible tour in a 52-week period and a 70-percent bonus to a player who wins three or more times.

On its website, the OWGR noted that players with lower World Ranking are likely to gain more from the bonus. The organization reports that since 2019 there has been an average of 63 players per year with two wins in a 52-week period and 39 winners of three or more events. The bonus system was instituted “to more quickly identify emerging talent,” according to its website.

“Based on extensive analysis following the changes implemented in August 2022, we recognized these two opportunities to further enhance the OWGR and to accurately evaluate performances of the world’s participating players on all eligible Tours,” said Official World Golf Ranking Chairman Peter Dawson. “Adjustments to the Ranking are made after careful consideration, and we are confident that today’s updates will better position the OWGR for the future.”

The latest changes are the first since August 2022, when the OWGR overhauled its algorithm with a new Strokes Gained World Rating system that rewarded players competing in stronger fields. Of course, the OWGR took a pass on further updates in October when it denied LIV Golf’s application to be included in the rankings.

Scottie Scheffler is set to finish 2023 as No. 1 in the OWGR, having held the top spot since May.

Image: Ross Kinnaird

The post The Official World Golf Ranking announced two wonky changes for 2024. Here’s what they actually mean appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Hot on the heels of the completion of its 2023 season last weekend, the Tour has unveiled an initial schedule of 20 strong events across 12 countries– with a significant number of important tournaments to be added.

Once finalised it is expected that the schedule will surpass this year– which saw 23 events staged with total prize money of US$35 million.

The Malaysian Open will celebrate its return to the schedule after a four-year hiatus by becoming the season-opening event and will be played from February 15-18.

It will be followed the week after by the International Series Oman – the first of 10 International Series events in 2024, which provide a pathway to the multi-million-dollar LIV Golf League.

International Series events will be played in Macau (International Series Macau presented by Wynn, March 14-17), Morocco (July 4-7), Indonesia (October 31–November 3), and Qatar (November 28 – December 1). 

The Hong Kong Open will once again be part of The International Series while making its debut on the series will be the PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers, which was the Tour’s opening event in 2022 and 2023. Both events will be in Q4. The dates will be announced later along with the details of three more International Series tournaments.

The Tour will also once again return to two of its traditional tournament strongholds, Korea and Chinese-Taipei. 

Three events will be played in each market, with the GS Caltex Maekyung Open (May 2-5), Kolon Korea Open (June 20-23) and Shinhan Donghae Open (September 5-8) staged in Korea; while the Yeangder TPC (September 26-29), Mercuries Taiwan Masters (October 3-6) and Taiwan Glass Taifong Open (November 14-17) will be hosted in Chinese-Taipei.

The New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport (February 29–March 3), the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund (April 17-20) and the SJM Macao Open (October 10-13) are also back on the schedule.

Said Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & CEO, Asian Tour: “The strength and depth of the Asian Tour’s 2024 schedule is reflective of the phenomenal growth we have been enjoying and we are already excited about what the new year will bring.

“Importantly, we are delighted to confirm the schedule so soon after the completion of our 2023 season, which will allow our members to plan accordingly and act as enormous incentive to those heading to Qualifying School.

“The International Series events combined with our central column of established tournaments form the backbone of the Tour while we look forward to being able to announce other premier events in due course.”

The Final Stage of the Asian Tour’s Qualifying School (January 16-20) commences proceedings next year, providing a gateway into what will be another season of great advancement for the Asian Tour.

The Asian Development Tour schedule will be released early in 2024 and will feature an expanded line-up of tournaments, for what is the Asian Tour’s constantly evolving feeder circuit.

Image: Asian Tour

The post Asian Tour releases bolstered 2024 season schedule appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

This unique event was set as a pairs scramble format in which Evelyn Downham, JGE Lady Captain, and Jonathan Hall, JGE Men Captain, each crafted their own course for the day: Evelyn’s course encompassed the front nine of the Fire course and the back nine of the Earth course, while Jonathan’s circuit used the front nine of Earth course and the back nine of Fire course.

Before the commencement of play, Jonathan and Evelyn orchestrated a vibrant array of activations across the driving range and putting green. The driving range hosted a longest drive contest, while the putting green hosted a 168ft longest putting competition.

These contests also offered players the opportunity to contribute to the Junior Colleague Fund.

Final day’s scores below

Captains Day Overall Winners:
Adam Hodgkins & Martin Stewart – Net 60

Captains Course Winners:
Jonathan Hall’s Course
Alan McNamara & Ian McInerney – Net 61
Tom Purdy & JJ O’Toole – Net 62 (countback)
David Bainbridge & Tom Stephenson – Net 62

Evelyn Downham’s Course
Marc Beattie & James Finnigan – 62
Joshua Clarke & Paul McGee – Net 63 (countback)
Tom Neale & Ben Wise – Net 63

On Course Competitions:

Jonathan Hall’s Course
Nearest The Pin – Hole 4 Earth – Russ Wilson
Nearest The Pin – Hole 6 Earth – Adam James
Nearest The Pin – Hole 14 Fire – Ronan Keating

Evelyn Downham’s Course
Nearest The Pin – Hole 2 Fire – Mark Schoombie
Nearest The Pin – Hole 8 Fire – David Hadley
Nearest The Pin – Hole 17 Earth – Alex Daniel

Longest Drive Men – Ollie Henderson – 333 yards
Longest Drive Ladies – Tanya Harrison – 240 yards
Longest Putt – David Bainbridge

Image: Jumeirah Golf Estates

The post JGE Captains Day goes the way of Hodgkins and Stewart appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 20-year-old Russian, who has led since round three, rolled in back-to-back birdies on seven and eight before dropping a shot on the 11th hole.

Guseva then made an eagle on the par-five 13th before rolling in her final birdie of the week for a round of four-under and to win Lalla Aicha Q-School with a total of 23-under-par.

“It’s amazing! It’s crazy that I came here already with my LPGA Tour card and then just coming here and winning LET Q-School, it’s something I have always dreamed of,” she said.

“It’s amazing how people are welcoming here and how this place is amazing. It’s beautiful and I just want to thank everyone who organised this event and takes care of us.

“It means a lot and for women’s golf as well. I want to congratulate all the girls who secure their LET cards, it’s an exciting time for us and let’s rock it!

“I had so much fun. Playing with the LET and the weather was amazing. My team coach came here to support me and my caddie as well – we had a lot of fun this week!”

South Africa’s Cara Gorlei finished in second place on the leaderboard on 19-under-par after shooting a round of 71 (-2) which included five birdies and one bogey.

Thailand’s Aunchisa Utama finished in third place on 18-under-par having carded a round of 70 (-3) on the final day at Al Maaden.

One shot further back was Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes after she fired a closing round of 67 (-6) in Morocco.

Sobron said: “Today, I’m happy with the round. I made a lot of putts and I did an eagle on hole number seven which was a good one. I’m happy with getting my LET status again, this year was a difficult year because I had an injury, so I’m happy.

“I had a protrusion in my back. This week was the first week that I was playing without medication so I’m very happy. Alvaro is really good at reading the greens, he gave me a lot of confidence and we had a lot of fun. We’re going to enjoy the holidays at home and work hard for next year.

“It’s great to see so many Spanish players in the top 20. Next year we are going to play together, and it will be like the Spanish teams when we were amateurs!”

Three players were tied for fifth place with France’s Agathe Laisne, English amateur Annabell Fuller and Mexico’s Fernanda Lira all on 16-under-par.

Spain’s Fatima Fernandez Cano and Singaporean amateur Shannon Tan were both one shot further back in a share of eighth place on 15-under-par.

Fernandez Cano fired a round of 67 (-6) on the final day to secure full LET status and she was pleased with her two weeks in Morocco.

The Spaniard said: “I’m feeling great. I came into this week with no expectations at all, it’s been a tough year because I had surgery a couple of months ago. I couldn’t practice much coming into these past couple of weeks.

“Last week I made it on the number and then this week, I’ve just had fun and played some good golf and here we are!”

Spain’s Teresa Toscano fired the round of the day with a 64 (-9) to soar up the leaderboard and secure LET status.

Toscano finished in a share of 10th place alongside England’s Bel Wardle, who ended her week with a round of 70 (-3), while Sloevnia’s Ana Belac was 12th on 13-under.

Three players finished in a tie for 13th position with Norway’s Dorthea Forbrigd, India’s Pranavi Urs and France’s Perrine Delacour all on 12-under-par.

Spanish duo Teresa Diez Moliner and Paz Marfa Sans ended the week in a share of 16th place on 11-under-par with Poland’s Dorota Zalewska and Sweden’s Ellinor Sudow.

South African amateur Danielle du Toit finished in a tie for 20th place alongside New Zealand’s Momoka Kobori and Korea’s Jung Min Hong.

Should they wish to accept and take up LET membership, a total of 22 players secured Category 12 membership for 2024 while 30 players clinched Category 16 membership.

Image: Ladies European Tour

The post Russian Nataliya Guseva comes out on top at LET Q-School appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who played on Europe’s winning Ryder Cup team before competing in a major and captured his first PGA Tour title in November, said on a Eurosport podcast that he is “super confident” in his decision to play on the PGA Tour rather than the LIV Golf League that is run by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Aberg, 24, said he received the latest LIV offer after finishing his rookie season with a victory in the RSM Classic, where he shot 61-61 on the weekend.

The news of Aberg’s decision comes in the wake of Jon Rahm leaving for LIV, along with a couple of other high-profile PGA Tour players rumoured to be going to the upstart circuit—World No. 4 Viktor Hovland and Tony Finau—saying they were staying.

In translated text from the podcast interview, Aberg said, “There were a number of red flags, which is not good. We realised that I could potentially burn a lot of bridges, and I wasn’t interested in that. When I look back, I am very confident in my decision. I will never chase money; what I do is compete. I did the right thing.”

Of course, others, such as Rahm and Brooks Koepka, have taken similar stances, only to eventually leave the tour for LIV.

“I want to play against the best, because I am a competitive person and like to compete against the best players,” Aberg said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that at the moment, it’s a bit more fragmented.”

“When I look at the PGA Tour and the competitions there, there is so much history around all the competitions. And that’s what I like, that’s what I go for. But then you have to respect everyone’s decisions.”

A Texas Tech product who was the first player to earn his card by being No. 1 in the PGA University standings, Aberg showed potentially transcended talent by notching eight top-25 finishes in 11 starts. After going 2-2 in the Ryder Cup, his season built to a crescendo with a runner-up in the Sanderson Farms Championship and four-shot victory in the RSM, at which he scored 29 under for the week.

Image: Ross Kinnaird

The post Young star Ludvig Aberg says ‘red flags’ contributed to him turning down LIV appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The tournament, which was played over the Fire course, brought together the best talents from Abu Dhabi Golf Club, Emirates Golf Federation, and Jumeirah Golf Estates. Each team’s best eight scores, out of ten players, were counted towards the overall team’s standing.

Jumeirah Golf Estates’ own Sherma Ayrton delivered a stellar performance, achieving her lowest ever score of 43 points. Sherma’s remarkable round was marked by an impressive tally of seven net birdies and two net eagles. Her outstanding display not only earned her victory in the individual standings but counted towards her JGE team climbing up the overall rankings.

Securing second place at the Ladies ICC was another Jumeirah Golf Estates member in Nicsha Rodriguez with a gross 38. While in third place with 37 points was Jane Vorster.

From left; Anna-Retha Rafferty, JGE Ladies Vice-Captain with Sherma Aryton, Individual Stableford winner

On Course Competitions:
Longest Drive – Hole 7 – Jane Voster – JGE
Nearest the Pin – Hole 14 – Nicsha Rodriguez – JGE (5ft)

Team Overall League Standings

1^ST – Jumeirah Golf Estates – 517
2^ND – Emirates Golf Federation – 501
3^RD – Abu Dhabi Golf Club – 462

Images: Jumeirah Golf Estates

The post Ladies ICC light up the Fire Course appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.