The airport retail operator has signed a four year deal to become an Official Partner of the game’s most global tour, joining Rolex, BMW, Emirates, Hilton and Titleist on an exclusive list. No financial details were released.

The deal follows the extension of DDF’s title sponsorship of Dubai Duty Free Irish Open until 2020 with a two year right of renewal, announced last week. Jon Rahm opens his defence of the Rolex Series event at Ballyliffin on Thursday.

Related: Dubai Duty Free ‘delighted’ with Irish Open’s star treatment

“We are pleased to join a stellar list of companies to become an official partner of European Tour,” said Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice-Chairman and CEO of DDF.

“We have identified marketing opportunities for our brand across several tournaments as well as digital elements that will enable us to engage with our global customers. We are very excited about this partnership going forward and believe it will enhance our existing sponsorship portfolio.”

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive Officer of the European Tour, said: “This agreement marks an important evolution of our partnership and we are thrilled to welcome Dubai Duty Free to the European Tour Official Partner family. We look forward to working closely with them in future to build their brand awareness and achieve their goal of supporting sport globally.”

In 2017, the European Tour heralded a new era for the game as eight prestigious events were elevated to Rolex Series status, each event carrying a minimum US$7 million prize fund. The Dubai Duty Free Irish Open is one of them.

DDF association with the European Tour dates back to 1989 and the first (now Omega) Dubai Desert Classic. It’s backing extended to DP World Tour Championship upon the the season-ending event’s 2009 debut  before the it assumed the title-sponsorship of the Irish Open, one of golf’s most historic national Opens, in 2015.

DDF also support the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and horse racing’s prestigious Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.

The post Dubai Duty Free’s stake in golf grows as the airport retailer becomes official European Tour partner appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Stephen Hennessey
PGA Tour players have gotten a bad rap for playing slow . . . and most of the time it’s warranted. It’s not uncommon for a final round of a tour event to push five-and-a-half hours. But hey, if it’s a three-ball and there are millions on the line, wouldn’t you take your time?

On Sunday, Wesley Bryan did his best effort to disprove that notion that tour players play slow by finishing his final round realllly fast. And the PGA Tour rookie played well while doing so.

The winner of the RBC Heritage played in an hour and 28 minutes and shot a final-round 69 playing as a single in the first group off on Sunday at Conway Farms Golf Club. For those sharp minds, that’s slightly more than a stroke per minute — and five minutes per hole.

.@wesleybryangolf's final round at @BMWchamps

• 1 hour, 29 minutes
• 14 pars
• 3 birdies
• 1 bogey
• 69 pic.twitter.com/pKyl16Ayes

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 17, 2017

How about this exchange between him and his caddie? This is how you play in less than 90 minutes.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BZJR67ih1OS/

We can all learn some lessons in playing faster from Bryan. He holed out with his wedge when he had tap-ins. He removed the pin and replaced it by himself on occasions, so his caddie could conserve time (and energy) by heading to the next hole.

We can all learn some lessons in playing faster from Bryan.

Blink and you might miss it.@wesleybryangolf's final round at the @BMWchamps was crazy fast. ?? pic.twitter.com/SqUBqChL8B

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 17, 2017

And Wes posted this tweet after finishing his round.

https://twitter.com/wesleybryangolf/status/909417014627901440

The group behind Bryan? They hadn’t even gotten to the ninth hole yet. Bryan’s wife, Liz, said a marshal at Conway Farms took her from hole to hole in a cart — because she couldn’t keep up with her hubby’s pace. Most impressive? Bryan shot his best round of the week on Sunday. Impressive stuff!

We saw Kevin Na, who has a reputation for being one of those slow players, complete his final round at last year’s Tour Championship in less than two hours. And Na shot a 70 while doing so.

Kevin Na is teeing it up alone today.

He played the front nine in one hour. pic.twitter.com/0Hq3ov15PG

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 25, 2016

Now we all have some goals to try to accomplish next time we’re playing as a single with the entire course to ourselves. Thanks for proving tour players can pick up the pace, guys. Bryan finished his final round before more than half of the field would even tee off. And he got a pretty good work out in for the day.

The post Wesley Bryan proves PGA Tour players can hustle, playing final round at the BMW in an hour and 28 minutes appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

 Tell us about your plans for 2017. Any European Tour/European Senior Tour events on the horizon?
My main focus is The Champions Tour [in the U.S.]. The year is shaping up very well, the tour gets stronger every year with new players joining all the time. In Europe I plan on playing the Senior Open presented by Rolex at Royal Porthcawl, and the MCB Tour Championship in Mauritius in December.

You’ve bagged the U.S. Senior Open and U.S. Senior PGA. You must surely have your sights on the Senior Open being a proud Scot?
Although I am a proud Scot, I am also very proud to be British, and therefore yes the Senior Open is very important to me, having finished runner up in The Open and The Senior Open, I would love to finally break my duck. I played Royal Porthcawl in 2014 when The Senior Open was hosted there.

You qualified for the Open Championship last year and survived the weekend at Royal Troon after recovering from that crazy start. You said at the time that playing at your home course had inspired you to have another crack at qualifying so is Royal Birkdale on your radar this year?
Due to scheduling this year it doesn’t permit me to participate in Open qualifying this year.

 Will we see a 50+ golfer win a major or do the young guns just hit to too far now?
The only major I feel a 50+ golfer can win is The Open Championship, due to the fast fairways and greens being a slower pace.

The BMW Golf World Final has been hosted here in Dubai. Tell us about your involvement and connection with BMW?
I have been an ambassador since 2010, and I am delighted to represent BMW throughout the world.

If you had to take a golf road trip, tell us what model BMW you’d chose to drive, who’d share the journey with you and where you’d go golfing?
I would love to take a 7 series along the Monterey Peninsula, ending up playing Cypress Point, Spyglass Hill and Pebble Beach. I’d take my brother and dad.

You won the European Tour OOM eight times and seven times on the trot. Do you think we’ll ever see that sort of dominance again?
I have heard it said it will never be repeated, but if it is I will be the first to shake his hand.

It seems there are so many young guys who can win nowadays. Is that good for the game or would it be better if there was the consistent Jack v Watson type rivalry, or a dominant force like Tiger in his pomp?
It’s much better for the game that there are so many potential winners now. The youngsters don’t seem to have the fear factor that there was in my day.

Have we seen the last of Tiger after his premature exit from the Desert Classic in February?
I do hope not, Tiger was, and still is, an inspiration for golfers all over the world and I hope he comes back as quick as possible.

What’s your take on the changes to the Rules of Golf proposed by the R&A and the USGA? Will it make the game more attractive and/or speed up play?
Most of the new rules that will come into effect are to do with speed of play and it’s the one thing that has been hurting the game over the last 25 years. We all must get together and banish forever the five hour round of golf.

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A world class course and one of the best weekend vibes in town make the Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa an essential summer visit
By Robbie Greenfield

This was a far cry from the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

Standing on the first tee of the National course on a balmy April afternoon, we were accompanied by an energetic soundtrack from not one but two enormous sound systems to our left. One was overseeing festivities at the famous Westin brunch (“pretty much the best in town,” my PGA professional playing partner Clinton Norris informed me) while a rival group of party-goers were getting in on the act with what looked like a giant South African braai on the lawn formerly occupied by January’s championship village.

It wasn’t quite as surreal as watching Gary Stal beat Martin Kaymer from 10 shots back, but it certainly made me wonder whether I had chosen the wrong way to spend my Friday afternoon. Particularly since Clinton beat me 4&3.

Golf can be an all too serious game at times, but when it comes to having a good time, the Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa and the adjacent Abu Dhabi Golf Club may be the best one-two punch combination in town. A constant hive of energy even in the summer months, the Westin does everything well, with great dining outlets offering quality and a relaxed, welcoming atmosphere in equal measure.

As for the golf course, it is a stringent test each January for the best players on the European Tour, but when the rough retreats and the tee boxes return to positions where us amateurs can actually see the fairway we’re trying to hit, the National becomes a much more fun course to play. Furthermore, the changes they’ve made to the course over the years have unquestionably improved it. Some great courses lose their charm when given a makeover, but the powers that be behind the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship have been careful not to alter the fundamental character of the National course. There’s more water in play now yes, but on the flipside there’s also more green to aim at.

Our trip started in Dubai behind the wheel of a brand new BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé, which quickly established itself as my favourite of the cars we have driven in the Stay & Play series. When it comes to automotive beauty, BMW is perhaps not the first name that springs to mind, but the Gran Coupé is stunning. Its sleek, muscular frame gives the strict impression of a car that means business, but clambering into the driver’s seat does not require you to be a contortionist, as with smaller sport coupés.

Comfort and space are prioritised alongside performance, meaning you get the best of both worlds, with the BMW 435i Gran Coupé sprinting from 0 to 100 km/h in just 5.5 seconds. This car feels like its barely moving at 140, such is the smoothness of the ride.

Upon checking into the Westin, I discovered that the hotel is not the only place in the vicinity that knows how to serve up a culinary treat. Abu Dhabi Golf Club lays on one of the best buffets around on a Thursday night, with a live barbecue serving up everything from juicy steak to king prawns and accompanied by live music and a shisha.

At the resort itself, you can book yourself in for a session at the Heavenly Spa, lounge by the pool or loosen the belt buckle and ready yourself for a tilt at the Fairways brunch. Your only issue, in fact, might be finding enough time to allocate to a game of golf.

The Course
As host venue of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship since 2006, the National course at Abu Dhabi Golf Club has undergone many changes and improvements to its layout to become one of the most respected tracks on the European Tour. The most recent of these alterations saw water brought more into play on holes two, four, 12 and 16.

The Car
The new BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé combines the sleek look of a two-door coupé with the functionality provided by four doors and expansive spaciousness, including a wide access luggage compartment that can comfortably accommodate a couple of sets of golf clubs. It’s a beauty to look at with performance to match.

The Resort
The Westin Abu Dhabi Golf Resort & Spa is offering a Summer Stay & Play package which includes one night in a Deluxe Room, breakfast and one green fee at either Abu Dhabi Golf Club or Saadiyat Beach GC for just AED 600

For double occupancy the price drops to AED 475. Bookings can be made at: westinauh.info@westin.com

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