European Ladies Tour Archives - Golf Digest Middle East

World No. 1 Jin Young Ko to headline 2022 Trust Golf Scottish Open at Dundonald

Matt Smith — Wed, 29 Jun 2022 09:17:03 +0000

By Matt Smith
Jin Young Ko, the double major winner and world No, 1 is heading to Scotland for the 2022 Trust Golf Women’s Scottish Open at Dundonald Links from July 28-31.

Her announcment swells the ranks as fellow major champions Minjee Lee, Jennifer Kupcho and winner of the 2022 KPMG PGA Championship In Gee Chun are all set to tee up in Ayrshire.

Joining Ko in the 144-women field, the event’s strongest field to date, are former World No.1s Lydia Ko, Inbee Park and Ariya Jutanugarn.

Ko began this season with a history-making victory at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in February, which saw her set the LPGA Tour’s all-time record for most consecutive rounds in the 60s (15) and most consecutive sub-par rounds (30). She also claimed four top five finishes this season including tied fourth in the US Women’s Open earlier this month.

“I haven’t been back to Scotland since I first played in this event in 2018 so I am really excited to return in the summer,” Ko said. “Even though links golf is tough, I really like to experience the different conditions that we don’t get in Korea or anywhere else in the world. I haven’t travelled much outside of Asia or America over the last few years, so I am looking forward to enjoying some Scottish food and beautiful scenery while I am there and also seeing how the event has evolved since I was last there four years ago.”

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Volunteers required for Omega Dubai Ladies Classic

Golf Digest Middle East — Sun, 15 Oct 2017 07:11:20 +0000

Last year’s volunteers pose with four-time champion Shanshan Feng. The Chinese star won’t be back to defend in 2017 but there is still a quality field assembled.

Fancy the best seat in the house to watch the stellar field assembled for the 12th edition of the rebranded Omega Dubai Ladies Classic? Here’s your chance.

Tournament organisers Golf in Dubai are calling for volunteers to ensure the smooth running of the $500,000 Ladies European Tour season-ender from Dec. 6-9. Around 150 golf followers will be required to act as marshals, scorers, TV production assistants, scoreboard carriers and carry out other behind-the-scenes duties.

“We spend a great deal of time and energy in making sure we have the best players available for the event. The role of the volunteers is crucial in continuing to showcase Dubai as the ‘city of golf’, as we strive to make it the most successful tournament on the Ladies European Tour,” said Tournament Director David Spencer.

“None of this would be possible without the assistance of the volunteers, and we are calling on the UAE golfing community as well as international supporters as a whole to play their part in ensuring we put our best foot forward as a country.”

Knowledge of golf and its etiquette is essential for volunteers who will be deployed in a variety of key positions under the expert guidance of a highly experienced marshal management team.

“We will be delighted to welcome back experienced marshals and volunteers, but encourage newcomers to participate as well,” said Spencer.

If you wish to volunteer, visit www.dubailadiesclassic.com for online registration. Preference will be given to those volunteers who can commit to two or more days.

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Paige Spiranac welcomed back to Dubai Ladies Masters but unlikely to be put through “trauma” of actually playing LET event

Kent Gray — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 14:33:19 +0000

Golf’s social media queen could also be invited to be an official starter for the men at January’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

By Kent Gray
Organisers hope Paige Spiranac will again lend her social media celebrity to December’s Omega Dubai Ladies Masters but admit “we may not put her through the trauma of playing” the season-ending Ladies European Tour [LET] event.

Tournament Director David Spencer has revealed the 24-year-old American is likely to be offered an ambassadorial role at the €515,000 tournament from December 6-9 after emotionally missing the cut at the LET event the past two seasons.

Spencer is also hopeful the aspiring professional golfer will consider returning to act as the official starter for the men at the European Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic, also at Emirates Golf Club, in late January.

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Asked if Spiranac would again be invited to the Ladies Masters, Spencer told Golf Digest Middle East: “Maybe, but we may not put her through the trauma of [actually] playing.“

“We’re hoping to bring her to the ladies and the men’s [Desert Classic] and we’re actually considering asking her to be the starter at the men’s event, the official starter.”

Spiranac made her professional debut, and created a global media storm, at the 2015 Dubai Ladies Masters courtesy of a controversial sponsors’ invite.

When the Instagram superstar returned to Dubai last December, she tearfully admitted to an on-going struggle with depression and anxiety due to cyber bullying in the wake of her rounds of 77-79 the previous year.

She had toyed with quitting the game after “the hardest experience of my life” but felt compelled to fight on and speak out given concerning teen suicide rates. “Hopefully I can save someone’s life, I think that’s so much more important than if I make the cut or miss the cut,” she said at the time.

Video: Paige Spiranac’s Top 3 short game tips

Sadly, Spiranac continued to be targeted by faceless online trolls after carding rounds of 77 and 80 on the Majlis layout to finish 13 over par, nine shots shy of the cut which fell at +4, last year.

Spencer took plenty of heat when he first invited Spiranac to Dubai and expects fall-out from the lastest decision. But he remains unapologetic, insisting Spiranac had significantly raised the profile of the Dubai Ladies Masters and would continue to do so in an ambassadorial role.

“We took a lot of criticism for that [the 2015 sponsors’ invite] too but we are happy to stand by what we’ve been criticised for,” said Spencer, who also serves as a strategic adviser to Falcon Golf who now run both the Ladies Masters and Desert Classic.

“In my life I’ve been lucky enough to be in golf situations and see which golfers light up a room when they walk into it and I include in that [list] Seve, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman and Tiger, of course.

“But the one I’d add to that is Paige, in that she has great presence, she’s an interesting character, she’s got lots of interesting [charity] causes. Apart from being physically beautiful, which she obviously is, she’s got a heart of gold and that comes across in corporate situations.“

David Cannon/Getty Images Spiranac during the second round of the 2015 Omega Dubai Ladies Masters.

Spencer admitted sponsors were initially reluctant for the tournament to be associated with Spiranac who profits from 1.2m followers on Instagram, and more than 235,000 and 162,000 followers on Facebook and Twitter respectively. But he said corporate backers had done a “complete 180 degree turn” and now, “I mean, they just love her.”

“We think what may be happening is that people think this social media [strategy] is a sexist thing but I was so heartened at that public clinic [involving Spiranac] last year when we had all the young golfers there [watching],” Spencer said.

“There is obviously a connection to golf via social media and we’ve got to be competitive with other sports [and in the entertainment space]. It’s not easy to get sponsorship, whatever sport you have.”

Whatever transpires with Spiranac, four-time defending champion Shanshan Feng won’t return to defend her title due to a prior engagement back in China.

“Shanshan has requested a leave pass and [joked] it will give someone else a chance to win,’ Spencer said. “She said ‘I’ll win it again in 2018’.”

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