By Kent Gray
Former British and Irish Lions rugby representative Mike Phillips has lent his celebrity, and golfing skills, to the ambitious new Emirates Amateur Golf League (EAGL).

The most capped scrumhalf in Welsh rugby history with 94 caps, Phillips will lead the European Seves in the EAGL’s Mini-Series on June 20.

To be staged on the Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, the one-day event will showcase the pro-level experience the EAGL is promising when the franchise-based league proper launches in November. That includes a two-hour live broadcast, initially to social media channels.

RELATED: Three-time Asian Tour winner Shiv Kapur unveiled as EAGL ambassador

Phillips’ European Seves will face the Abu Dhabi Roars, to be captained by Abu Dhabi Golf Club owner Khalfan Al Kaabi, in their EAGL Mini-Series showdown.

“I’m excited to be part of what promises to be a fantastic event. The EAGL is going provide a huge boost for amateur golf in the region,” said Phillips, now 38.

Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images
Phillips playing for Scarlets during a Guinness Pro14 match against the Cheetahs in Bloemfontein, South Africa in 2017.

EAGL Tournament Director Nick Tarratt has explained the format for Fire which will include 9-hole matches.

“The EAGL Mini-Series has eight four-player teams whereas the EAGL tournament proper will have eight 12-player teams, so it’s a more condensed version,” Tarratt said

“The unique match play format is player versus player with matches within each four-ball over nine holes and the winner earning two points.

“If the match is won prior to the ninth green, there will be a ‘Press match’ [option] and if the loser wins the Press, one point is claimed back with a net one point to the original winner. If the winner also wins the Press they can win no more than two points and a halved match over nine holes sees one point to awarded to each team.

“This will encourage all matches to go to the final green and encourage a tournament buzz around the last hole.”

In addition to a gala dinner and prize-giving, the evening programme on June 20 will also feature a special UAE Golf Industry Forum which will bring together some of the game’s leading decision-makers to discuss the current state of the game in the UAE. Dubai Golf CEO Chris May (who doubles as captain of the Dubai Tigers), Troon International President Mark Chapleski, Falcon & Associates Executive Tournament Director Simon Corkill, Abu Dhabi Golf Club owner Khalfan Al Kaabi and Tarratt are among the confirmed participants.

The EAGL kits were unveiled at Tuesday’s official media briefing.

EAGL Mini-Series 2021

Abu Dhabi Roars
Sponsor: Abu Dhabi Golf Club
Captain: Khalfan Al Kaabi

[divider] [/divider]

Dubai Tigers 
Sponsor: Dubai Sports Council
Captain: Chris May

[divider] [/divider]

English Roses
Sponsor: Gulf News
Captain: Mark Rix

[divider] [/divider]

Mena Golfers
Sponsor: Worldwide Golf
Captain: Rick Bevan*

[divider] [/divider]

Indian Lions
Sponsor: Khaleej Times
Captain: Rajeev Khanna*

[divider] [/divider]

Emirates Players
Sponsor: Emirates Golf Federation
Captain” Ismail Sharif* and Khalid Yousuf**

[divider] [/divider]

Asian Jumbos
Sponsor: ARN
Captain: Robbie Greenfield

[divider] [/divider]

European Seves
Sponsor: Dubai Sports TV
Captain: Mike Phillips

* Denotes non-playing captain, ** Denotes playing captain

[divider] [/divider]

EAGL Mini-Series draw – June 20
Indian Lions v Emirates Players
Dubai Tigers v English Roses
MENA Golfers v Asian Jumbos
European Seves v Abu Dhabi Roars

The post Former Wales scrumhalf Mike Phillips a big hit for EAGL’s Mini-Series showcase appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
The Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) amateurs are on the cusp of yet more Dubai Golf Trophy glory- and this time with a feel-good silver lining.

Following an afternoon of near utter dominance on the Faldo course at Emirates Golf Club, the EGF team will take a formidable 11-5 lead over the UAE PGA Tour pros into Sunday’s singles at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

The Mike Bolt-captained UAE PGA pros will need something special on Earth to reverse the six-point deficit in today’s 16-singles showdowns if they are to avoid a sixth successive loss in the Ryder Cup-style matches administered by Dubai Golf.

It will be no mean feat given the EGF players are also determined to seal Ahmed Skaik’s place in folklore as the event’s first Emirati – and winning – captain.

Things started well enough for the desperate pros as Saturday’s morning foursomes were shared 4-4 despite a mammoth 8&7 socking for Dong Lee and Jonathan Craddock at the hands of amateur talisman Josh Hill and Jay Mullane.

But it went horribly pear-shaped in the afternoon fourballs on the Faldo as the EGF amateurs won 7-1. Only Luke Plumb and Louis Gaughan saved the pros from an embarrassing whitewash courtesy of their 3&2 win over Max Burrow and Arjun Gupta. At the top of the order, their was another lesson for Lee and Craddock who were beaten 5&3 by Hill and Mullane.

Lee and Craddock will be happy to see the back of Hill and Mullane with veteran Dubai Trophy player Malcolm Young handed the task of taking on Hill in the singles while Mullane will face Pro Sports’ Graham Forbes.

HISTORY-MAKERS: Hyeonji Kang, Natalii Gupta, Anneke Strobach and Olivia Jackson.

It was also a tough day for the UAE Pro women who are playing the Dubai Trophy for the first time – this year in an exhibition match ahead of being incorporated into the event proper in 2022.

Olivia Jackson and Anneke Strobach were edged 1up by Hyeonji Kang and Natalii Gupta in the morning foursomes and then beaten comprehensively, 5&4, in the fourballs.

Jackson will play Gupta and Strobach will meet Kang on Sunday knowing they need to both win their singles encounters to level the exhibition.

But the focus will be on how Bolt’s pros responded to being cornered on Earth.

The post What on Earth can the UAE pros do to prevent a EGF amateur six-peat? appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
A desire to showcase the Fire course at Jumeriah Golf Estates to a global audience by transitioning the European Tour’s Race to Dubai decider across from the club’s more famed sister course never advanced beyond the now historical planning stage. But Fire is finally set to move out of Earth’s shadow with the 32nd Eisenhower Trophy (men) and 31st Espirito Santo Trophy (women) to be staged on the desert links in 2023. After an unsuccessful bid in 2008, the Emirates Golf Federation, in concert with Dubai Golf and Falcon and Associates, won hosting rights at the International Golf Federation’s biennial meeting in Lausanne last month, edging the Singapore Golf Association in a close vote. It will be the first time the World Amateur Teams Championships will be held in the Middle East.

“We are very proud to welcome the best amateurs from around the world to the UAE to play on the Greg Norman-designed Fire course at JGE,” said Chris May, CEO of Dubai Golf which manages JGE, Emirates Golf Club and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club. “The EGF should be commended for their commitment to the sport. This gives all young aspiring golfers from the UAE and the GCC region something to focus on and work towards. It’s an amazing opportunity to help take amateur golf to the next level in this region.”

The post QUICKSHOT: Jumeirah Golf Estates appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

With a 64 that underscored the quality January’s Desert Swing events in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Saudi Arabian will be poorer for missing out on, McIlroy is just a stroke off Mike Lorenzo-Vera’s pacesetting 63 at the 11th DP World Tour Championship.

The highlight was a closing eagle on the 18th at Earth with a flushed three wood from 291 yards to five feet. Earth’s closing par 5 has seen its share of stunning shots over the years – Henrik Stenson’s tap-in eagle to clinch the 2013 DPWTC-Race to Dubai double chief among them – but this might just have eclipsed them all. 

The 30-year-old rated it as “possibly” his best shot of the year and agrees he has never been more comfortable on the course in a season highlighted by his $15 million FedEx Cup triumph and WGC HSBC Champions win in his last start.

“I’m looking forward to seeing it on TV later to be fair,” McIlroy said of his European Tour shot-of-the-year contender.

World class @McIlroyRory!#DPWTC #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/N0RL22CsCY

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) November 21, 2019

“Yeah, honestly it’s possibly the best shot I’ve hit all year. I had 270 — equivalent 272 to the front, 291 to the pin, sort of back in off the left. Wind was off the left so it was a nice one for me to just aim straight at the pin and know if I hit my little draw it should hold but if it gets going on the wind, obviously the bunker on the right is better than the water on the left. I just flushed it.

“…It was right on the limit but as soon as I hit it, I knew it was perfect. It was right out of the middle. Great to finish like that, and yeah, it was a great round of golf.”

Indeed.

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
McIlroy plays his celebrated second shot into 18 late in Thursday’s opening round.

It was a treat for the galleries and sets McIlroy up to emulate his 2013 and 2015 wins here. A recent teat from wife Erica clearly has the world No.2 in the mood for more silverware.

“We had just moved into our new house a couple of months ago but we still had not moved everything in, and the trophy cabinet had not been built. Got back from [winning in] China, walked into our sort of games room and up on the wall were all the trophies and stuff.

“All that stuff had been in storage for a year and a half, so the first time I had seen the Claret Jug and U.S. Open trophy and all that sort of stuff. It’s cool but it’s also a great motivator to think, you know, I’m still pretty early in my career and I’ve done quite a lot but I still want to do so much more.”

Clearly the work he’s put in with coach Michael Bannon gives McIlroy a great chance of another Dubai trophy heist. While Thursday’s dramatic finish captured the most attention, McIlroy’s barrel straight driving and putting, especially in the early part of the opening round, were sights to behold.

Your comfort level playing golf right now, is it as high as it’s ever been? 

“It is. I’m hitting the ball where I’m looking…I feel like my swing is in as good a spot as it’s been in a long time. Michael Bannon and I have worked hard on that. It sort of went off,  started going off in the middle of 2016, going into ‘17, and the injury and even last year it wasn’t quite where we wanted it to be, but somehow this year we’ve got it back to where we like it, and it’s very repeatable. 

“Yeah, so I guess it’s as good as I’ve of swung it, I feel, and then factor in the greens and short game and everything, I feel like the whole package is working pretty well.”

Just as important for McIlroy was the patience he displayed after a bogey on the 12th threatened to derail the good work of a five-birdie outward nine played in just 31 strokes.

Rory’s 10th career round of 66 or lower at the #DPWTC #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/JL6ZtdBeSd

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) November 21, 2019

“Yeah, my patience was rewarded. Bogeyed 12. Made a great up-and-down on 13 for par and nearly made a mess of 14 and made par there. I think, you know, maybe in the past going to the 15th tee, I would have been trying to push it a little bit. I just sort of stayed patient. I hit a good drive up 15,” McIlroy said.

“There’s a lot of golf left in this tournament and [I’m] not trying to push it too much. It’s funny, sort of counterintuitive, the less you try push it, it seems like the lower the scores are.”

You wouldn’t want to miss the exhibition.

The post McIlroy: “I feel like the whole package is working pretty well” appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

A third round 65 – which he described as “close to a flawless round as I’m going to play” – has the 23-year-old Spaniard in a bullish mood just a shot off Justin Rose’s -15 lead heading into Sunday’s thrilling Race to Dubai finale.

“You know, if I can keep doing what I’ve been doing all week, which is hit it really well off the tee, I think the rest will take care of itself,” Rahm said.

Rahm 65 wasn’t actually flawless – he bogeyed the 1st and par the par 5 second – but there was a clue to how he was playing with the very first swipe of his TaylorMade driver, not to mention the eight birdies flowed from the 3rd.

“No. 1, I had it a perfect driver; it just went in the bunker. Went a little too far. But besides that, my lag putting wasn’t there but the rest was absolutely flawless. My iron shots were great. I was precise. Short game was good. Overall, you know, really, really solid round.

“If this doesn’t build momentum, I don’t know what’s going to. My last 27 holes, I’m 13-under par. Take into account the back nine yesterday and the round today. I’m feeling good. The game is feeling good. Hopefully I can keep doing the same thing tomorrow.”

Rahmbo was only just warming up, too.

“Man, what words, I mean, I’m kind of a perfectionist. I always find flaws. But to be honest, it was as close to a flawless round I’m going to play. You know, you’re always going to miss shots, so we take that into account. I played really, really solid golf today.”

Playing partner Justin Rose, who matched Rahm’s 65 but could do without the Spanish tyro playing so well Sunday given the Race to Dubai permutations, was certainly impressed.

“Jon started 5, 5 today so his 65 was unbelievable. But he never gave up. He stayed calm and made a lot of birdies obviously. He was pressing pretty hard to stay in touch with me. He said, it would be great to play with you in the final group tomorrow; kiss of death on 18 [Rahm will play with Dean Burmester in the penultimate pairing at 11.55am].

“But anyway, we had a great time out there. He’s playing great golf. I think everybody played great golf today. I saw Tommy’s name creep up on the board. It’s brilliant. It’s just so much fun and a ton of guys tomorrow. It’s really condensed. One-shot lead with a pack like that behind you doesn’t mean much. It’s just going to be whoever comes out tomorrow and really plays well.”

Rahm clearly fed off Rose as well.

“He [Rose] had a great start birdieing the first hole, the third hole and you obviously feed from that. It helps. When you see someone playing good, I feel like that positive energy can translate to you if you want it to. I kind of let it happen and got on a little bit of a roll myself. Seemed like we were trading birdies. It was just back and forth. It was a really fun round.”

So what would it mean to seal you’re Rookie-of-the-Year season in style with a second Rolex event title to go with the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open win in July?

“For many reasons it would be absolutely amazing just because the fact that being Rookie-of-the-Year, winning twice on The European Tour; once was already a dream but twice I’ve won and both of them being Rolex Series and one being DP World Tour Championship, it would be something really, really special.

“It would be the cherry on top of the icing of a great, great year.”

The post With his driver on fire on Earth, Rahmbo eyes the “cherry on top of a great, great year” appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.