Tom Phillips, a former CEO of the Faldo Series and CEO of the Hong Kong Golf Association, will take the reins at the European Tour’s Dubai office at Jumeirah Golf Estates on July 1. He replaces Tarratt whose long-running tenure ended earlier this year.

The 45-year-old Englishman will be responsible for the development of the European Tour’s tournament programme throughout the Middle East region, a portfolio of six events including the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at JGE.

Phillips brings 25 years’ experience in the golf and leisure industries, including 14 years in Asia, to the role. He has a BA Honours degree in media and communications and spent nearly 15 years working for Sir Nick Faldo as CEO of the Faldo Series.

As the Faldo Series expanded into Asia – it grew from seven annual events in the UK to 40 tournaments across 30 countries worldwide for more than 7,000 juniors annually – Phillips relocated to Hong Kong in 2005 where he also took up the role of Director of Faldo Design. Phillips then joined the Hong Kong Golf Association as CEO in 2013, working closely with the European Tour and Asian Tour on the Hong Kong Open, as well as overseeing a new commercial direction for Hong Kong golf’s governing body. 

Since 2016 he has been consulting for Mission Hills in China – the world’s largest golf facility with 22 courses – helping shape the organisation’s international ‘golf and more’ strategy which includes recently-announced partnerships with FC Barcelona, the NBA and the PGA of America.

“Having worked closely with the European Tour since 1999, I am excited to join the team and continue the excellent progress that has been made by the Tour and its key stakeholders in the Middle East for more than three decades,” said Phillips.

“The European Tour group has seven events in the Middle East in 2019, as well as the biggest first prize in tournament golf for the winner of this year’s DP World Tour Championship and some of the Tour’s most committed partners, all of which reflects the Middle East’s importance to world golf and the future of our sport.”

Keith Waters, the European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer, added: “The Middle East is a very important region for the European Tour and Tom will add a wealth of experience in international golf strategy and business development to our operation.

“We look forward to working with Tom to build on the strong relationships we have formed in the Middle East over the past 30 years.”

In 2019, there are six tournaments in the Middle East on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, along with the innovative Jordan Mixed Open, held in April, which combined players from the Challenge Tour, Staysure Tour and the Ladies European Tour.

The post Former Hong Kong Golf Association chief appointed to helm European Tour’s Dubai division appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
James Williams is a stress-free interview. Simply press record, sit back and enjoy a captivating journey through a lifetime in golf as colourful as that famed tan, one that strangely never acquainted itself with his legs. It seems there is a reason seasoned golf professionals wear trousers and if you ask nicely, Emirates Golf Club’s newest “old” pro will likely hitch said slacks to keep a running joke rolling. Self-deprecation is one of the Shropshire product’s endearing trademarks.

But we digress. Back to an interview where probing lines of enquiry, beyond the initial conversation starter, are rarely required.

So, how did you get into golf?

“My golfing life started…actually, I was a much keener cricketer to the extent that I did play a lot of county cricket and got selected for England training. Didn’t get on the team, but that was my true love. Left-handed cricketer, totally right-handed person.”

Williams is a totally natural storyteller too, and clearly just warming to his task as the next 112, almost pauseless minutes prove.

It transpires his introduction to golf came through his father, a bank manager who took up the game later in life. Williams’ Snr saw a neighbour throwing out an old set of clubs one day and seized on an opportunity for young James.

“It was a rusty old pencil bag with about eight clubs in there. Believe it or not they were hickories. We cut them down and of course I gripped it cack-handed because they’re right-handed clubs. I probably would have been world No.1 if I didn’t remain left-handed,” Williams says with a hearty dollop of English jocularity.

He may never have become a world-beater but the then Shrewsbury G.C. member was good enough to get down to a one-handicap and play county golf. And in some illustrious company too.   

“I come from a county that at that time had five courses so we had to join forces with a neighbouring county. We played in the Midlands league… [European Tour Dubai chief] Nick Tarratt probably played against me years ago, we didn’t know each other then. [Golf in Dubai President and former R&A chief] Peter Dawson actually played for Warwickshire. They’ve got like 20, 30, 50 golf courses, we had five, got thrashed every time.

“The incredible thing was, we had as our No.1 and No.2, AWB [Alexander Walter Barr or “Sandy”] Lyle and Ian Woosnam. So the other 10 of us turned up and lost most times and those two played together in the foursomes and always won.”

Williams eventually fell into a PGA traineeship and deeply in love with teaching. After cutting his teeth in the UK, foreign adventures beckoned and he soon found himself mixing with 4-Star Generals at Woodlawn G.C., a course within the Ramstein Air Base in southwest Germany which remains today the U.S. Air Force’s European HQ and home to the NATO Allied Air Command.

It was an enlightening life and golf experience but the icy German winters eventually wore thin so Williams applied for a role at a club soon to open in the UAE. It was 1987 and his military pals were worried.

“No one had heard of the UAE but I speculated and put in an application.” Williams sat back and waited for a response. And waited. Six months later he’d almost given up but decided a call to Emirates Golf Club was in order, if only to politely register his disappointment at the lack of a courtesy call to say he’d missed out.

An apologetic Rodney J. Bogg, Emirates G.C.’s first general manager, answered and had a surprise, inviting Williams out for a trial along with two other hopefuls.

“I stayed for a week – gobsmacked! Horrible word, but just gobsmacked by the whole place. I remember walking on the driving range. I’ve been to many golf courses by this time but I was tip-toeing across the grass. I have never seen anything so level, every blade of grass vertical to the ground like a brand new scrubbing brush. ‘Well hit a few shots, guys.’ You know I’m a big ball and turf guy which golfers should be if they are going to strike the ball. But I didn’t dare take a divot, I was just clipping it off the top, didn’t want to be the guy digging up their new range.”

Williams became part of the furniture at Emirates G.C. for the next decade as Dubai grew up around its pioneering grass golf course. The next chapter in his career spans 20 years at Jebel Ali where, as golf operations manager, Williams was the perpetually smiling face of the resort course. Recently though, the grin started to fade as he did a stocktake of his career and realised he was no longer in the customer-facing roles he loved. A hankering to get back to those happy old teaching days become impossible to ignore and thankfully Emirates G.C. were receptive to a home-coming.

“I was the first pro to get here, and sadly now I’m the oldest pro,” Williams jokes of being back on the tools as part of Dubai Golf’s Peter Cowan Academy Dubai team.

“It is fabulous fun. I’ve got to rebuild my clientele but a lot of the original members have already come back. It never goes fast enough for me because I want to show that it’s worth Emirates having me back but it’s been very encouraging so far. I hope it’s been for the club. I couldn’t be happier.”

Mustufa Abidi/Motivate Publishing
James Williams and son Robbie are now working side-by-side at Emirates G.C. where Robbie is part of the Golf in Dubai team delivering the Omega Dubai Classics and MENA Tour.

The role means Williams now has the joy of working even closer to his 25-year-old son Robbie who is part of the Golf in Dubai team behind the Omega Dubai Desert and Ladies Classics and increasingly the face of the MENA Tour. Like his father, Williams Jnr’s first love wasn’t golf either, rather football. He was good enough to play for England Schoolboys and sign junior papers with Wolverhampton Wanderers but also cunning enough to see a good opportunity when the father of Emirati golf, Mohamed Juma Buamaim, offered him an internship.

“As a Dad, to see him growing and getting all this experience, yeah, I’m very proud. I will say that there is no one prouder than me seeing him on television doing the Desert Classic presentation. I’d be shaking like a leaf and apparently he was but he doesn’t stumble over his speeches like me.“

James Williams is equally proud of his daughter Anna-Louise, a physiotherapist in London, and grateful to his understanding wife Heather for allowing him to pursue a career where weekends and family time are a precious commodity. “She’s been very patient with her husband. You’d better get that in writing before she divorces me!”

Conversation reverts back to his beloved cricket but this time with a golf spin, not unlike the leg-breaks he used to “turn a yard”, at least the ones that bounced anyway. His childhood hero was the elegant left-handed West Indian batsman Sir Garfield Sobers so imagine the thrill when, during his initial stint at Emirates G.C., Bogg asked him to look after the visiting cricketing knight one day.

“He was just the greatest guy to talk to. When your hero turns out to be as nice as that, it’s one of the biggest things that has happened to me out here. Perhaps in our own countries we would never meet all these famous people. Is it a big deal? To me it has been. To actually see these people and find out they are normal like us has been a thrill.”

Williams played in the first three Desert Classics but his biggest playing kick came before the inaugural event in 1989 when he was asked to guide another idol, Tony Jacklin, in a reconnaissance lap of the Majlis course. The 67 he shot in the company of the Ryder Cup legend is a treasured memory and made all the practice beforehand, and some predictably nervy play in the tournaments proper afterwards, worth it.

“We were working 14 hours a day preparing everything for the first Desert Classic so I’ve hardly played and I’m going to look stupid in front of the members. All of a sudden I’m feeling a lot of pressure. So three weeks before I fished my clubs out. I would finish giving lessons at 10 o’clock at night, quickly run home, have a shower, half an hours kip, and then put the range lights on and belt balls all night long, over and over and over again until I actually had an awful cut down here [pointing to his left palm] because of a poor grip and soft hands. I don’t think we paid for the electricity in those days but I’ve paid with a scar for life.”

Williams would love to play more often and has a goal of teeing it up in the Sharjah Senior Masters if he can get his game, and his now 59-year-old body, to co-operate. But it’s teaching that really inspires him.

“I don’t think I’m really somebody, maybe not good enough, to be at the sharp end teaching top professionals but that was never been my goal. I actually don’t think you get as much satisfaction as seeing someone that’s come along, dead keen, they finally get the ball up in the air, they’re running around jumping in the air, like whoopee!

“I’m sure some people here think I’m a bit of a pain in the arse, but for people to say its really nice to have you back, and there’s been too many saying that for it not to be half true, it’s humbling. I think maybe they just like my enthusiasm, that I care. It is lovely to be back.”

The feeling from friends old and new at Emirates G.C. is mutual. For lessons, and yarns, delivered with genuine enthusiasm, the club couldn’t have hired anyone better.

The post James Williams is back on the tools at Emirates G.C. delivering lessons – and legendary tales – with unbridled joy appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Golf Digest Middle East has learned Jordan’s new Ayla Golf Club is poised to host a mixed gender, full-field strokeplay tournament in 2019 pitting Ladies European Tour (LET) players against men at opposite ends of the pro spectrum – the Challenge Tour and Staysure Tour (formerly European Senior Tour).

Full details are to be confirmed “shortly” but it is understood 40 players from each of the LET, Staysure and Challenge Tour circuits will tee it up in pursuit of a single title and a share of the same purse. The kicker is that the women, seniors and Challenge Tour players will play from separate tees at the Greg Norman-designed layout in Aqaba – a tricky calculation for organisers attempting to equalise the anticipated distance advantages of the younger men.

Related: ‘Kingdom Come’ – We review Ayla Golf Club

The European Tour’s Dubai bureau chief Nick Tarratt confirmed the Jordan event during a media conference Monday to unveil the Challenge Tour’s new season-long ‘Road to Ras Al Khaimah”, culminating in the elevated Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final.

Tarratt confirmed the Al Hamra G.C. event was the first of a number of Middle East “initiatives” in the pipeline before alluding to on-going talks for events in Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait.

“We are in discussions with a number of countries, venues and tourism authorities in the Middle East region about future European Tour initiatives. Some discussions are quick, others will have a slower burn [time],” Tarratt said.

“In addition to the recently launched Saudi Arabia European Tour event at the end of January 2019 at King Abdullah Economic City, abutting onto the Desert Swing of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, we are in conversations with partners in Jordan about hosting a ‘first of its kind’ mixed professional tournament, involving representation from the LET, Challenge Tour and Staysure Tour that we hope to sign and make announcements shortly for a 2019 tournament.“

The par 5 17th at Ayla G.C. in Aqaba, Jordan.

Events where men and women play separate events simultaneously are not new. The LET and the PGA Tour of Australasia co-hosted the Oates Vic Open in February while the Trophee Hassan II and Lalla Meryem Cup are European Tour and LET events respectively again set to be played side-by-side in Rabat, Morocco next week.

Women have also teed it up in PGA Tour events previously, led by the legendary Babe Zaharias who blazed a trail at the 1938 Los Angeles Open – six years after winning two track and field gold medals at the 1932 LA Olympic Games. Annika Sorenstam, Suzy Whaley and Michelle Wie have followed suit since while Dame Laura Davies is set to play in the Staysure Tour’s Shipco Masters in Denmark from June 1-3.

But the proposed Jordan event is believed to be the first time a full field of men and women have played for the same title and prize-money in an event that doesn’t fall into the exhibition, made-for-TV or silly-season space.

If confirmed, it will continue a period of innovation under the watch of European Tour supremo Keith Pelley.  It started with the World Super 6 Perth two years ago, a strokeplay event which morphs into a final day of matchplay knockout matches. Then came the €1 million GolfSixes in England, an event played by two-man teams in a greensomes format; an additional four wildcard teams, including women will compete in the second edition at Centurion Club north of London next month.

Related: GolfSixes event expanding in Year 2 to include wildcard pairings, women’s teams

Later in May, Ryder Cupper Thomas Pieters will host the new Belgian Knockout where the opening 36 holes will follow a familiar strokeplay format before the leading 64 players then go head-to-head in knockout strokeplay matches contested over nine holes on the weekend to determine the winner. Thereafter follows the Shot Clock Masters in Austria in June, the first tournament in professional golf to use a shot clock on every shot as part of the European Tour’s bid to combat slow play.

Denmark won the inaugural GolfSixes. Getty Images.

Each player in the 120-man field will have 50 seconds for the first player in a group to play any given shot, 40 seconds for subsequent players. Players will incur a one-shot penalty for each bad time incurred and these will be shown as a red card against their name on the leaderboard. Each player will have the right to call two ‘time-outs’ during a round which will permit them twice the usually allotted time to play the shot.

Where ever the new formats lead, Tarratt is confident the Middle East will remain a hotbed of the global game ahead of the 30th anniversary of the pioneering Desert Classic next January.

“The Middle East has always been a key part of the world for the European Tour and in the future it seems it will be even more important,” he said. “The region is very much getting stronger. The model of play…with tourism authorities, the golf facilities, the hospitality, it is a winning model that we hope to expand further in this region.”

So more events are potentially on the horizon?

“Yes certainly. We have the window of October to March-April – where else in the world would they like to play? I did a list of players who had come to Jumeirah Golf Estates [to practice at the European Tour Performance Institute] only since the end of November up until now…101 European Tour players have come to JGE and Dubai so they come by choice. It is the destination of choice.”

Ayla has already hosted a MENA Tour event but the proposed tournament would boost global exposure greatly.

The post Battle of the Sexes: Jordan event set to pit LET women against Challenge Tour men and European Seniors stars appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The 26-year-old Frenchman, who trains out of the European Tour Performance Institute [EPTI] at JGE, got up and down on the 72nd hole at The Dutch for a closing 69 Sunday to claim his maiden European Tour title by a stroke from Canadian Austin Connelly.

Wattel, who had recorded 25 top-ten finishes in his previous 186 events without tasting victory, joins fellow Dubai-residents Alvaro Quiros (Rocco Forte Open in May), Rafa Cabrera Bello (July’s Scottish Open) and Adrian Otaegui (Paul Lawrie Match Play last month) as winners this season.

“I have been in contention before and while I had not won before I knew what I had to do,” said Wattel who had not finished better than 24th in any of his previous 20 events this season.

“I knew what I had to expect and thankfully this time it was my week. It feels amazing to win for the first time…I am so happy right now.”

Getty Images
Wattel, who trains at Dubai’s ETPI, banked €300,000 after claiming his maiden European Tour win.

The win saw Wattel go from season earnings of €183,348 to €483,348 in an instant and leap frog from 130th in the Race to Dubai standings to 55th.

It leaves him in prime position to earn one of 60 spots in the European Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship at his home JGE from November 16-19.

“With the Ryder Cup being played in France next year, it would be fantastic to see a Frenchman make it in to the European team,” Nick Tarratt, the Director of the European Tour International Dubai office, also noted.

“We wish Romain all the best in his quest to qualify for the season finale in November and for The Ryder Cup next year.”

Wattel started the final round in Spijk a shot adrift of Thai Kiradech Aphibarnrat but birdied three of his first six holes to snare the lead.

He stayed in control until the wobble on the last when he missed the green with his approach but a delightful up-and-down got the job done.

Connelly’s runner-up finish at the KLM Open earned him a healthy tally of 200,000 points. He now leapfrogs from 123rd to 71st place in the Race to Dubai rankings and on the cusp of qualifying for the DP World Tour Championship.

Meanwhile George Coetzee and Eddie Pepperell picked up a much-needed 73,500 points each as they finished tied for third place with Wattel’s fellow Dubai resident Sebastian Heisele plus Lee Westwood, Justin Walters and Joel Salter to put themselves in a better position to break in to the top 60 in the Race to Dubai Rankings.

Coetzee moves to 64th while Pepperell is in 75th spot. Westwood, improved his rankings position one place from 26th to 25th, Heisel moves from 162nd to 131st, Walters from 146th to 122nd and Salter from 157th to 129th.

There was also movement on top of the Race to Dubai as Bernd Wiesberger’s top ten finish in the Netherlands saw him surpass Rory McIlroy for ninth spot in the rankings.

The post JGE celebrate as Dubai-resident Wattel wins KLM Open at The Dutch appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Emirates Airline has become an official partner of next year’s 48th Ryder Cup as part of a four-year renewal of its existing European Tour sponsorship.

“Emirates partnering The 2018 Ryder Cup [Le Golf National] in Paris is huge news for the region,” said Nick Tarratt, Director of the European Tour’s Dubai office.

“A wonderful local story that will be heard around the world and have a global impact. They last sponsored the Ryder Cup in 2010 at Celtic Manor and it is significant that they are back on board for next year’s event. “

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline said: “We’re pleased to announce our continued partnership with the European Tour. Golf is one of the world’s most popular sports and Emirates proudly links golfers and fans alike to top golfing events and destinations around the globe.

“As the Official Partner of The 2018 Ryder Cup in France next year, we look forward to further strengthening our relationship with the European Tour as well as engaging with millions of golf fans around the world.’’

Emirates currently supports 19 events on the European Tour as well as the over-arching and season-long Race to Dubai which culminates with the DP World Tour Championship from November 16-19 at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai. The agreement extension runs to 2021.

RELATED: Register for free DP World Tour Championship tickets

Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, fresh from winning the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship, is the defending Race to Dubai champion.

The post Emirates gives the Ryder Cup wings appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

While Football’s 2022 FIFA World Cup is the headline event under a cloud following Monday’s decision by the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt to sever ties with the Gulf state citing alleged terrorism concerns, the 2018 Qatar Masters is a more pressuring sporting concern.

The suddenness and severity of the actions taken by Qatar’s three Arabian Gulf neighbours and Egypt came as a surprise to many in the region, let alone to the European Tour presumably.

However, with 47 tournaments in 26 countries, security is an on-going challenge for the Tour and has only been heightened by three recent terrorist attacks in London and Manchester.

A European Tour spokesman told GolfDigestME.com it would continue to monitor the fluid developments in what has been described as the worst diplomatic crisis to hit Gulf Arab states in decades. Yemen and the Maldives also cut ties with Doha which has rejected the accusations, calling them “unjustified” and “baseless”.

“The European Tour constantly monitors what is happening in all of our host countries, taking any advice from the Home Office where appropriate and we will continue to do so for all our tournaments around the world,” the spokesman said in a statement.

There was already uncertainly surrounding the $2.5 million Doha Golf Club event before Monday’s developments, with on-going sponsorship and scheduling challenges.

While the European Tour won’t release its 2017-18 schedule until October at the earliest, Golf Digest Middle East understands the Qatar Masters, traditionally the middle event of the Tour’s three tournament, early-season Desert Swing, is to be moved to a date after the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and Omega Dubai Desert Classic are played back-to-back in late-January, early February.

It all means a scheduled meeting between Nick Tarrartt, Director of the European Tour’s Dubai office, and Qatar Masters officials next week now takes on even greater importance.

But how even that meeting will be held is now up in the air with the UAE among those to close its airspace and waters to Qatar aircraft and vessels and cancel all commercial flights to and from Doha. Qatari diplomats have been given 48 hours to leave the UAE and Qatari citizens residing in the seven emirates 14 days to vacate.

South Korean 21-year-old Jeunghun Wang won the famed Pearl Trophy at Doha GC in late January when he edged Swede Joakim Lagergren and South African Jaco Van Zyl in a playoff.

Adam Scott, Ernie Els, Henrik Stenon, Retief Goosen, new European Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn, Paul Lawrie, Sergio Garcia and Branden Grace are former Qatar Masters champions.

The post European Tour to be guided by Home Office on Qatar Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.