In that time the Peter Harradine-design has twice played host to the penultimate event of the European Challenge Tour’s season, most recently in October when Swede Jens Dantorp played one of the shots of the year to edge Adrian Meronk (Poland) with an eagle in overtime to claim the Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge.

Now that the Oman Classic has been elevated to the main European Tour for 2018, there is anticipation that the RAK Challenge will become the Challenge’s Tour’s season-ender, turning the Race to Oman into the ‘Race to RAK’ and ensuring season-long exposure for the emirate and its leading club. An announcement on the new-look Challenge Tour schedule was pending as we went to print. What was set in stone was another momentous development for Al Hamra with Troon Golf, the leader in upscale golf course management, development and marketing, appointed to provide full management services to Al Hamra.

“Al Hamra is one of the central attractions in Ras Al Khaimah and the Emirates as a whole,” said Mark Chapleski, President, Troon International Division. “The property is the perfect fit for the Troon International portfolio. When you factor in the quality of Peter Harradine’s design and the Al Hamra clubhouse, along with the proximity of thousands of hotel rooms, you have the makings for a very successful and sustainable golf destination.”

No arguments there.

As well as the 7,325-yard par 72 layout, the club is the centerpiece of Al Hamra Village, a master-planned development covering an area of 77 million square feet, which includes 1.5km of pristine beaches, five resort hotels, a 222-berth marina as well as Al Hamra Mall, a two-storey retail centre offering entertainment and shopping experiences that are a lure to golfers and their non-golfing partners from around the globe.

Al Hamra Village is framed by a wide range of accommodation options, with nearly 1,000 hotel rooms. Visitors can choose from the Waldorf Astoria, an ultra-luxurious space of tranquillity and palatial surroundings; The Hilton Al Hamra Beach and Golf Resort, surrounded by landscaped gardens; or Al Hamra Residence and Village, a unique blend of local heritage and modern design nestled between the golf course and white sandy beach. The soon to be opened The Ritz-Carlton Ras Al Khaimah, Al Hamra Beach, which will offer 32 private villas each with their own pool and beach access, will cement Al Hamra G.C. as one of the region’s leading stay and play options.

Harradine’s course itself meanders around four interconnected open water lagoons, merging seamlessly with the water of the Arabian Gulf. Designed to be a challenging but playable course for golfers of all abilities, it incorporates both open water lagoons and desert landscapes. As many traditional courses do, the front nine makes its way out and away from the clubhouse and those stunning balcony views, while the homeward nine returns home around the lagoon. With five tee options on each hole, the seasoned professional or fledgeling enthusiast can golf on an equal, fun footing.

www.alhamragolf.com

The post Travel Guide 2018: Al Hamra Golf Club appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Talk about keeping it in the family. Just hours after his U.S. Open winning brother Brooks Koepka grabbed the first round lead at the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai, little bro Chase snared a share of the $350,000 Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge lead.

Chase rattled off five birdies in a four-under 68 at Al Hamra G.C. to join overnight leader Jurrian van der Vaart (France) atop the leaderboard through 36-holes of the European Challenge Tour’s penultimate stop of 2017.

“I heard about Brooks’ round in China so I just wanted to make sure I made a birdie on the last hole to make sure I’m on top of the leaderboard as well!” Chase told EuropeanTour.com 

Related: Brooks Koepka leads WGC-HSBC Champions after 64 in Shanghai

“It’s a good day to be a golfer called Koepka, but there’s not too many bad days to be a Koepka! Certainly not this year anyway.”

Making it look easy

5 birdies dropped for @ChaseKoepka today as he moved to 10 under and into the #RAKGolfChallenge lead pic.twitter.com/JoVJzpvf72

— Challenge Tour (@Challenge_Tour) October 26, 2017

Brooks’ path to his maiden major at Erin Hills in June came via the Challenge Tour with the American winning four times before graduating to the European Tour in 2013. Chase has had five top-5 finishes in this year’s Road to Oman so is guaranteed to emulate his older brother by making it to the main tour and could do it with even more style as victory in RAK would give him a shot at the Challenge Tour title at next week’s €420,000 NBO Golf Classic Grand Final at Almouj Golf in Muscat.

“I’d love to top the rankings,” the 23 year said. “I think in order to do that I’ll need to win one of these last two events so that’s my goal. It’s been a great year anyway but if I can hopefully play well this weekend, I might be able to get that first win.”

Chase came close to winning the Challenge Tour’s “major”, the Kazakhstan Open last month, only to be pipped in a playoff by current order-of-merit leader, Tapio Pulkkanen. The Finnish golfer was in a share of 41st place at Al Hamra overnight.

“I’d love to win,” Chase, sixth in the moneylist entering RAK, continued. ” I was really looking forward to possibly getting that first victory in Kazakhstan – I actually didn’t get off to the greatest of starts there but I found my way into a play-off and it just didn’t quite happen. I feel like my game has been great for a while now. I missed the cut two weeks ago but I actually felt probably the best I’ve felt all season going into that week, which was quite strange.

“Then last week I thought I played my best golf of the year and I finished 20th, that’s just the way golf works I guess. This week, nothing’s really changed, I’m still playing really good golf and now the scores are there too.”

The post “It’s a good day to be a golfer called Koepka” appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The trio emerged from the “Golden Ball” Grand Final at Al Hamra after a nationwide series involving more 500 amateurs who participated in 20 qualifying events at 18 clubs.

Im, representing Tower Links Golf Club, produced a net 67 to win the grand final by three strokes to win one of three spots in the Pro-Am on the eve of the Oct.25-28 event. Field and Chia, representing Trump International Golf Club, Dubai and Emirates Golf Club respectively, both finished with net 72s, Chia sealing the runners-up spot after a back nine countback.

This year’s Ras Al Khaimah Golf Challenge will be a family affair. Alongside the golf action, the tournamnent’s Fan Village will feature children’s activities, music, food trucks and a drinks garden, open from 4pm to 10pm each day.

For more information on hotel offers and the fan village visit: www.rasalkhaimah.ae

The post Golden trio set for RAK Golf Challenge 2017 Pro-Am appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Dubai-based Scottish teaching professional David Laing captured his maiden UAE PGA Tour title on Tuesday and couldn’t have timed the feat any better.

With a three-under 69 at Al Hamra G.C., the Address Montgomerie Dubai academy instructor scored himself a start in the European Challenge Tour’s penultimate event of 2017, the Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge from Oct. 25-28.

Related: Muscat event added to 2018 European Tour schedule as Desert Swing split in two

Laing won the dual UAE PGA Order-of-Merit (OOM) event-RAK Golf Challenge qualifier by two strokes from Jumeirah Golf Estates’ (JGE) Gavin Sutherland, Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Cennydd Mills and Mikeal Gartner (CV Sports Group) who shared second place with 71s.

Mills earned the RAK Golf Challenge spot last year and went on to finish 100th in the 105-strong field with rounds of 77-74. Englishman Jordan Smith was eventually crowned RAK champion to seal the Challenge Tour OOM title and has gone on to win his maiden European Tour title, the Porche European Open in July, to be a lock for next month’s Race to Dubai decider, the DP World Tour Championship at JGE.

Related: Jordan Smith tries his hand at ‘PaddleGolf’ ahead of 2017 RAK Golf Challenge

Laing, who hails from Craigielaw Golf Club, one of a collection of gems on Scotland’s “Golf Coast” of East Lothian, will be hoping to better Mills’ effort by making the cut at Al Hamra later this month.

Before then he has the UAE PGA Tour’s next event to look forward to, the Dubai Creek UAE PGA Pro-Am next Monday. Amateurs have until tomorrow to enter the tour’s answer to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.

Related: It’s Dubai’s answer to the Alfred Dunhill Links and you can play!

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Amateurs have just four days left to enter the UAE PGA Pro-Am, again being hosted by Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club on Monday, October 16.

Click here to play the UAE PGA Pro-Am – Entries close Oct. 12

Admittedly, you won’t get the chance to tee it up with the likes of Rory McIlroy or Tyrrell Hatton who repeated as Dunhill Links champion at the home of golf on Sunday.

RELATED: Ross Fisher fires a course record 61 on the old course at St. Andrews

But UAE PGA chief Steven Munro promises amateurs a fun afternoon at The Creek – and maybe a tip or two to help your game from the region’s leading teaching professionals.

The UAE Pro-Am is a 4-person team strokeplay event where the best two scores count on each hole. Amateurs compete with full course handicap allowance (Maximum course handicap 28).

“The Creek always put on an excellent event for the UAE PGA Pro-am and it is always popular with pros and amateurs alike,” said Munro.

”As professionals we really enjoy getting our friends and members together to make up Pro-Am teams and it is a break from the normal Order-of-Merit events played as individuals. This event is still an OOM event for us, but with the added fun of playing it in a pro-am format.”

Entries fees are:
Dubai Creek Member – AED 250
Emirates Golf Club Member – AED 350
EGF Member – AED 550
Individual non-member – AED 650

The fee includes buffet dinner after play, complimentary use of DCGYC’s swimming pool and gym facilities on the morning of the event. To register and for more information please contact Creek Golf Office on +971 4 295 6000 or cgolfoffice@dubaigolf.com 

Meanwhile, the second event of the 2017-18 UAE PGA Tour season will be held at Al Hamra on Tuesday and doubles as a qualifier for the European Challenge Tour’s penultimate event, the Oct.25-28 Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge.

Related: European Tour hopeful Joel Sjöholm determined to let his game do the talking in RAK and Muscat

“The winner qualifies for the RAK challenge tour event, in which [reigning UAE PGA champion and DCGYC teaching pro} Cennydd Mills played last year. It’s a great opportunity for us to challenge the best up and coming golfers from Europe’s feeder tour,” said Munro.

Related: Meet UAE PGA champion Cennydd Mills

The post It’s Dubai’s answer to <br> the Alfred Dunhill Links <br> Championship and you can play! appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
With his trademark plus fours and penchant for extravagant colours to match, Joel Sjöholm doesn’t exactly present as a golfer looking to fly under the radar. But that is exactly what the 32-year-old Chile-born Swede is hoping for as he eyes a return to the Middle East this month for the final fortnight of the Challenge Tour season.

Sjöholm is on the cusp of a return to the European Tour for the first time since 2013 after capturing his maiden professional title, July’s Italian Challenge Open, after nearly 10 years in the play for your mortgage ranks.

A beloved character in the UAE where he was once attached to Atlantis, The Palm Dubai, Sjöholm must finish inside the top 15 on the Challenge Tour money list to secure a main tour card for 2017-18. He is currently  19th after worryingly slipping eight spots following a missed cut at the Kazakhstan Open and nearly repeating the unwanted weekend off at the Challenge de Espana where he finished T-63 and banked just €560. But he plans to play the remaining four events of the season, two of them in China. before returning to the UAE for the 2nd Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge (Oct. 25-28) and the season-deciding NBO Golf Classic Grand Final at Almouj Golf in Muscat (Nov. 1-4)

The normally media-friendly former Georgia State University star initially declined overtures for an interview for our October issue, politely promising full disclosure only once the potentially career reviving season is done. He relented slightly, or more accurately had his arm-twisted to front a wider media gathering at Jumeirah Golf Estates on Sunday, but was again economical with his crystal-ball gazing.

“I need to dig deep to get back on the European Tour and until I get there I don’t really want to talk too much about it,” Sjöholm told Golf Digest Middle East before elaborating on Sunday. “I want it so much but I just have to be careful not to want it too much, not to get too far ahead of myself.”

Sjöholm said he was still lerning how to be more ruthless when he gets into position down the “stretch on the back nine Sunday”. A key part of that process has been learning to be more focused on and off the course as he admitted he had failed to live up to his own high expectations as a “golfer or a person”. Indeed, he admitted he had “never really regarded myself as a professional golfer” despite a decade in the pro ranks.

“I want to be more cocky on the course and more humble off it. It’s a narrow line for me.”

The desire not to jinx anything is understandable after a run of lean years bouncing between the tours. Sjöholm has career earnings in excess of €1.1 million in Europe but nearly €840,000 was banked in a three year run on the main tour from 2011, including his career best collect of €412, 376 in 2012 headlined by enjoyed four top 10s, one of them a €185,185 payday for a T-4 finish at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

The €48,000 Sjöholm won in Sardina in July was certainly a timely boost, eclipsing in one cheque the prize-money he’d earned in six of his previous seven years on the Challenge Tour.

But it’s more what the win did psychologically, not to mention on the Race to Oman standings where he lept 93 places up to fifth at the time. The now world No. 485 had missed three successive cuts leading into Is Molas Resort but closed with a 65 to overcame a two shot deficit and win by four from overnight leader Neil Bradley (Scotland) and Chase Koepka, the younger brother of U.S. Open champion Brooks.

Often typical of a player bouncing around tours, Sjöholm only got into the Italian event on a sponsors invite.

“It feels amazing,” he said afterwards. “I never thought when I was 10 years old that I would have to wait until I was 32 before I earned my first victory as a professional. It is close to being the best thing that has ever happened to me. Obviously having children and getting married will always be the most special thing, but this is pretty incredible.”

So to, we suspect, will be the interview when Sjöholm hopefully boomerangs back on the European Tour. The dictaphone is poised.

Sjoholm with the European Tour’s Middle East Director Nick Tarratt.

The post European Tour hopeful Joel Sjöholm determined to let his game do the talking in RAK and Muscat appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

As well as the chance to win some amazing prizes, we’ve marked the milestone by taking a contemporary spin on many of the features that appeared in our launch issue back in November 2008.

Related: Take our 2017 Reader Survey and win BIG!

The most obvious replication starts right up front where Dubai amateur sensation Rayhan Thomas steps out of the shadows of U.S. singer-songwriter Justin Timberlake to deservedly earn his second Golf Digest ME cover within a year.

The 17-year-old Indian, now up to a career-high 23rd place in the latest Amateur World Golf Rankings (WAGR), also stars in our bumper 30-page “9 for 9” feature which celebrates nine pivotal contributions to the local game during the nine years we’ve been in print.

Inside, we explore what’s next for Thomas, both from a swing and career progression standpoint, while reflecting on his world record-tying birdie blitz during last month’s MENA Tour event at Dubai Creek and his unforgettable Jnr Presidents Cup debut.

Timberlake might have taken the most prominent piece of real estate in our first issue but the key story inside was the impending launch of the Race to Dubai. Ninety nine issues later we sit down for a fascinating one-on-one with a needle-shifting powerbroker from the first issue. The chat with David Spencer is as illuminating as those purple socks he rocked in the subsequent photoshoot.

We’ve also given Thomas’ coach, Justin Parsons, the full treatment. The Northern Irishman is Dubai’s coach to the stars – and not all of them golfers with some neat pictures of cricket demigod Sachin Tendulkar and Hollywood A-lister Will Smith included.

Former Open champion Darren Clarke makes a plea for greater support of the MENA Tour and we meet the character behind the kandura that is Mohamed Juma Buamaim. You also won’t want to miss the fascinating interview with Peter Harradine as the always outspoken Dubai-based Swiss architect opens up on the curse of the contemporary “Championship course” designs.

One of our favourite reflections is a before and after equipment test with Jumeriah Golf Estates 3.8-handicapper Philip Sharpe. We won’t give too much away but you won’t believe the results the Cobra Golf tragic achieved when we got him on the X-Golf simulator at eGolf Megastore.

With a swing tip from UAE PGA champion Cennydd Mills and previews ahead of the Ras Al Khaimah 2017 Golf Challenge and European Challenge Tour’s season-deciding NBO Golf Classic Grand Fina in Muscat, plus the LET’s Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open at Saadiyat Beach, you’ll go a long way to find more in-depth local coverage.

Throw in tips from Butch and Claude Harmon, tuition features penned by newly crowned PGA Tour Player-of-the-Year Justin Thomas and world No. 5 Jon Rahm and an amazing “Shots I can’t explain” piece from Jack Nicklaus, and our 100th issue is, well, one in a hundred.

Grab your copy today and get winning!

The post Happy Anniversary to us! <br> appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The $1.75 million NBO Golf Classic will be played Feb.15-18 at Almouj Golf (pictured) amid The Wave Muscat development the week proceeding the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Doha GC (Feb.22-25).

The Doha tournament was traditionally sandwiched between the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and $3 million Omega Dubai Desert Classic but the two UAE events, as has been widely reported, are now scheduled back-to-back from Jan. 18-21 and 25-28 respectively.

For the past four seasons the NBO Golf Classic has been a European Challenge Tour event, the last two the secondary circuit’s season-ender and climax to the “Race to Oman” series. There is yet no word on a replacement decider or season-long “Race” for the Challenge Tour although it raises the prospect of Ras Al Khaimah, currently the circuit’s penultimate event, stepping up.

Muscat joins the Philippines Golf Championship (March 15-18) and the Belgian Knockout (May 17-20) as new events on the 2018 European Tour which will visit 30 countries and again include eight Rolex Series event, each with a minimum prize fund of US$7million. Morocco’s The Trophee Hassan II in Rabat, which enjoys close links with the MENA Tour, is scheduled for April 19-22.

Related: Ryder Cup star Thomas Pieters to host European Tour knockout event in 2018

With Abu Dhabi and Dubai proceeded by the Jan. 12-14 EurAsia Cup (an important Ryder Cup rehearsal) and leading into the Maybank Championship (Feb. 1-4), also in Malaysia, elite fields are again assured. It will be tougher for Muscat and Doha to attract the same calibre of players however as they are sandwiched between the  ISPS Handa World Super 6 Perth, a popular addition to the schedule last season, and the $10 million WGC-Mexico Championship which makes a second early season sojourn to the Middle East unlikely for higher ranked players.

The 2018 Race to Dubai will again climax at Jumeriah Golf Estates where the $8 million DP World Tour Championship will celebrate its 10th anniversary from Nov. 15-18.

Keith Waters, the European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce three new events as part of the 2018 European Tour schedule, providing vital playing opportunities for our members.

“It also combines diversity, visiting 30 different countries on the Race to Dubai, and innovation, through varied formats such as the new Belgian Knockout and GolfSixes alongside more traditional strokeplay events, including the eight Rolex Series tournaments.”

See the full 2018 European Tour schedule here

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