By Kent Gray
Steven Kelbrick works hard at his game and golf continues to reward him richly.

Consistency – as in eight top 5s in 12 starts including a pair of runner-up finishes – saw the Trump International Golf Club Dubai member (pictured centre) capture the 2016-17 Emirates Golf Federation order-of-merit title last season.

His reward was a trip to the Thailand Amateur Golf Championship. After showing the EGF whippersnappers how it’s done, Kelbrick is now looking forward to an even more prestigious prize, a start in the 2nd Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq next month.

Kelbrick earned the right to tee it up with former European Ryder Cuppers Des Smyth, Ronan Rafferty and Costantino Rocca after winning Sunday’s Amateur and Professional Qualifier at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club.

Mark McNeilly also carded a 75 but Kelbrick’s superior back nine saw him edge the Jumeirah Golf Estates member on count-back. McNeilly needn’t fret – he’s through to the Staysure Tour (formerly European Senior Tour) event from March 8-10 as well, along with SGSC’s Namir Al Naimi who snared the final spot with a 79.

“I’m happy that we have such a prestigious event here in Sharjah,” said Kelbrick of the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters where South African Chris Williams is poised to defend his title.

“Shurooq is doing an incredible job to attract 13 Ryder Cup players here and a very good quality of field. The facilities in the Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club are excellent for the tournament to take place so I’d say that I am extremely excited to take part in such a great event with a lot of golfing greats.”

McNeilly is excited too.

“This was a great experience for me,” said McNeilly. “This is my first time in a Senior qualifier and I have been working hard for a long time to be where I am today.

“The course was in great shape, the greens were immaculate and everyone here is doing a great job so I am very impressed. Now that I am going to play with the shining names of the Staysure Tour, I am just going to enjoy my time in the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters and do my best.”

Entry to the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters is free of charge.

The post Kelbrick tops amateur qualifier for Sharjah Senior Golf Masters appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The former Ryder Cupper is leading the call to action for volunteers ahead of the Staysure Tour (formerly European Senior Tour) event at the nine-hole Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club on March 8-10.

Jobs are available as caddies, marshals and scorers and Rafferty, 54, promises a unique “fun-filled” experience for those willing to give up their time.

“It’s not like when you’re at the Dubai Desert Classic or the DP World Tour Championship where the players aren’t really approachable. The merry band of over 50s are just the opposite, the atmosphere is completely different,” said the seven-time European Tour winner who is searching for his maiden Staysure Tour title.

“That might not have been evident in Sharjah last year because the golfing public in Dubai are used to things like ‘keep quiet, there are some golfers over there’. It won’t be like that at Sharjah. So get involved – name your group, call yourself the ‘merry bandits’, get a name tag on everyone so we can build up a relationship and get on first-name terms and we’ll interact for the week.”

The Northern Irishman, who played the 1989 Ryder Cup at the Belfry after topping the European Tour moneylist that season, says the Staysure Tour players are ready for a bit of banter.

“At events like the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, certain ‘teams’ of volunteers will work on each hole, and players then get to know those people day by day and year after year. They walk up onto the tee and they see a familiar face in a marshal’s uniform, and they recognise you and greet you.

Volunteers at last year’s Sharjah Senior Masters with winner Chris Williams.

“It would be great to get a bunch of people down from the local golf clubs or involve a group of people from a social club. Because every club has its groups of friends who play in a regular four-ball on a certain day. It’s more appealing to do things in a group, rather than on your own as an individual, so if you’re interested in volunteering – bring a friend or two.

You can register as a volunteer for the Sharjah Senior Masters here.

The deadline is February 16. Those who apply for roles will be contacted on February 23.

South African Chris Williams, who pipped Englishman Gary Marks in a playoff last March, is poised to defend his title. Rafferty, for the record, finished in a share of 43rd place at the inaugural 54-hole event featuring a field of 57 and no halfway cut.

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What David MacLaren, the new Head of the European Senior Tour, can guarantee is his loyalty to the circuit’s newest stop and his commitment to grow the tour, whether that is in the UAE, the wider Arabian Gulf or beyond.

Several high-profile players, Italian Ryder Cup star Costantino Rocca the most vocal among them, called for increased playing opportunities on the over 50s circuit during the $425,000 season-opener at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club.

SEE ALSO
Rocca: European Senior Tour must ‘cultivate’ sponsors and not get greedy

A Middle East swing, something to mirror the European Tour’s ‘Desert Swing’ in Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai, was mooted given that the Senior Tour, following Chris Williams’ playoff win Saturday, essentially now goes into hibernation until late June and another new event, the European Tour Properties Senior Classic in Finland.

Outside of the co-sanctioned U.S. PGA Championship in Washington (May 25-28) and the U.S. Senior Open in Massachusetts (June 29-July 2), majors that few of the European members are guaranteed to start, there are in fact only two events in the first four months of the season.

MacLaren has revealed he is in talks to add new stops in Sri Lanka and Madagascar from 2018 which would pad out the scantily clad early-season schedule.

“I think they [Sri Lanka and Madagascar] would both be obtainable, or reachable, from here [Sharjah] and that would give us a nice three tournament swing,” MacLaren said.

South African Chris Williams celebrates at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club

Whether further Middle East events can be added remains to be seen however. MacLaren understands the enthusiasm for a Senior Desert Swing but is mindful of the four European Tour events and the two European Ladies Tour tournaments already hosted in the Middle East. He also wants to ensure Shurooq (the Sharjah Investment & Development Authority) are fully repaid for their three-year bankrolling of the Sharjah Masters.

“I think there is. I’m in the capable hands of Nick Tarratt who runs our regional office out of Dubai, and I think there is,” MacLaren said if there was room for further Middle East events.

“But I’m also very conscious that we must get the balance right between not enough tournaments and too many tournaments. In some ways, I think I’d obviously prefer one very strong tournament than three or four tournaments that aren’t as strong….I’d much prefer to ensure we’re giving the best to Sharjah and the best to Shurooq and the best to Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club.

“If other opportunities arise out of that, that’s absolutely great. But I feel a loyalty to this because of all the investment everybody has made. Even as a self contained tournament this is a symbol of what the Senior Tour is all about and is one of three, possibly four new tournaments this year and that’s good for everybody.”

MacLaren praised SGSC Managing Director and Vice Chairman, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdullah Al Thani, and the club’s tireless Director of Golf, Martin Duff, for pulling the Sharjah Masters together inside a year. It was the first time the European Tour has played an event on a nine-holer which was beamed around the globe in immaculate condition thanks to widely hailed Kiwi course superintendent Marty Brown.

SEE ALSO
Williams beats his inner demons to win inaugural Sharjah Seniors title

He also commended Shurooq CEO H.E. Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal for his foresight in ensuring the tournament’s television coverage went beyond the European Senior Tour’s usual product with three one-hour highlights programmes available for same day distribution in 65 countries.

Media coverage is vital to grow the tour and part of the chicken and egg argument voiced by Rocca. The 60-year-old urged MacLaren not to be greedy when it comes to sponsorship negotiations or contract renewal talks.

“I was reading with interest Tino’s [Constantino Rocca’s] comments and he’s absolutely right. And the funny thing is that his comments, that’s exactly what our strategy is, which is yes, we’d love to have 20 tournaments at a million dollars each but I’d prefer create for the guys 20 tournaments [full stop],” MacLaren said.

“If that means we’ve got to play for less prize-money to start with and build from the bottom up, then I think that’s the right strategy. Because then you are creating momentum, you’re creating a base.”

MacLaren clearly has support for what is a tough sell; previous Senior Tour events in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi didn’t survive beyond two seasons. He was hand-picked by new European Tour chief Keith Pelley nine months ago to revive the Senior Tour and head up European Tour Properties, the latter including Dubai’s Jumeirah Golf Estates.

South African Williams, who beat Englishman Gary Marks in overtime to become Sharjah’s inaugural champion, is also impressed with MacLaren’s early work.

“We’ve got a new guy, David MacLaren, he’s a really sharp chappie, a really clever guy,” said Williams. “He speaks several languages and he’s obviously negotiating in a native language which is a big thing, speaking to the French in French [for example]…”

Like Williams, MacLaren knows the stars of yesteryear are the European Senior Tour’s greatest commodity with a Pro-Am start alongside the likes of a Rocca, two-time senior major champion Roger Chapman or reigning Senior Open Champion Paul Broadhurst a unique opportunity.

David MacLaren, the European Senior Tour’s new chief, chats with Welshman Mark Mouland during the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq

“The great thing is I think we’ve got a product that works and it’s a product that works because of how well our players can engage,” said MacLaren. “ They can interact with amateur partners and sponsors and corporate guests more than any other tour can do. The guys are more relaxed, they’re more experienced, they’ve got more time and they’re much more willing to share.

“So media is important, social media is important but actually it’s the on the ground experience that our players can give that actually is really what our USP [unique selling point] is and that’s what makes a Senior Tour tournament special.

“The ability to play a round of golf in a Pro-Am with sponsors, members, with [tournament] staff even, that’s the magic, that’s the magic of the Senior Tour and that’s what I want to use as the centrepiece for how we build going forward.”

MacLaren says seniors golf was impacted even more keenly by the “global economic meltdown” than any other level of the game because “tournament sponsorship and sports sponsorship is something that can be sacrificed by larger companies.”

But with Sharjah, Finland, the English Senior Classic at Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club in Coventry (October 20-22) and possibly the Dutch Senior Masters (earmarked for October 6-8) added to this year’s schedule, he’s confident about the future.

“We’re in a very good place because we’ve got some upward momentum. For the last few years our Senior Tour players haven’t been used to tournaments at the beginning of the year and I am really hopeful this will prove a catalyst for some more new tournaments in this part of the world.

“But even if that doesn’t happen, to know we can come back here for the next three years to such a special place, and I mean that genuinely, is something that gives us great heart and fills us with great pride.

“To start as spectacularly, genuinely, as we have this week [in Sharjah], that’s something I won’t forget, that’s something our players won’t forget.”

The post THE BIG READ: European Senior Tour chief David MacLaren on Sharjah’s impressive debut and tackling golf’s toughest sales job appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The Irishman, an eight-time winner on the European Tour and a five-time winner on the Senior Tour, has been confirmed as one of the headline acts for the March 16-18 event at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club.

“This is a huge step forward for Sharjah and it would be a wonderful scenario if it were to lead to two or three consecutive Senior Tour events in the Middle East,” Smyth said.

“I think it could revitalise the European Senior Tour. I can’t wait to tee off in Sharjah and get the ball rolling.”

Smyth has been a frequent visitor to the Middle East throughout his stellar career and won the Arcapita Senior Tour Championship at The Royal Golf Club in Bahrain in 2005. 

He was one of four European Senior Tour players who played in the Sharjah Senior Invitational Pro-Am presented by Shurooq last March, along with Paul Broadhurst, Ronan Rafferty and Malcolm Mackenzie.

“This is the first time the European Senior Tour has played an event on a 9-hole course but I found it an excellent layout and with the extra teeing ground it will be an interesting tournament with such a variety of tee boxes.”

Smyth held the record as the oldest winner on the European Tour at the age of 48 years and 34 days when he won the Madeira Island Open during his 28^th consecutive season on the European Tour in 2001, until Miguel Angel Jimenez took the title from him.

He played in the 1979 and 1981 Ryder Cups and was a Vice-Captain to Paul McGinley in the 2014 victory at Gleneagles.

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