Abu Dhabi: Organisers of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, which will celebrate its 10th anniversary next year, have announced the award-winning event will run from January 15-18 at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) and Championship title sponsor HSBC have confirmed preparations are in full swing ahead of the milestone, which will reflect the event’s growth over the past decade.
Teeing off in 2006 under the former Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (now TCA Abu Dhabi), the Championship is recognised as one of the leading events on the European Tour. It has welcomed some of golf’s biggest names over the years, including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson.
Last year the event attracted over 63,000 fans and was beamed to a global TV audience of over 436 million.
“The Championship has enjoyed rapid growth since launching and we are very much looking forward to celebrating its success over past 10 years and recognising what has now become one of the Gulf’s most-loved sporting events,” said Faisal Al Shaikh, Director, Events Bureau, TCA Abu Dhabi.
“We are deeply gratified by the reputation the Championship holds with the players who enjoy coming to Abu Dhabi and our valued sponsors and partners, who have helped us to grow this event into what it is today. We have some exciting plans under way to recognise the 10-year milestone and look forward to welcoming everyone to help us celebrate this special occasion.”
Since its inception, the Championship has teed off every January at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, evolving to become the jewel in the desert that forms part of the Tour’s ‘Gulf Swing’. Each year, the event welcomes one of the European Tour’s leading player fields who vie for the iconic Falcon Trophy and a cut of the $2.7 million prize purse, the richest in the region.
The Championship was initially created to further enhance Abu Dhabi’s profile as an international golf tourism destination, and showcase the world-class offering of the one-stop Golf in Abu Dhabi booking and packaging initiative. With three championship-standard courses within a 20-minute drive of the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi’s golf tourism offering has seen growth year on year.
Overseas rounds increased by 50 per cent in 2012-2013, with total rounds also increasing by 15 per cent during the same time. The first quarter of this year has continued the trend, with overseas rounds up by a further 19 per cent.
