Abu Dhabi : The Saadiyat Beach Golf Club was launched yesterday in style with a host of golf stars and big names from the world of sport teeing off in the inaugural Saadiyat Beach Classic charity tournament.
Hosted by golfing legend Gary Player, the Classic swung into action when the "Black Knight" — arguably one of the greatest golfers of all time — hit the first drive on the stunning "Prelude" 1st hole and presented Tourism Development & Investment Company's (TDIC) COO, Ahmad Hussain, with the signed club, officially marking the course's launch.
It was hotly contested affair on the course, with Northern Ireland's young prodigy, Rory McIlroy, leading the charge with a combined team score of 27 under par to win the debut Classic.
And with a wealth of golf's future stars playing the lush fairways and sweeping greens at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, Gary Player was optimistic about the future of the sport, with the 18-time Major winner tipping McIlroy as the next possible world number one. "He has a great team behind him, bags of talent and one of the best swings in golf. If he continues the way he is going, I have no doubt Rory has the potential to be the next number one," said Player.
McIlroy, the current world number 11, was full of praise for the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club and its role in helping establish the emirate as a world-class golf destination of distinction.
"We start our season in Abu Dhabi and have a three week ‘swing' in the Middle East. The UAE has become a great destination and with facilities like Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, I can only see more and more golfers coming to play here. It's ideal for practising and the facilities are world-class," added McIlroy, who finished third in last week's 5th annual Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.
A wealth of up-and-coming talent on display — in the form of Melissa Reid, Maria Verchenova and Henrietta Zuel, the Ladies' European Tour rising stars, and England's Oliver Fisher — showed the watching crowds why they were widely-regarded as the future of the sport with an impressive on-course display. And the quartet was full of praise for Abu Dhabi's newest golfing centre of excellence.
"It has been wonderful to come and meet up again with my friends from the Gary Player Group. Mr Player has designed many great courses but this surely has to be one of the most spectacular. I'm looking forward to spending a few more days here in Abu Dhabi," said Verchenova.
