Dubai: If the UAE is successful in its bid to bring the Nomura Cup to these shores in 2015, hosting the Eisenhower Trophy in 2018 would be the next step, according to Arab Golf Federation (AGF) Secretary-General Adel Zarouni.
Hosting amateur golf’s World and Asian Pacific championships, the Eisenhower and Nomura Cup would be a major coup for UAE, luring business as well as sporting optimism this way, according to Zarouni.
Speaking on the sidelines of Wednesday’s Mena Tour dates announcement, Zarouni said: “We have applied to host the 2015 Nomura Cup and we are now processing our bid ready to present to the event’s representatives in November.
“The competition to host this is not light. There are a lot of big, well developed countries in the region in terms of courses and infrastructure. But we are very hopeful.”
Zarouni added: “In terms of amateur golf the Eisenhower is the largest, played every two years it’s literally the world championship team and individual event. Next it’s the Nomura Cup encompassing 45 countries from across Asia. We’re hopeful to host Nomura in 2015 and the next aim would be the Eisenhower in 2018.
“We are a new country in terms of golf. We have limited players and are still developing our talent and teams. But we’ve grown in terms of facilities in five years. Golf is an important industry and hosting such events would give us worldwide exposure and beyond golf this would benefit the UAE’s business and tourism.”
