DiMarco confirms defence in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi: American Chris DiMarco will be back in the UAE to defend the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship title, while South African Retief Goosen has confirmed his debut in the $2 million event.

DiMarco and Goosen have joined Spaniard Sergio Garcia to confirm their participation at the second Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2007, which takes place from January 18-21.

Addressing a press conference here yesterday, Mubarak Al Muhairy, Director General of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), the event owners, said: "We are keen to bring in a quality field that has more depth.

"Of course, we would like Tiger Woods to play here, but his schedule is planned years ahead. We will keep trying and one day, hopefully Woods will play here."

Speaking of his determination to defend his 2006 title, the 38-year-old DiMarco, said: "Earlier this year Abu Dhabi and I made golfing history, and while it's commonly held that history never repeats itself, I shall be looking to turn that particular saying on its head next January.

"Apart from winning the championship, I also was blown away by how well we were treated in Abu Dhabi. The start of a new year brings many new opportunities and I view the Abu Dhabi tournament as an important personal goal for 2007."

The inaugural Abu Dhabi Golf Championship reached a worldwide audience and it expects next year's event to reach all corners of the globe, according to the IMG, which organises the tournament with ADTA,

"Seventeen hours of live TV coverage of this year's event was broadcast to more than 28 countries with a potential reach of over 120 million homes," explained Greg Sproule, Managing Director, IMG Middle East.

"We are hoping to expand on that next year and also to increase our spectator turnout, which totalled 17,500. Now the tournament has established its pedigree, increased targets are well within our reach."

Commenting on his forthcoming Abu Dhabi tournament debut, world No 6 Goosen said: "What a fabulous start to the New Year this will be. The UAE is gaining a considerable profile in my home country of South Africa.

"I also look forward to getting considerable spectator support from the many South Africans, most of them golf addicts, who now live and work in the UAE and neighbouring Gulf countries."

The sponsorship line-up includes Etihad Airways and Aldar as Diamond Sponsors; Standard Chartered Bank as a Platinum Sponsor; Nissan, Airbus, Rolls-Royce, Omega and Xerox as Gold Sponsors. Gulf News and Middle East Golfer have also reconfirmed their roles as Official Newspaper and Official Magazine respectively.

Abu Dhabi eyes golfing tourism

"The inaugural Abu Dhabi Golf Championship brought significant benefits to the emirate which is now actively engaged in talks with a number of leading sports tour operators worldwide to bring golfing tourists to the UAE capital," said Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, ADTA Chairman.

"We are now drafting a long-term golf tourism strategy for the emirate which will see us move significantly forward with plans for a number of new world-class courses, particularly on our flagship Saadiyat Island international destination development for which two courses are being designed. We have identified golf tourism as a key growth target in our aim of attracting up to three million visitors annually to Abu Dhabi by 2015, a threefold increase from its current yearly average."