Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship: ‘Emirati golfing talent can emerge in five years’

Abu Dhabi: Emirati golfing talent could be rubbing shoulders with the game’s elite in the next five years, according to a leading Abu Dhabi Sports Council official.

Aref Al Awani, General Secretary of ADSC, said on Wednesday that a new programme to train up to 200 youngsters a year would be announced in the next one to two months.

Al Awani was speaking at a press conference to publicise next year’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, which will be a star-studded affair featuring world number one Jordan Spieth and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy.

But there is a distinct lack of UAE golfing stars and Al Awani was asked whether the January 21-24 tournament would complement a similar initiative to that of the HSBC-China Golf Association Junior Programme.

The poster boy for this, 20-year-old Li Hao Tong, earned widespread acclaim last week after his seventh place at the WGC HSBC Champions event in Shanghai. This was the highest finish of any Chinese player in World Golf Championship and US PGA Tour event history, with Spieth among those lauding the prodigy’s feats.

Of his plans to emulate China’s example, Al Awani said at the St Regis Saadiyat Island Resort: “We are planning with HSBC, IMG [the International Management Group] and Abu Dhabi Golf Club to announce a programme in the next one or two months in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Education Council. We will try to train around 200 talented students in the next year.

“We hope to have the same experience as they have in China and I think we could have, in the next five years, local talent.”

He added: “There is good interest in this sport from locals. I am sure a lot of parents would like their children to play this unique and elite sport.”