Organisers of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship are expecting a “bigger and better” tournament this week to its inaugural run at Yas Links.
The event, now in its 18th year, takes place on Yas Island for the second successive edition having moved 12 months ago from its traditional home at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
Beginning on Thursday, Belgian Thomas Pieters returns to defend the title he won last year by a solitary stroke.
The tournament, one of the five elevated Rolex Series events on the DP World Tour, will boast improvements to both the course and the surrounding infrastructure, with this week’s purse increased by $1 million from last year to $9m.
“We’re really excited for this week,” Tom Phillips, head of Middle East for the DP World Tour, told The National. “It’s an event with so much history. It’s one of our standout popular events, not just on our schedule here in the UAE, but on our global schedule.
“When you move to a new venue, you’re always taking learnings, on the golf course but off the course as well. There’s lots of areas where we’ve made small changes or improvements; we’re always looking to make things bigger and better. So, excited to be back for a second time at Yas Links.”
Phillips said improvements include an upgrade to the “already spectacular championship village" – it will showcase a different theme each tournament day – and changes to the flow of how spectators move around the course to offer a better viewing experience.
Sustainability is of particular focus, too – a beach clean will take place on Wednesday, in partnership with Miral, while reusable water bottles will be provided to help eradicate plastic – with the tournament reducing its carbon footprint to offset its unavoidable emissions.
Meanwhile, for the second successive year, general admission to the event is free.
“This is about not just promoting the tournament and promoting Abu Dhabi, it’s about promoting the game of golf,” Phillips said. “We want to make golf in Abu Dhabi and in the UAE accessible to everyone. So, making it free general access was a big part of that; we now do that back-to-back across both Rolex Series events, here and in Dubai [next week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic].
“That’s important. We’re looking forward to welcoming even more people along, maybe some who haven’t watched a golf tournament before, who are interested to come along and watch the golf but also enjoy all the extra activations we’ve got outside the ropes. And that’s all part of growing the game here in Abu Dhabi and the UAE.”
Phillips said the tournament is broadcast to more than 600 million households around the world in approximately 125 countries.
“One of the big things that Yas Links offers is the way it promotes Yas Island and Abu Dhabi as a destination to a global audience,” he said.
“You can imagine all these people around the world watching the best players in the world, and the course itself is one of the very best in the world, but there’s also the backdrop, the views you have.
“Ultimately that’s what we want to do: promote Abu Dhabi as a world-class destination to the world. And there’s no better way than doing it with Yas Links as your backdrop.”
Miguel Vidaor, tournament director since the event’s inception in 2006, said the Kyle Phillips-designed course is in even better shape than its debut run.
“Last year, Corey Finn, the superintendent who’s been here a number of years, only had about five months since the tournament was announced quite late in the year, and he delivered world-class playing surfaces." he said.
“But what he has achieved this year is simply out of this world. And I’m not exaggerating; I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and this has to be perhaps the best-conditioned golf course I’ve ever seen.
“It’s just absolutely pristine. Fairways, tees, approaches: they’re tight, they’re running fast, they’re firm. Which is what we want.”
Last year, some players were less than enamoured with the course set-up. Tyrrell Hatton, the defending champion who captured the Falcon Trophy the final year at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, made public his dislike of the 664-yard, par-5 18th. Hatton double-bogeyed the closing hole in Round 2 and posted a nine there the following day. Eventually, he concluded the tournament on 7-under par, three shots behind Pieters.
Asked about player feedback from last year, Vidaor said: “We played 16 years at Abu Dhabi Golf Club; it’s an iconic venue and change is difficult. Obviously, there were some comments last year about the course. A professional golfer is an individual person; everybody has their own opinion.
“But I believe the more we play Yas Links, the more the guys are going to get used to it and the more they’re going to enjoy it. Because what Kyle Phillips has produced here is just an outstanding venue.
“You get tested in all parts of your game: there’s a wonderful variety of long par-4s, short par-4s, long par-3s, short par-3s, long-5s, short-5s. it’s just perfect. It’s such a good design. And with the firm and fast surfaces, it’s going to be super again.”
Last year’s second round was impacted significantly by 30mph winds that threatened the day’s play, with only nine of the 131 players in the field breaking par 72. This week, winds are expected to reach around 18mph between Thursday and Sunday.
“I’m sure a golf course like this is going to deliver a great winner, no matter who that is,” Vidaor said. “Because they’re going to have to play some great golf to beat this very, very strong field in these conditions. It’s going to be a super tournament. Everything is set to be a wonderful week.”
Thomas Pieters wins 2022 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The bio
Favourite food: Japanese
Favourite car: Lamborghini
Favourite hobby: Football
Favourite quote: If your dreams don’t scare you, they are not big enough
Favourite country: UAE
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THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
DUBAI CARNIVAL RESULTS
6.30pm Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 2,410m
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7.40pm Dubai Dash Listed $175,000 (T) 1,000m
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Winner Laser Show, Kevin Stott, Saeed bin Suroor.
8.50pm Al Fahidi Fort Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Glorious Journey, James Doyle, Charlie Appleby.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner George Villiers, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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The specs
Engine 60kwh FWD
Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power 204hp Torque 360Nm
Price, base / as tested Dh174,500
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
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Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
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