While the Desert Swing of the European Tour is now known all over the world as a quality stretch of three weeks featuring some of the finest players in contemporary golf, the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters is poised to create its own identity with the fan-friendly stars of the European Seniors Tour, featuring some of the legends of the game.
The 54-hole tournament offers a prize purse of $425,000. Fans will get a close view of the action with entry being free for what will be the first tournament of the 2017 season.
Players entries are now open, but Paul Broadhurst, Ronan Rafferty and Des Smyth – three stars who were in Sharjah last year to play the pro-am event that marked the announcement of the championship – are certain to tee off after being suitably charmed by the city of Sharjah and the golf course. Other names will be announced over the next few weeks.
Broadhurst, winner of the Senior Open Championship Presented by Rolex and the 2016 John Jacobs Trophy winner, will begin his defence of the Order of Merit title against stiff competition from the Senior Tour’s finest.
Nick Tarratt, Director European Tour Middle East, said: “It is exciting to have five European Tour sanctioned events hosted in the UAE in 2017. The Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq completes the family set of events; European Tour, Challenge Tour and now Senior Tour.”
“We look forward to collectively, with our partners, delivering a tournament that will have a unique personality and hopefully has a long sustainable future in Sharjah. It will complement the other UAE events and will provide opportunities to interact with the legends of the game. We encourage all golfers, both young and old, to support this Senior’s tournament.”