The inaugural Dubai Open may not have set the turnstiles on fire at the impressive Els Club, but it was a fantastic start and the tournament surely has the potential of becoming one of the most looked forward to stops on the Asian Tour.
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Of all the tournaments played in the region, the Dubai Open was witness to the most exciting finish. The leaders were completely bunched up even after the first few holes yesterday and fortune fluctuated like waves in a stormy ocean, none more violent than what happened to the two main protagonists – India’s Arjun Atwal and Korea’s Wang Jeung-hun – in the closing stretch of the tournament.
In the end, Atwal triumphed as his teenaged rival succumbed to pressure over the final two holes.
While an exciting finish alone cannot justify the hosting of a tournament, there was enough indication that if done right, the Dubai Open has a rightful place and significance in the golfing calendar of the UAE.
The most important reason that ‘Golf in DUBAi’ and its CEO Mohamad Juma Buamaim have started this tournament is to give an avenue for the players on the MENA Golf Tour to earn world ranking points. As many as 24 MENA Tour players got an opportunity to play the tournament, and what would have most pleased Buamaim is that 11 of them survived the cut and featured in weekend play.
As for the tournament, there were two factors that did not work in its favour in the inaugural year – there was not enough time to build up the event, and there was no live coverage on TV.
Live coverage helps drum up the excitement, but it is always a result of the overall economics.
Hopefully, ‘golf in DUBAi’ will have more time next season to market the tournament, and once there are more sponsors, live TV will definitely follow.
Being the season-ending event on the Asian Tour, it also fell prey to the premature end to the Order of Merit battle between American David Lipsky and India’s Anirban Lahiri.
Once it was decided in favour of Lipsky at the end of the penultimate event, after a protra-cted battle between the two stars which saw them take part in most events in the weeks prior to the Dubai Open, both weary players opted out of the tournament.
Chances are that the Dubai Open will not remain the season-ending championship next year, and thus the prize purse will be significant to attract most players.
Apart from what it does for the MENA Golf Tour players, the other significant positive for the tournament was the extremely strong feedback from the players on each and every aspect. Starting from the arrangements, to the welcome, to the facilities extended, everything was first-class.
The big star of the tournament was the Ernie Els-designed Els Club, which absolutely wowed the players with the way it was presented throughout the week. The course was in mint condition and general manager Chris Brown and his team can take a bow.
There will always be teething troubles for any new tournament, but there is a feeling that the objectives with which the Dubai Open was launched, have been mostly met. Even a tournament like the Masters needed several years to become a must-watch in the list of golf fans.
The Dubai Open just needs time and a bit of careful nurturing.
