The HotelPlanner Tour is in the United Arab Emirates this week, for the first of two back-to-back events in partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF). Here’s all you need to know ahead of the UAE Challenge at Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club.
Ajman's first
Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club will this week make its debut as a host venue on the Road to Mallorca. Located in Ajman – one of the UAE’s seven Emirates – Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club is the region’s first ever golf course. Opened in 2015, the Jack Nicklaus-designed course winds through breathtaking mangroves and boasts 1.5 kilometres of boardwalks to cope with the rising water level on some of the tidal-affected fairways.
Water also features on the par three second hole, where one of two lakes are found. On the back nine, the par four 13th could prove one the toughest tests, with water hazards threatening the left side from tee to green. The course is also home to 88 bunkers which lie in wait to snare any wayward shot.
Partnership
The back-to-back HotelPlanner Tour events in the UAE, which are also supported by Arena, Al Laith and eGolf Megastore, are part of the European Tour group’s long-term partnership with the EGF, which aims to develop golf in the UAE for at least the next decade.
The EGF has been allocated 30 spots in each of the UAE Challenge and Abu Dhabi Challenge to help create playing pathways for some of the country’s brightest talents. Ahmad Skaik, Rayan Ahmed and Sam Mullane are three of the Emirati amateurs teeing it up at Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club.
Positive signs
During last year’s UAE Challenge, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen sealed his second victory in three HotelPlanner Tour starts, cementing his position at the top of the Road to Mallorca Rankings. The Dane would go on to top the Rankings after the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A and secure DP World Tour status.
2023 UAE Challenge winner, Maximilian Roffluff, also went on to earn his DP World Tour card in Mallorca. With the two previous winners of the event graduating from the HotelPlanner Tour the same season, could someone follow in their footsteps this year?
