Immelman success in "shot from the yacht" challenge

The inaugural "shot from the yacht" event saw Immelman hitting ten golf balls from the superyacht "Aviva" in the sea moored off the Emirates Palace Hotel beach onto a specially designed "Etihad world map" green.

"Shot from the yacht" follows Etihad's hugely successful "swing on the wing" challenge, a long drive competition from the wing of an aircraft, which the Abu Dhabi-based airline has hosted prior to the previous three Abu Dhabi Golf Championships.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways' executive vice president marketing and product, said: "Etihad continually strives to offer exciting and iconic events around its sponsorships and we are very proud of the "shot from the yacht" challenge.

"Trevor did extremely well during the challenge, especially in the breezy conditions, and everyone at Etihad Airways wishes him the very best of luck in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship."

Trevor Immelman said: "This is one of the most unique golf challenges I have been involved in and was much tougher than it probably looked from the shore. It's been great fun though and a chance to relax in the lovely surroundings of Emirates Palace prior to tee-ing off on Thursday morning in the tournament."

The Abu Dhabi Golf Championship runs from Thursday 15 to Sunday 18 January at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

As the diamond sponsor and official airline for the 2009 ADGC, Etihad is involved in a series of promotional activities surrounding the tournament as well as flying the players, officials and their equipment to the UAE.

One such promotion is the Etihad Airways' "around the world" putting challenge that has taken place during the weekend at Al Wahda Mall in Abu Dhabi and will also feature throughout the ADGC.

Etihad also created history by flying all four of golf's "Major" trophies into Abu Dhabi. The trophies will be exhibited throughout the tournament on the Etihad stand in the tented village.