Abu Dhabi Golf Championship goes online in Arabic

The Arabic site is a mirror of the English version, which has recently been upgraded, but the Arab edition is more educational about golf with explanations of many of the phrases and terms unique to the sport.

"We have mandated the organisers to reach out to the youth of this region and engage them in a sport from which we hope a Gulf champion will emerge in the future," said Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), which owns the championship.

Though a popular sport around the GCC, golf remains the main domain of expatriates and tourists. However, the ADTA believes the future could see an Arab national contesting European Tour events.

"There are currently some 6,000 members of the UAE Golf Association and despite its intense efforts to attract nationals to the sport at present only 100 members are nationals. This means there is still a job of work to be done in getting Arab grass roots support for this sport," added Al Muhairi.

"In the run-up to the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship between now and January 2007, we will focus considerable efforts on endeavouring to get Arab youth to embrace the game. We are looking forward to the day when young Arab men and women count not just soccer stars among their heroes but the likes of Sergio Garcia and other top golfers - and that's when we believe we will see a national champion emerge."

Educational schemes being built into the promotion of the sport in the run-up to the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship include on-course clinics for school children.

"One of the championship's sponsors, Standard Chartered Bank, staged a schools clinic this year which was extremely successful and which we hope to expand upon this year," explained Al Muhairi.

The Abu Dhabi Golf Championship 2007 will be held from January 18-21 with a field of 120 European Tour players including the defending champion Chris DiMarco, one of the USA's top 10 golfers, Spain's Sergio Garcia, now ranked 8th in the Official World Golf Rankings, Ryder Cup Star Colin Montgomerie and championship newcomer South Africa's Retief Goosen, ranked 6th in the world.