Dubai: Tickets are now on sale for the 29th edition of the European Tour’s Omega Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club from January 25 to 28.
Tag-lined ‘Made for Greatness,’ the $3 million (Dh11 million) event boasts a roll of honour including 10 Major winners with a collective haul of 35 Major titles. Masters champion Sergio Garcia has confirmed he will be back to defend the Dallah ‘coffee pot’ trophy.
Building on his success in Dubai this year, the Spaniard went on to win the Masters, emulating exactly what England’s Danny Willett did last year in winning the Desert Classic and then following it up with the Green Jacket.
Whoever wins next year’s Desert Classic will now surely go in confident to Augusta but can it happen three times in a row?
Golf in Dubai, the promoters and organisers of the event are calling on fans to buy tickets early via www.dubaidesertclassic.com disapointment.
The Desert Classic week begins with the customary Wednesday ProAm that will have a morning and afternoon draw, giving spectators a unique opportunity to see the top pros up close and personal in a relaxed atmosphere as they interact with their amateur playing partners. Entry to the ProAm is free.
Daily tickets for the four-day main competition, starting on January 25, are priced at Dh175, while a season pass, which provides access all week, is available for Dh500.
Those aged 16 and under enter free if accompanied by an adult holding a valid ticket for the day.
The event is beamed to a global audience of over 451 million homes via 30 broadcasters, with North America taking the biggest cut with a reach of over 90 million homes. It generated a cumulative global media equivalency of $112 million (Dh412 million), representing an increase from last year’s exposure of $106 million. Also, compared to 2016, global broadcast hours increased by 76 hours to 3,140, according to an independent media evaluation report from Nielsen Sports.
This year’s attendance was 44,015, with 12,363 attending on the Sunday, beating last year’s record of 11,953.
“We expect an even bigger turnout of fans on all tournament days,” said tournament director David Spencer. “Most golfers feel like they are coming home to Dubai and that is the greatest legacy of the event, one that we cherish the most. This is also one big reason why the iconic Dallah, as the coffee-shaped trophy is called in Arabic, holds a special reverence to golfers. We have been fielding requests from a number of travel agencies, tour companies and golf fans around the world who want to visit Dubai and be part of the family atmosphere during the tournament,” he added.
