Dubai: Leading players on the Road to Oman rankings are set to lock horns in Dubai when the ICAEW Challenge Tour Pro-Am gets underway on the Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates (JGE) on October 28.
The event is part of a weeklong programme for European Tour Challenge Tour players to practice in Dubai before the US$500,000 Foshan Open, China, finishing on October 25 and the $375,000 (Dh1.38 million) NBO Golf Classic Grand Final at Almouj Golf The Wave in Oman, from November 4.
The Challenge Tour players are invited to use the JGE’s European Tour Performance Institute (ETPI) along with other practice facilities as well as honing their games on the Fire Course.
The highlight of the week will be the ICAEW Challenge Tour Pro-Am involving 20 professionals playing in a four-player team format with one pro alongside three guest amateurs from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW).
Among the players already confirmed are Ricardo Gouveia, Jens Fahrbring, Rhys Davies, Ryan Fox and Dominic Foos.
Nick Tarratt of The European Tour said at the Pro-Am announcement: “This is a great opportunity for the Challenge Tour players to experience what is potentially ahead of them in their careers.
“The Jumeirah Golf Estates ETPI facilities are up there with the best of its kind in the world and we are also bringing over Jean Jacques Rivet from the ETPI in Terre Blanche [France] to assist Mark Gregson-Walters and his Jumeirah Golf Estates ETPI team with the training. We wish all the Challenge Tour players all the best in this important week for them as they acclimatise and tune up for the final event of the season in Muscat, Oman”.
The top 45 players on the Road to Oman Rankings qualify for the Oman event and then the final top 15 ranked players following the NBO Golf Classic Grand Final will earn their playing privileges on the 2016 European Tour International Schedule.
