A new chapter in the history of the DP World Tour begins on April 2 when Guy Kinnings becomes our Chief Executive Officer.
In some respects, it is significant change for the Tour, given only four people have previously held the position since the Tour was established 52 years ago: John Jacobs from 1972-1975, Ken Schofield from 1975 – 2004, George O’Grady from 2005-2015 and Keith Pelley, who has been in office since 2015.
However, Guy has been a central figure at the Tour for the past six years, working closely with Keith and the rest of our Executive Leadership Team. He is also hugely experienced elsewhere in the golf industry, so we are fortunate to have strong succession planning which will ensure a seamless transition of leadership.
I have known Guy personally since 2002 and worked closely with him over the past five years, having joined the Tour in 2019, a year after Guy made the move himself from IMG shortly before the 2018 Ryder Cup.
During that period, he has overseen significant growth of the Tour’s commercial operation, including being a key figure in the landmark agreement for DP World to become title partner of the European Tour Group from the start of the 2022 season.
When you spend any time with Guy at an event, you get a true appreciation of the scale of the relationships he has right across the game of golf, and indeed the wider sports industry. That is certainly applicable here in the Middle East, a region he has spent a significant amount of time in during his 35 years working in our sport.
In both his time at the Tour and previously with IMG, where he was Senior Vice President and Global Head of Golf, Guy has been a constant and visible presence for all our partners in this region, including Falcon Associates, Abu Dhabi Sports Council, the Emirates Golf Federation and, of course, the aforementioned DP World.
As Deputy Chief Executive, Guy also worked together with Keith on all of the bigger strategic matters relating to our Tour in recent years, including our Strategic Alliance with the PGA TOUR and the ongoing discussions to bring greater alignment and unity in the men’s professional game.
As he returns to Toronto to join Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Keith leaves a terrific legacy, having cultivated a culture of innovation, inclusivity and globality that now truly defines our Tour.
His tenure has been a transformational eight and a half years for our Tour and we are all rightly proud of what we have achieved together. We are now all looking forward to continuing that momentum under Guy’s stewardship and, hopefully, reaching even greater heights.
Guy’s term in office begins with the season’s first Major Championship, the Masters Tournament at Augusta National, where hopefully one of our DP World Tour members will finish the week adorning the famous Green Jacket.
The Masters is always a special week for anyone in golf, but it is particularly so for the first timers, which this year will include our reigning DP World Tour Championship winner, Nicolai Højgaard. There will also be a debut for Nicolai’s Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Åberg, who memorably made a record-breaking appearance in golf’s greatest team competition last September before playing in a Major Championship.
Whilst the eyes of the golfing world will be on Augusta, for us here in the Tour’s Middle East office, we will also be busy continuing our preparations for the upcoming Abu Dhabi double-header on the Challenge Tour.
It will be the second consecutive year we have held back-to-back Challenge Tour events in Abu Dhabi, thanks to our partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation, with the Abu Dhabi Challenge taking place at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club from April 18-21, followed by the UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club from April 25-28.
So far, two of our Challenge Tour Graduates from last year have gone on to enjoy success on the DP World Tour in 2024, with Matteo Manassero winning the Jonsson Workwear Open and Jesper Svensson claiming the Porsche Singapore Classic.
We look forward to seeing which of the current Challenge Tour class will succeed in Abu Dhabi and take a significant step towards the DP World Tour.
by Tom Phillips, Head of Middle East, DP World Tour
