“Come and join us, it’s great fun,” is the invitation from one of the biggest stars of the European Senior Tour to local amateurs and professionals to take their chance and qualify to play in the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq.
A gross qualifier for local professionals and amateurs with a handicap of 2.4 or lower will be hosted at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club on February 12 from which two players will be awarded places in the main Senior Tour event, alongside some legends of the game, taking place from March 16-18 at the same venue.
“Playing any tournament on the Senior Tour is always a great pleasure,” says Paul Broadhurst, who topped the European Senior Tour Order of Merit in his first full season last year and was awarded the Rookie of the Year Award after a stunning victory at the Senior Open Championship presented by Rolex. He then duplicated the award in the US after being named PGA Tour Champions Rookie of the Year having added victory at the Nature Valley First Tee Open at Pebble Beach.
“There’s something about the European Senior Tour events that makes them such fun,” says Broadhurst. “We’ve all had long careers on the European Tour and although the tournaments we play are totally competitive we like to have some fun as well on and off the course.”
“Whoever the two deserving players are, who will join us in the main event on the Thursday, Friday and Saturday (March 16-18) they can rest assured that the Senior Tour players will make sure those three days are an experience to remember. We enjoy a bit of banter and leg-pulling between ourselves and the spectators throughout the three days and I can guarantee the two local players will love every minute of it, regardless of how well they play.”
So don’t delay. To qualify for a chance to join Broadhurst and a host of other stars, including former Ryder Cup players Des Smyth and Ronan Rafferty, competitors must be aged 50 or over on March 16, 2017 and entries for the Gross Qualifier, which will be an 18-hole strokeplay event, must be in within the next few days as they close at midnight on February 4. Entrants must be male and either local residents, UAE Nationals, GCC nationals or members of the UAE PGA.
“It’s wonderful to be able to offer such a unique opportunity for UAE residents and GCC Nationals aged over 50 to play alongside legends of the game in the inaugural Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq,” said Martin Duff, Director of Golf at Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club. “Sharjah Golf & Shooting Club, the European Senior Tour and Shurooq were all overwhelmingly in favour of offering sponsors invites to the eligible local golfing community.
“We are sure this will encourage everyone to further embrace the event as a whole. In years gone by there have been open qualifiers for the Desert Classic and Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, but since the inception of the MENA Tour these opportunities no longer exist. It is therefore great to put such an event back on the UAE’s golfing calendar and we wish all the qualifiers the best of luck on what is sure to be an exciting days golf.
Amateurs of all ages and abilities are also being given a chance to get in on the action with a number of clubs in the region hosting qualifiers for local golfers to win a place in one of two Pro-Ams taking place on March 14 and 15 ahead of the Sharjah Senior Golf Masters presented by Shurooq.
For more information contact the Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club Academy office, Tel: +9716 548 7777 or e-mail: [email protected]
