On Wednesday 10 June, Tom Phillips, European Tour’s Head of Middle East, shared his insights alongside top officials from the Dubai Sports Council and Dubai Police in terms of safety protocols for the ‘Return of Spectators to Sports Stadiums’ and what he expects for the popular DP World Tour Championship in terms of spectators.
The forum was a chance for Phillips to talk about the upcoming golf events and former Real Madrid star Michel Salgado to discuss football games returning to the UAE.
Dubai is home to the European Tour’s season-ending finale, the DP World Tour Championship, which is scheduled to be held here at the Jumeirah Golf Estates from December 10-13. In past years, the tournament has attracted spectators in excess of 60,000 across four days, and fans could be queuing up at the turnstiles in similar numbers for this edition of the tournament as well.
The European Tour are optimistic they can run an amended schedule and will still finish the season in Dubai with the possibility of spectators if it’s safe for them to attend.
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“As a global golf tour, the European Tour’s international reach is our greatest strength, but it has also been our greatest challenge as we look to return to competition,” said Phillips. “We run professional golf tournaments in 30-plus countries across the world, so that means dialogue with 30 different governing bodies and authorities, each with their own guidelines and unique situation.
“Despite this challenge, last week we were excited to announce the resumption of our 2020 season, starting on July 22 with a swing of events across the UK. Multiple events in one region will allow us to adopt strict health and safety measures.
“We have also announced new dates for four of our Rolex Series events, including the season-ending DP World Tour Championship here in Dubai at Jumeirah Golf Estates from December 10-13, where once again the winner of the 2020 Race to Dubai will be crowned.”
Talking about the attendance of fans, Phillips added: “In terms of spectators, our first six events in the UK will be played behind closed doors.
“However, we are looking into the possibility of spectator attendance for events played later in 2020, but we are not committed to it at this stage. It completely depends on risk mitigation, Government approval of the country we are in and adhering to general and overarching global health guidelines. Golf is not a stadium sport, but there are considerations unique to our events.
“All tournaments will be subject to the Tour’s comprehensive Health Strategy, which will continue to evolve, aligned with international Government guidance and health guidelines.”
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