Stage set for the eighth DP World Tour Championship

 As Jumeirah Golf Estates gets ready to host 65,000 fans, 60 of the world’s top golfers and more than 200 global press at the DP World Tour Championship, the season finale of the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, the leading residential golf community lifts the curtain on the preparation required to host such a phenomenal sporting event in Dubai.

Jumeirah Golf Estates is poised to host the season-ending finale for the eighth time from Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 November – kick-starting preparations across the entire community as the sporting world shifts its focus to the climax of the European Tour season with a number of stars in contention to be crowned as the Race to Dubai winner.

An extended Championship Village with an even wider range of food and beverage outlets including popular Dubai food trucks, DP World activity zone, giant TV screen, Emirates Fly With Me Kids Zone, free golf lessons, trick shot shows, Titleist Longest Drive Competition and live music will keep the whole family entertained.

• With at least 65,000 golf fans expected to attend the 4-day tournament, the Championship Village, 4 grandstands, 7 hospitality chalets, 4 giant TV screens and 10 scoreboards have been under construction for the past 8 weeks to ensure all spectators have a first class experience. There were 200 contractors in total helping build and set up the facilities and 240 staff working over 7500 hours during the tournament as stewards, drivers, housekeeping and customer service.

• 70 Jumeirah Golf Estates’ groundskeepers diligently attend daily to over 7,675 yards of the award-winning 18-hole Earth course to ensure the fairways and greens are in pristine condition to play championship golf.

• The greens are trimmed to a neat 3mm, the fairways are 10mm, the semi-roughs are 25mm, whereas the dreaded roughs are between 64-70mm and the grass under the on the tees is 5-6mm. Around 20,000kg of grass seed has been used for the intense over-seeding process to get the course into first class Championship conditions.

• Work begins at 4am each day of the tournament to ensure the grass is mowed to the perfect height, bunkers are raked, pins are moved and tee markers are set out for the day’s action.

• For the unlucky players, there are a total of 99 bunkers on the 72 par 18-hole Earth course.

• There will be over 10,000 guests enjoying the hospitality in the Clubhouse, which happens to be the biggest in the UAE at 12,150 square metres.

• In the new DP World Zone, fans can test their putting around a 6-hole mini-golf course and also challenge themselves by attempting to control a crane which is 138 metres high on a simulator. The aim of the game is to unload one of the 62 million containers moved by DP World each year. If you can beat the likes of Danny Willett, Ian Poulter and Anirban Lahiri in this challenge, you have the chance to win top prizes like hospitality passes, tour bags and signed flags.

• A newly popular 1^st tee DP World grandstand, in addition to seating on the ninth, 17^th and 18^th holes which brings the total number of grandstand seats to over 2000.

• One of the best views of the action is in the Clubhouse Earth terrace which is 600 square metres and overlooks the 18^th

• You’ll not only see birdies but also plenty of birds at Jumeirah Golf Estates. There are roughly 15 different species on the estate at this time of the year. In addition, there are numerous trees; around 10-15 genera, each with a couple of species.

• Nearly 6,000 VIP guests will enjoy the spacious 2,475m² hospitality pavilion with premium breakfast, lunch and tea catering and the best view on Earth overlooking the 18^th

• Over 60 chefs each day of the tournament prepare to serve over 20,000 meals and 35,000 drinks to players, spectators and tournament staff throughout the week.

• 247 DP World Tour Championship volunteers will descend on Jumeirah Golf Estates to help manage the crowds at the UAE’s most popular golf event – 142 UAE residents, 105 international, 187 men, 60 women, 149 returning volunteers, 98 new volunteers and 25 have participated in all eight tournaments.

• Over 100 students from GEMS Wellington International School will provide scoring support to help keep track of all the birdies, eagles and albatrosses shot by some of the best golfers in the world.

• Away from the sporting spectacle, there will be a total of 12 pop-up restaurants and bars in the Championship Village including: NKD Pizza, Ghaf Kitchen, Kcal, Baskin Robbins, Craft Beer Bar, Costa Coffee, Cider Garden Village, BBQ Grill, Melt, Garret Popcorn, Aperol Spritz Bar and Fish & Chips.

• Over 500 tournament staff from The European Tour, Jumeirah Golf Estates, Tour Productions, hostesses and security.

• World No.2, Rory McIlroy, is aiming to win both his third DP World Tour Championship and third Race to Dubai title this year which will excite his 3 million Twitter followers and his 1m Instagram followers.

• By the end of the 2016 DP World Tour Championship, US$100,000 will have been raised for tournament charities Friends of Cancer Patients over the past 3 years.

• 3,314 hours of tournament TV coverage will be beamed into 423 million homes around the world by 41

• US$13,000,000 of prize money from the DP World Tour Championship prize fund (US$8,000,000) and a Race to Dubai Bonus Pool (US$5,000,000).

Julian Small, Managing Director of Club Operations at Jumeirah Golf Estates said, “With the DP World Tour Championship now just days away, we are working hard to put the final touches on the backdrop of the region’s most anticipated sporting event. This year’s Race to Dubai been one of the most exciting yet, and we are sure the DP World Tour Championship 2016 will be no different with the extensive entertainment and hospitality on offer.”

Salman Bin Karam, Senior Manager of Commercial at Jumeirah Golf Estates, also commented, “The DP World Tour Championship is a stand out date in the Jumeirah Golf Estates diary and with the countdown now on, we look forward to welcoming a remarkable 65,000 spectators to the sidelines of our championship greens and award-winning homes.”

The Director of European Tour International – Dubai Office, Nick Tarratt, added: “This year’s DP World Tour Championship is set to be bigger and better than ever in its eighth year as the facts and figures prove. We pride ourselves on the unique spectator experience which improves every year to make this tournament The Greatest Show on Earth.”

Alex Noren’s victory in the Nedbank Golf Challenge hosted by Gary Player moved him to third place in the Race to Dubai meaning that he now becomes one of four players, along with Henrik Stenson, Danny Willett and Rory McIlroy who can still finish the season at the top of the rankings following the conclusion of this week’s grand finale.

The UAE’s English and Arabic media today enjoyed a behind the scenes tour at Jumeirah Golf Estates ahead of the tournament where they joined by Pete Cowen, coach to 11 players in this week’s field including Race to Dubai Nos. 1 and 2, Stenson and Willett.