Change of venue for opening event of European Tour
Yas Links Abu Dhabi in
Change of venue for opening event of European Tour
A new golf course has been added to the European Tour with the Abu Dhabi Championship to be held at Yas Links Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
The 17th edition of the Abu Dhabi Championship will be held from January 20-23. The tournament has previously been held at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
News of Yas Links Abu Dhabi’s addition to the European Tour schedule from 2022 onwards follows confirmation from the UAE authorities that people travelling to the Emirate no longer need to show a negative covid-19 test result to cross the border into the capital from Dubai.
International travellers are also set to benefit following changes to the Abu Dhabi green list in October, with fully vaccinated individuals not required to quarantine on arrival, regardless of nationality or where they have come from.
Abu Dhabi has also added 27 countries to its green list of travel, meaning that a total of 82 destinations, including the United Kingdom, France, Germany, the United States and Israel, are exempt from quarantining regardless of their vaccination status.
“I am very proud of our team who have been hard at work over the past two years to successfully deliver a series of extensive on-course improvements at Yas Links Abu Dhabi,” said Mark Chapleski, president of Troon International which owns Yas Links.
“As the first true links-style course in the Middle East, its current playability is second to none and this is recognised globally thanks to its top 50 ranking on Golf Digest’s top 100 courses in the world.
“The course’s signature finishing holes on 16, 17 and 18 are regarded as one of the toughest trios in the UAE with the mangroves looming down the left of all three. It will be fascinating to see how the pros approach them in January next year.”
With authorities confirming that the covid-19 infection rate in the Emirate was just 0.2 percent of all recorded tests in September, and with cases continuing to fall in October, Abu Dhabi is expecting visitor numbers to increase significantly.