South Africa’s Ernie Els is the latest star name to voice his approval of The Race to Dubai, which continues with this week’s Dubai Desert Classic.
Thanks mainly to his tied third finish at the South African Open Championship, so far this season Els – three times a winner over the Majils Course at Emirates Golf Club – has collected €68,103 in earnings to move to 46th place in The Race to Dubai.
Els’ decision to move to America had sparked fears he might feature in fewer European Tour events, but the South African swiftly allayed any such concerns with a ringing endorsement of The Race to Dubai.
He said: “It’s going to have an unbelievable impact. It’s only the start of the year, but as the season goes on, and as we play Major tournaments and more events on The European Tour, The Race to Dubai is going to get more intense, and guys will be gunning for that first prize. So I think it’s a great marketing ploy by the sponsors and organisers and it’s a great marketing deal to put Dubai, because it’s really becoming a great golfing destination with new courses popping up all the time.
“Obviously The Ryder Cup has helped the international tours a lot, especially The European Tour with their great success. And then with guys like George O’Grady getting guys like David Spencer, Leisurecorp and The Race to Dubai guys involved, it’s wonderful. The US PGA Tour came out with the FedEx Cup, which was a big deal – it still is. So The European Tour had to respond with something, and they really came up with a great format. So the Middle East has been a great ally for The European Tour – they have really come up big, especially in these times when some companies are really struggling.”
