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Player Predicts World Number One Status For McIlroy
Asian Golf Monthly Team
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Rory McIlroy shares a joke with Gary Player.
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Abu Dhabi (January 30): As Gary Player warmed up for the inaugural Saadiyat Beach Classic, the enigmatic South African pinpointed young Irish sensation Rory McIlroy as next world number one of golf.
The internationally renowned and most travelled athlete ever was clear that if McIlroy continued on the same path his future would be bright.
"He has a great team behind him, bags of talent and one of the best swings in golf. If he continues the way he is going I have no doubt Rory has the potential to be the next world number one," said Player.
The comments came as Player hosted the inaugural Saadiyat Beach Classic at the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club in Abu Dhabi.
The course, developed by Tourism Development Investment Company (TDIC) has been designed by the Black Knight, Player’s golf course design company.
The course is located on Saadiyat Island, one of Abu Dhabi’s flagship developments that will further the appeal of Abu Dhabi as a tourism destination. With attractions such as the Louvre, Abu Dhabi, Zayed National museum and The Guggenheim, Abu Dhabi, experts suggest this will be one of the most sought after leisure destinations in the world.
"The opening of Saadiyat Beach Golf Club marks an important step forward in Abu Dhabi’s emergence as a world-class golf destination. To have one of golf’s rising stars and one of the sport’s greatest ever players teeing up next to one another, is a significant boost to Abu Dhabi and its sporting ambitions,” said Ahmed Hussein, COO, TDIC and Deputy Director General, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.
The Saadiyat Beach Classic welcomed a host of stars from the world of golf and sport. With the likes of McIlroy, Darren Clarke and former Ryder Cup captain Sam Torrance all taking part, the international appeal of the destination is becoming more apparent.
"We start our season in Abu Dhabi and have a three-week swing in the Middle East. The UAE has become a great destination and with facilities like Saadiyat Beach Golf Club I can only see more and more golfers coming to play here. It is ideal for practicing and the facilities are all world class,’ said world number 11 McIlroy.
The golf course itself is the Arabian Gulf’s first ever beachfront golf course and boasts some of the finest views of the Arabian Gulf. With an array of challenging holes, with some running adjacent to the white sands of Saadiyat Beach, the golf course looks set to become not only one of the Middle East’s must play courses, but the world’s.
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