Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) announced today that Miguel Angel Jiménez of Spain will compete at this month’s inaugural Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.
The tournament which takes place from January 19 – 22 at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, has attracted a first class field with Jimenez lining up against Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia, Thomas Bjorn, John Daly, Chris DiMarco and Ian Poulter for the US$ 2 million prize fund.
With three victories under his belt in 2004, forty year old Jiménez has emerged as one of Spain’s leading players in recent years. He began his golfing career working as a caddie in Malaga and did not take up the game until the age of 15. He is known throughout the world of golf as “The Mechanic” due his love of high performance vehicles, especially his red Ferrari.
Jimenez turned professional in 1982 at the age of 18 and his first European Tour win came in 1992 at the Piaget Belgian Open. Eight more European Tour victories have followed since then. 1994; Heineken Dutch Open, 1998; Turespaña Masters Open Baleares, Trophee Lancome, 1999; Turespaña Masters - Open Andalucia, VOLVO MASTERS, 2003, the first victory by a Spaniard; Turespaña Mallorca Classic, 2004; Johnnie Walker Classic, Algarve Open de Portugal Caixa Geral de Depositos and BMW Asian Open 2004 in China.
Mubarak Al Muhairi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority commented, “We are very excited that another international golfing star, Miguel Jimenez, has confirmed his participation in the inaugural Abu Dhabi Golf Championship. His presence will add stature to an already impressive line-up of the world’s best golfers.”
Commenting on his forthcoming visit to Abu Dhabi, Jimenez said, “It is great that the new destination on the European Tour has attracted all the high ranked players for the inaugural event and I am looking forward to playing at the tournament.”
The main sponsors of the event include Etihad Airways, Aldar, ADNOC, Standard Chartered Bank, Al Masaood / Nissan, Rolls Royce, Airbus, Omega, Compass, MontBlanc, ITP Media and Gulf News.
Tickets for Abu Dhabi Golf Championship are being sold at Virgin Megastore outlets across the UAE and online at www.boxofficeme.com and www.itptickets.com.
For more information on Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, go to www.abudhabigolfchampionship.com
About Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA)
The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), established by Ruler’s Decree in September 2004, is a statutory body with wide ranging responsibilities for building the Emirate’s tourism industry. Its Chairman is HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan. Director General is HE Mubarak Al Muhairi.
The ADTA’s mandate covers three main areas: destination marketing, infrastructure and product development and regulation, and, licensing and classification. While the ADTA assumes a leadership role in the international promotion of Abu Dhabi, it also represents the interests of, and coordinates with, a wide range of stakeholders – including the hotels, Etihad and other airlines serving Abu Dhabi, the destination management companies, exhibition and conference venues, golf courses, the retail trade, Government ministries and departments etc.
Owing to a thoroughly modern infrastructure of highways, telecommunications systems, five-star hotels, restaurants and entertainment complexes, Abu Dhabi has become an active tourist centre. Traditional Arab hospitality, inviting weather, well established infrastructure and crime-free environment have also contributed in recent years to creating an ideal atmosphere for the development of business and leisure tourism.
About IMG
IMG was founded by Mark H. McCormack in the early 1960s. The company is the world’s premier sports and lifestyle management and marketing firm, with an international staff of approximately 2,200 people in over 60 offices in more than 25 countries. TWI, IMG’s television division, is the largest independent distributor and producer of televised sports, managing a library of more than 150,000 hours. TWI annually produces and distributes 6,500 hours of original programming to more than 200 countries covering 200+ sports, as well as being a global leader in digital sports and entertainment.
IMG’s experience in golf and golf tournaments is unique. In addition to managing the top two men players in the world and the top woman player, IMG has been staging golf events for forty years and currently runs over twenty professional golf tournaments in ten different countries. IMG opened a regional office in Dubai in November 2005. Establishing a presence in the Middle East reflects the company’s strong commitment to the region.
