Players Praise Leisurecorp As South African Open Hots Up
- Record crowds continue to pour into Pearl Valley Golf Estates
19 December 2008: The world-class field in action at the South African Open Championship, the fifth tournament in The Race to Dubai , heaped praise on hosts Leisurecorp as the tournament reached the halfway stage.
Leisurecorp, partners with The European Tour in creating The Race To Dubai, and hosts of the grand finale event and richest golf tournament in the world – the Dubai World Championship in November 2009, is staging the South African Open for the second consecutive year at its Pearl Valley Golf Estates set in the stunning Cape Winelands .
Bouyed by free entry, glorious sunshine and the appearance of South Africa’s ‘big five’ Ernie Els, Trevor Immelman, Tim Clark, Retief Goosen, and Rory Sabbatini, approximately 9,000 specators poured through the gates on day two to take the total attendance to 16,000 – a 63 per cent increase on the same stage last year.
Frenchman Michael Lorenzo-Vera has a two shot lead at the top of the leaderboard after carding a seven under par 65. South Africa’s Thomas Aiken shot a brilliant bogey-free 64 to equal the tournament record for Pearl Valley Golf Estates set by Paraguayan Fabrizio Zanotti on day one, and then echoed the sentiments of many of the players in the field by praising the high-class organisation of the tournament:
“It’s fantastic. Leisurecorp has done a fantastic job with the SA Open. It really is something special this year. It’s got its name back. It’s the second oldest golf tournament in the world, and then they have gone everything all‑out. It’s nice to see the crowds. It’s fantastic to see all of the people coming out to watch.”
As part of major enhancements to the 2008 South African Open, Leisurecorp has returned the second oldest Open championship in the world to its original name and made significant improvements to the course, player facilities, and spectator experience.
Earlier in the week, US Masters champion Immelman described the conditon of the course at Pearl Valley Golf Estates as among the best he had ever played:
“The course is in incredible condition, it really is. It’s just immaculate which, you know, I’ve come to expect. That’s kind of the way I expected the course to be to a high standard, and they have always turned out a fantastic course, for the members day-in day-out. I really feel like these fairways are some of the best, if not the best, that I’ve ever played on.”
About Leisurecorp
Leisurecorp was established by Dubai World in July 2006, to identify, acquire, develop and manage a portfolio of investments in the sports and leisure sectors in Dubai and across the world. Its portfolio includes Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai’s premier residential golf community; Pearl Valley Golf Estates, South Africa’s leading residential golf community, which will host the South African Open for the next two years; a major shareholding in Island Global Yachting, the premier owner, developer and manager of luxury marinas; a stake in Troon Golf, the world’s leading luxury-brand golf management, development and marketing company; a shareholding in GPS Industries, the provider of Wi-Fi enabled global positioning systems (GPS) for golf and residential communities; and a stake in Snowmass Colorado, a 2.8 million square foot re-development of one of North America’s premier ski resorts.
In November 2007, Leisurecorp announced a wide-ranging partnership with The European Tour which will create The Dubai World Championship, the world’s richest golf tournament with a US$10,000,000 prize fund. To be held annually at Jumeirah Golf Estates, the tournament will be open to the players numbered 1- 60 on The Race to Dubai – formerly The European Tour Order of Merit – with players being given the opportunity to compete for an additional US$10,000,000 bonus fund. From 2009, Jumeirah Golf Estates will also become home to The European Tour’s International Headquarters.
In October 2008, Leisurecorp acquired Turnberry in Scotland , the host venue for the 2009 Open Championship, from Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide.
Related posts:
- Leisurecorp And Sterne Pass The Test At South African Open
- Leisurecorp Kicks Off Trilogy Of Golf Tournaments In South Africa
- Leisurecorp Ambassador Westwood Leads The Way At Pearl Valley
- The Race to Dubai is On
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