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Mid East Info
13-05-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
Hero Dubai Desert Classic announces new multi-year Official Patron partnership - Middle East Business News and Information
Dubai, UAE: The Hero Dubai Desert Classic (HDDC) continues to go from strength to strength, today announcing UK-based property investment company Flambard Williams as the newest member of its premium partnership family. Flambard Willams will become an Official Patron of the Classic on a multi-year deal, highlighting the tournament's continued attraction to international commercial partners. Multi-award winning Flambard Williams is a specialist property investment company providing expert solutions beyond traditional asset classes. They offer strategic advisory services and portfolio management advice to property investors around the world. This partnership marks the first major global sponsorship for their business and importantly supports their brand in reaching new audiences, engaging customers and growing presence in a priority market. Established in 1989, the HDDC is the oldest golf competition in the region, affectionately known as the Major of the Middle East. This year, in its 36th iteration, Tyrrell Hatton edged out the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, and Tommy Fleetwood to lift the Dallah Trophy. Premium on and off course entertainment and GEO-certification® have all contributed to its significance on the DP World Tour, and as part of the prestigious Rolex Series, it holds a premier status on the global golfing calendar. Simon Corkill, Executive Tournament Director of Hero Dubai Desert Classic, said: 'We're delighted to announce the support of Flambard Williams on a multi-year deal, and look forward to working with them as we continue to produce a truly fan and player-favourite event. 'Without partnerships like this we wouldn't be able to build such an amazing event that since 1989 has sparked some truly unforgettable moments on the DP World Tour. We can't wait to see what the 2026 event has in store and are excited to create more memorable experiences alongside our valued partners.' Christopher Whetstone, Managing Director, Flambard Williams, said that as current sponsors of South African golfer Wilco Nienaber, they were excited to partner with the iconic tournament: 'We are ecstatic to sign a fantastic long-term deal to partner with this prestigious event. Add this to our sponsorship of who I believe is a future multiple Major winner, Wilco Nienaber, we will not only increase our global brand, but also host a number of our select clients to enjoy a phenomenal 4 days of golf.' About Hero Dubai Desert Classic: The Dubai Desert Classic was founded in 1989 as the first DP World Tour event to take place in the Gulf, and the first and only GEO-certified golf event in the Middle East, highlighting the event's continued dedication to environmental responsibility and sustainable golf events. Regarded as one of the most significant events on the DP World Tour, and part of the prestigious Rolex Series, it has been credited with paving the way for golf's presence in the Middle East, as well as creating some of the most iconic moments in golfing history. Promoted and organised by Falcon and Associates, the tournament played on the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club, is fondly referred to as the 'Major of the Middle East', due to its legacy and world-class players drawn to the tournament every year. The tournament is supported by title sponsor, Hero MotoCorp, and Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), a founding partner of the Dubai Desert Classic. The 37th edition of the event will take place in January 2026 in Dubai. About Flambard Williams: Flambard Williams is UK's No1 Property Investment Specialist. Established in 2012 and headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, the team has a global reach and each year transacts on £bn's worth of property. Generating returns of over 10% annually along with major awards to their name, including Best Agent, Best Agency, and a 5-star award for their management services from the International Property Awards, it is clear to see why clients all over the globe have put their trust in Flambard Williams. Handling all sides of the property transaction, such as the purchase, the management, the mortgage, company formations, and, of course, the sourcing of the below-market-value properties, is why they are the leader in their industry. Flambard Williams is a big advocate of nurturing young sports talent, with Wilco Nienaber being their marquee signing. About Hero MotoCorp Ltd. Hero MotoCorp, headquartered in New Delhi, India, is the world's largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters for 24 consecutive years, with a global footprint spanning 48 countries across Asia, Africa, Latin America and a customer base of over 120 million. VIDA, powered by Hero, is the company's dedicated electric mobility arm, driving innovation and sustainability. Hero MotoCorp has collaborations with Harley-Davidson and Zero Motorcycles and strategic investments in Ather Energy and Euler Motors. The company operates eight manufacturing facilities – six in India and one each in Colombia and Bangladesh – along with two Research and Development centres: Centre for Innovation and Technology (CIT) in India and Tech Centre Germany (TCG) near Munich. Hero MotoCorp is the only Indian two-wheeler manufacturer listed on the prestigious Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI). Beyond mobility, Hero MotoCorp is a leading global corporate promoter of multiple sports including golf, football, field hockey, and cricket. Hero MotoSports Team Rally is India's flag bearer in global rally racing, while legendary golfer Tiger Woods is the company's Global Corporate Partner. About the DP World Tour: The DP World Tour is the main men's professional golf tour of the European Tour group. As golf's global tour, we showcase global talent in global destinations and use our platform to build, entertain and connect our global community. GLOBAL TALENT: We provide pathways and a platform for the leading international talent, bringing together golfing icons, national heroes and emerging stars from around the world. GLOBAL DESTINATIONS: We stage tournaments in iconic cities and locations around the world and each week we celebrate and showcase the rich diversity of the courses, cities and cultures we visit. GLOBAL COMMUNITY: We build, entertain and connect communities through our commitment to innovation, creative content and having a positive social and environmental impact. Our 2025 Global Schedule features 42 tournaments in 26 different countries and comprises three distinct phases: five 'Global Swings', the 'Back 9' and the 'DP World Tour Play-Offs'. It features five Rolex Series events – the premium category of events on the DP World Tour – and four Major Championships, all of which count towards the Race to Dubai Rankings, the Tour's season-long competition which concludes at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. DP World, the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, has been the title partner of the DP World Tour since the start of the 2022 season, the Tour's 50th season following its formation in 1972. We also enjoy the support of many of the world's leading business brands with DP World, Rolex, BMW, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Emirates and Fortinet as Official Partners. About the Rolex Series: The Rolex Series is the premium category of events on the DP World Tour, comprising five tournaments in 2025, staged in a variety of world-class golfing locations around the globe, each with a minimum prize fund of US$9 million. Showcasing innovation, enriched media, content and broadcast coverage, and a superior event experience for both fans and for the world's top players, the list of Rolex Series Champions includes some of golf's most distinguished names. The Rolex Series was launched in 2017, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Rolex's enduring partnership with the European Tour group. In 2025, the Rolex Series comprises; the Hero Dubai Desert Classic (January 16-19), the Genesis Scottish Open (July 10-13) the BMW PGA Championship (September 11-14), the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (November 6-9) and the DP World Tour Championship (November 13-16). The latter two events comprise the DP World Tour Play-Offs and feature the leading 70 and 50 players from the Race to Dubai respectively.
IOL News
12-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
The only thing that needs to happen is for the ball to go in the hole, says SA's Wilco Nienaber
ANTALYA: South Africa's Wilco Nienaber feels that his putting game has improved, despite falling away over the weekend at the Turkish Airlines Open at the Regnum Carya Club in Antalya, Türkiye. Nienaber was in second place after the first two rounds, but eventually finished with seven-under-par in 33rd place. The 23-year-old was magnificent off the tee box, which included a monster 340-yard drive on the 18th hole. His short game, however, let him down though over the last two days. 'The weekend wasn't great. The only good was the fight I showed on the back nine,' Louw said. 'Not really quite sure what happened on the front. Just didn't work. Just didn't happen. 'But yeah, happy with the four birdies in my last six holes. My (putting) … it's improved a lot. The only thing that needs to get better more is the ball going in the hole. That's it!'
The South African
10-05-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Wilco Nienaber mounts charge in Turkish Airlines Open
Put a driver that works for him in Wilco Nienaber's hands, and it can turn into a magic wand. Just as it did on Friday when he shot a six-under-par 65 in the second round of the DP World Tour's Turkish Airlines Open to rocket to second place at the halfway mark in Antalya, Türkiye. 'I don't think there's a golf course where length doesn't help, but helps even more when it goes straight as well,' said Nienaber. 'We did some adjustments with Ping on Monday, and I am playing with a totally different driver. It's obviously doing the job.' The result was seven birdies and just a single bogey as he reached nine-under-par at the Regnum Carya. Nienaber will start moving day two strokes behind the leader, Martin Couvra from France, who added a five-under 66 to his opening 65 to reach 11-under. One stroke behind Nienaber in third on his own was China's Haotong Li, who also had a six-under 65 in the second round. 'Early on, I thought it was going to be pretty tricky,' said Nienaber of his round which had an early bogey on the fourth when he pushed his tee shot way right. Despite putting his second on the green, he contrived to three-putt. Perhaps that was a function of putting on afternoon greens, of which Li said, 'I think the grass grew up a little bit, felt like my hair. Sometimes it doesn't go where I want it to.' Whatever the case, for the rest of the round, Nienaber putted well. 'I guess every week if you putt well, you'll be in the mix,' he said. 'The way I play, if I have a good putting week, I know I'll be close to making a breakthrough. If I can do more of the same, it will be great.' More of the same means being able to pull driver on the tees where he should and trusting that things go the way he likes, and the way Wilco fans like even more. It all seemed to fall into place in Friday's round. 'On the mental side I've worked through a few things in the past couple of weeks,' Nienaber said. 'I'm in a better space mentally again. Sorted a lot of personal stuff out the past few weeks, and with my game back to a good level, I'm feeling good on a personal level too. I managed my game really well today, and the result was a great round.' An indication of how things fell into place was the way he handled the 10th hole, which served up 41 bogeys, 17 doubles, four triples and a quadruple – and only 14 birdies. 'Everybody struggled on the 10th hole, I birdied that,' laughed Nienaber. 'The key to that was simple, really. Just three really good shots. I hit a really good tee-shot, then a nine-iron to eight feet and holed the putt.' The man who shared the lead after the first round, Robin Williams, shared some insight into the 10th hole after his second round of one-under 70 took him to seven-under and a share of fourth with Todd Clements of England, and Germany's Yannik Paul and Tiger Christensen. 'The 10th is tough,' said Williams. 'It's over 500 yards, and the wind is usually coming a little into or off the left. 'The fairways is a max of 25 or 30 yards wide, and you've got water all down the left. I think the members play it as a par-five. Everyone is hitting it in the right trees just because they're scared of the water. The trees aren't too bad if you get lucky with a gap, but you're left with at least a six- or seven-iron in to a small, undulating green. It's just difficult. I think it's going to play over-par for the whole week. If you make pars there, you're really gaining on the field.' While he didn't gain on the field ahead of the 36-hole mark, he was not unhappy with his three birdies and two bogeys. 'Things were almost going a little too well yesterday,' he said. 'Today wasn't bad, but it wasn't the same as yesterday, so I just had to kind of keep it together and put myself in the hunt for the weekend. I tried to not make big numbers and blow myself out of it. Hopefully, the outs can drop on Saturday and Sunday. 'The putting didn't feel different from yesterday. Yesterday, they went in, and today they were just lipping out or going very close. I didn't hit it particularly close to the flag compared to yesterday, so I left myself a lot of long putts. But if today can be the worst score that I have, I think I'll be good.' He was happy to bogey the final hole of the day. 'The birdie on 18 really give me some confidence and momentum to have a crack this weekend,' said Williams. 'Luckily, the wind has been down the past two days, so I just smacked driver over the water, which I don't think most guys can do, so I had an advantage there. It was a front flag today and I had 90 yards in, left myself under the hole and made a nice putt there from seven or eight feet up the hill.' Three other South Africans made the cut: reigning South African Open champion Dylan Naidoo, Jayden Schaper and Dylan Frittelli. The trio clocked in on three-under, just eight shots off the pace. 'I played really well yesterday and just had a few hiccups coming home, but I feel my game was rounding back to what I want it to be today,' said Naidoo of his three-under 68. 'With not much between the leaders and me, I'll just go out there on Saturday and shoot a good score and see where it puts me.' Frittelli, who was runner-up in Türkiye to Justin Rose in 2017, had three birdies and a bogey on his way to a two-under-par 69, while Schaper overcame a double-bogey on the 13th after starting his round on the 10th with five birdies on his opening nine and one more on the homeward nine. 'I hit a really poor tee-shot on 13, and then hit quite a good second, but it clipped a light pole. You don't hear about that too often, as we don't play too many courses that have light poles. So that was unlucky, and I ended up making double there. 'After that, I knew I had to fire to get myself back into the tournament. I made birdies on 14 and 15, and saved par with a really good momentum-saving putt on 16. When I birdied 17 and 18, I had pretty much done what was needed to get myself back into the tournament,' he added. Jacques Kruyswijk, Justin Harding, Yurav Premlall, Casey Jarvis, Ockie Strydom, Zander Lombard, Louis Albertse, Ryan van Velzen, Justin Walters and Deon Germishuys all missed the cut. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
IOL News
09-05-2025
- Sport
- IOL News
Wilco Nienaber hoping for more of the same after surging into second place in Türkiye
ANTALYA - South Africa's Wilco Nienaber surged into second place on the Turkish Airlines Open leaderboard after an excellent second-round 65 six-under par, bringing his total to an impressive nine-under, at the Regnum Carya Golf and Spa Resort on Friday. Starting the day on three-under, the big-hitting Nienaber struck six birdies, including on the notorious 10th and also the 18th holes, and bogeyed just one to slot in just two shots off leader Frenchman Martin Couvra (-11), who carded a second round 66. 'I am proud of the day. I thought it was going to be pretty tricky,' Nienaber told Independent Media. 'On the mental side of things, I had to work through a few things going around the fourth, fifth and sixth hole, and managed to do that, so very proud.' The two-times NTT DATA Pro-Am winner certainly feels he can be in contention as the competition heads into the business end over the weekend. 'The feet are tired now,' Nienaber joked. 'Every week if you putting well, you'll be pretty close. 'Especially the way I play. If I have a good putting week, I'll be close to winning. If I can do more of the same it will be great.'
The Independent
09-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Martin Couvra in pole position at Turkish Open as he chases first DP World Tour title
France's Martin Couvra will take a two-shot lead into the weekend as he looks to win his first DP World Tour title at the Turkish Open. The 22-year-old rookie started the day in a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard but pulled clear of the chasing pack courtesy of a five-under 66 at Regnum Carya. Couvra has impressed during his maiden campaign at this level, having already posted four top-10 finishes, including fifth at the Hainan Classic last time out. At 11 under par, Couvra leads by two from South Africa's Wilco Nienaber, with China's Li Haotong a shot further back in third. "I'm really happy about my game today - it's always good to have a bogey-free round," said Couvra. Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald missed the cut on three over par, with Todd Clements leading the British challenge on seven under.
