Huge crowds at European Open
Leisurecorp celebrated a great day at The London Club as the crowds poured through the gates of its first tournament of 2009 – The European Open – and Polo Ralph Lauren were named as an official partner for the Dubai World Championship.
Leisurecorp and The European Tour’s decision to make admission free paid off as more than 15,000 spectators made the trip to North Kent to see an outstanding international field which featured Sergio Garcia and Henrik Stenson, two of the world’s top five players.
The crowds, which featured a noticeable amount of youngsters, were further entertained by US Masters champion Angel Cabrera, young sensation Rory McIlroy, US star Jon Daly, as well as defending champion Ross Fisher.
Thomas Aiken, one of the first to head out on the Heritage course, thrived in an atmosphere he has rarely seen so early on the Thursday of a golf tournament. The South African’s opening round of 66 placed him on top of the leaderboard after day one.
“I’ve been having so much fun, I’ve been really enjoying myself the last couple of months,” he said. “Today was fantastic. There must have been 5,000 or 6,000 people out there today – on a Thursday! It’s great to see crowds like that. They really enjoy their golf and they are really appreciative of what they do.”
Leisurecorp is the co-promotor of the event with long-term partners The European Tour. Tournament director Jamie Birkmyre also believes the decision to make admission free has enabled more people, who otherwise would not have got the opportunity, to see the world’s finest golfers in action.
“It’s been a phenomenal success. Everyone’s walking around with big smiles on their faces,” he said. “People were able to buy a maximum of four each, that’s 100 pounds ($159.2) worth of tickets for free.
“You’ve got the best players in the world here and the idea is to give as many people as possible the chance to come and see them.”
Also on day one, Leisurecorp followed up their initial announcement of Rolex becoming official sponsor of the Dubai World Championship with another significant sponsorship agreement. Polo Ralph Lauren has become the official outfitter for the Dubai World Championship, the anticipated season-ending event to the inaugural Race to Dubai, and will dress officials, marshals and Pro-Am players.
Spanish star Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño, currently ranked 10th in The Race to Dubai rankings, believes the partnership joins together a world-renowned fashion company with one of the most innovative new golf tournaments of our time.
“I for one, having had a relationship with Polo Ralph Lauren since I entered the professional world, am very excited by the news of their partnership with Leisurecorp and the Dubai World Championship,” he said.
“The Dubai World Championship is the biggest new development in world golf and we as players all want to be there competing in November. This now extends Polo Ralph Lauren’s continued involvement in The European Tour and their support as one of world’s leading fashion brands of high-profile sporting events.”
