Abu Dhabi hosts its first female pro golf tournament To encourage Emirates women to play sport

(ANSAmed) - NAPLES, NOVEMBER 2 - The Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Open, the first female pro golf tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), opens Wednesday at the Saadiyat Beach Golf Club with 126 players from the world circuit, part of the Ladies European Tour (LET).



The course is just steps from the sea, on a perfectly groomed green that sets off the sand dunes and represents one of Abu Dhabi’s year-round primary sport tourism attractions, attracting wealthy golf lovers from around the world.



The tournament, through its organiser the Fatima Bint Mubarak Foundation (named after the wife of the first president of the UAE), is also aiming to encourage women from the UAE to play the sport.



“The tournament starting today is a milestone in the growth of sport for women,” said Mai Al Jaber, the Foundation’s director.



“Some of the best women golfers on the international scene have come here, and the women of the Emirates have the chance to meet them and see them play. This, we hope, will push our women even more to follow their dreams in golf and in all the other sporting disciplines,” she said.



Among the golfers present is the American Beth Allen, currently second in the LET rankings just after Shanshan Feng of China.



Also on the green is British golfer Melissa Reid, who highlighted the example that the women golfers are setting during the tournament.



“I always come here to prepare before the start of the season,” Reid told the website Sport360.



“It will be a fantastic tournament, but for us it’s also a big responsibility, because only if we are able to set an example for the women of the Emirates to participate in sports will we have reached our goal”.(ANSAmed).



