GolfEx Dubai, the first golfing conference and exhibition of its kind opens its doors to the golf industry tomorrow (Sunday) with a number of strong and influential figures set to reveal their views on the future progress and development of a sport that has become synonymous with Dubai.
To be held over two days at the Jumeirah Conference Centre, GolfEx Dubai has found support from a wide variety of personalities and decision makers from golf’s corridors of power. Among those addressing the delegates will be five-time Open Champion Peter Thomson CBE, a dynamic figure in the development of the game in Australia and Asia as well as the sport as a whole.
Now 76, Thomson won over 100 tournaments worldwide in a career spanning over five decades. He took up golf at the age of 12, and by 15 was club champion at his local golf club. Although he studied to be an industrial chemist and took a job with Spalding, Thomson gave it up in 1949 to become a professional golfer.
He finished second at the 1952 and ‘53 Open Championships, then won in 1954, ‘55, and ‘56 – the only golfer in the 20th century to win the British Open three consecutive times. He went on to add another Open title to his collection in 1958, while his final British Open title came in 1965 when he held off the likes of Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player – another GolfEx Dubai supporter – and defending champ Tony Lema for victory.
“I’m very honoured to be invited to participate in this conference and wish to cement strong relationships with Dubai and the surrounding regions,” said Thomson. “They will surely become powerful global golfing destinations in the future. We Australians would like to be part of it in the future as we know a lot of our citizens will come to play and enjoy golf throughout the region in the future.”
Thomson’s co-principals in the UK based golf design company, Thomson Perrett & Lobb, Tim Lobb and Ross Perrett, will also be adding their weight to the build and design forums at GolfEx. The team has over 75 years combined experience and has designed and remodelled over two hundred projects in over 30 countries.
Primarily a conference, GolfEx Dubai will also host a trade exhibition and gala dinner to enable the golfing world to share knowledge, broker business deals, and network with leading industry figures and experts in order to drive the game into the future.
“GolfEx Dubai is the perfect opener to a week of golf here in Dubai,” said Neil Hamp Adams, managing director of Driving Force, the event organisers and promoters. “Straight after GolfEx, the Dubai Desert Classic will round off three back-to-back PGA European Tour events in the region – these are definitely exciting times for golf in the Middle East.”
GolfEx Dubai www.golf-ex.com
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