Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Spain’s Jon Rahm celebrates on the 18th green after winning the 11th DP World Tour Championship and Race to Dubai title at Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 24, 2019. 

By Kent Gray
The European Tour’s season-ending event has a new place in the radically altered global golf calendar and will help settle a very different looking Race to Dubai but could yet have at least one happy connection with the previous 11 editions.

European Tour Middle East chief Tom Phillips has revealed the 12th DP World Tour Championship, rescheduled to December 10-13 from its traditional November timeslot due to the COVID-19 pandemic, could include fans at Jumeirah Golf Estates.

The European Tour is set to resume with a six-event UK swing from July 22 but those events will be played behind closed doors. However, Phillips, speaking at a “Return of Spectators to Sports Stadiums” forum organised by Dubai Sports Council in conjunction with Dubai Police on Wednesday, hopes fans may be allowed on JGE’s Earth course come December.

“…We are looking into the possibility of spectator attendance for events played later in 2020, but we are not committed to it at this stage,” Phillips said.

“It completely depends on risk mitigation, Government approval of the country we are in and adhering to general and overarching global health guidelines. Golf is not a stadium sport, but there are considerations unique to our events.

“All tournaments will be subject to the Tour’s comprehensive Health Strategy, which will continue to evolve, aligned with international Government guidance and health guidelines.”

Tom Phillips

Dr. Andrew Murray, the European Tour’s Chief Medical Officer, also spoke at the forum via video link, as did former Spain and Real Madrid football star Michel Salgado and Gergo Szabo, a spokesperson for the Hungarian Football Federation.

Hungary became the first country in Europe to allow a conditional reopening of football stadiums while the Polish League is expected to welcome fans back from June 19, at a limit of 25 per cent capacity. This weekend, rugby union in New Zealand will make its return and between 20,000-35,000 fans are expected to pack the stands for the matches; rugby league’s NRL in Australia is in its second round of matches but remains behind closed doors.

Dubai resident Salgado spoke with sad insight having lost his father-in-law, former Real Madrid president Lorenzo Sanz, to Coronavirus in March. Spain has also been one of the worst-hit nations as the pandemic brought life to a halt around the globe.

“One of the biggest things that we missed during the lockdown – apart from our families if we were away from them – is sport,” said Salgado who works on projects with Dubai Sports Council.

“We cannot live without our sport. It’s our activation – sport activates our body and our mind. That’s why I was desperate to get our academies back, get our kids back to our academies to play sports again because the kids were really struggling a lot, stuck at home without sports.

“We are all responsible to get sports back, with health and with security. Why? Because sport is a big part of our life for so many reasons. First of all, it is education for our kids. Secondly, sport is competition and entertainment, and that is a big part of our life as well. So we need to make sure our fans are back in the stands, safe and healthy.”

In his address to open the forum, His Excellency Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of Dubai Sports Council, clarified no firm decisions had been taken on the resumption of sports with fans in the Emirate.

“We are here to discuss protocols for the safe return of fans to our sports events, whenever that happens. We are not saying it will happen in one month or two months, or whatever. So let us be very clear about this,” HE Saeed Hareb said.

“This is a forum where we have brought together different stakeholders to discuss and share our experiences and thoughts. The sports sector is opening up gradually and it is important for us to have this dialogue and take everyone on board as we move forward. Most importantly, we have to plan ahead and be ready for the time when authorities will allow fans to attend sports events.”