By Kent Gray
Nick Tarratt’s successor as the head of the European Tour’s Middle East division has been unveiled.

Tom Phillips, a former CEO of the Faldo Series and CEO of the Hong Kong Golf Association, will take the reins at the European Tour’s Dubai office at Jumeirah Golf Estates on July 1. He replaces Tarratt whose long-running tenure ended earlier this year.

The 45-year-old Englishman will be responsible for the development of the European Tour’s tournament programme throughout the Middle East region, a portfolio of six events including the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at JGE.

Phillips brings 25 years’ experience in the golf and leisure industries, including 14 years in Asia, to the role. He has a BA Honours degree in media and communications and spent nearly 15 years working for Sir Nick Faldo as CEO of the Faldo Series.

As the Faldo Series expanded into Asia – it grew from seven annual events in the UK to 40 tournaments across 30 countries worldwide for more than 7,000 juniors annually – Phillips relocated to Hong Kong in 2005 where he also took up the role of Director of Faldo Design. Phillips then joined the Hong Kong Golf Association as CEO in 2013, working closely with the European Tour and Asian Tour on the Hong Kong Open, as well as overseeing a new commercial direction for Hong Kong golf’s governing body. 

Since 2016 he has been consulting for Mission Hills in China – the world’s largest golf facility with 22 courses – helping shape the organisation’s international ‘golf and more’ strategy which includes recently-announced partnerships with FC Barcelona, the NBA and the PGA of America.

“Having worked closely with the European Tour since 1999, I am excited to join the team and continue the excellent progress that has been made by the Tour and its key stakeholders in the Middle East for more than three decades,” said Phillips.

“The European Tour group has seven events in the Middle East in 2019, as well as the biggest first prize in tournament golf for the winner of this year’s DP World Tour Championship and some of the Tour’s most committed partners, all of which reflects the Middle East’s importance to world golf and the future of our sport.”

Keith Waters, the European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer, added: “The Middle East is a very important region for the European Tour and Tom will add a wealth of experience in international golf strategy and business development to our operation.

“We look forward to working with Tom to build on the strong relationships we have formed in the Middle East over the past 30 years.”

In 2019, there are six tournaments in the Middle East on the European Tour’s Race to Dubai, along with the innovative Jordan Mixed Open, held in April, which combined players from the Challenge Tour, Staysure Tour and the Ladies European Tour.