By Kent Gray
History-making former world No.1 Lydia Ko, fellow Antipodean star Minjee Lee and high-profile Chinese professional Muni ‘Lily’ He are set to headline next month’s floodlit OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic.

The trio join defending champion Nuria Iturrioz, Solheim Cup stars Georgia Hall, Charley Hull and Céline Boutier and Catriona Matthew, who will return as  European next year, in the 56-player, US$285,000 Ladies European Tour event set for Emirates Golf Club from Nov. 4-6.

Ko’s signature is a coup given the 54-hole Pro-Am will need to rely on live television coverage (including Dubai Sports) for exposure after organisers have bowed to the inevitable and decided to play the tournament behind closed doors.

The 23-year-old New Zealander, who will make her debut in Dubai, is a two-time major champion but perhaps better known for becoming the youngest player, male or female, to ascend to the top of the world rankings when she was 17 – and for her plethora of swing coaches she’s tinkered with ever since. Now with Tiger Woods former swing coach Sean Foley, Ko is ranked 38th but has shown a hint of her undoubted talent with a T-2 at the recent the Marathon Classic and is being talked of as a real threat at this week’s KMPG Women’s PGA Championship.

Lee finished T-11 in her Dubai debut in 2014.

At No.6, Australian Minjee Lee is the highest-ranked player thus far confirmed for the 14th edition of Dubai’s LET stop. The 24-year-old will arrive at the Faldo course at Emirates G.C. fresh from three top-four finishes in five starts since the post-COVID resumption and determined to better her T-11 finish in the Emirates in 2014.

He might be ranked a lowly 449 but she won’t struggle for attention. The 21-year-old Chinese star claimed her first tournament victory on the Symetra Tour in July 2018 at the inaugural Prasco Charity Championship in Maineville, Ohio. A follow-up win at last November’s LPGA Q-Series was enough to secure her 2020 LPGA Tour membership and Dubai will be a prime opportunity for her to prove her burgeoning potential.

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The OMEGA Dubai Moonlight Classic will mark the return of sporting events to Dubai and take place under the appropriately named theme “Time To Shine” moniker after many tournaments have been cancelled or postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“2020 has been a very difficult year globally, not just for sports, and as such we are very grateful to Dubai Sports Council and all our partners,” said Tournament Director, Simon Corkill. “Without their support this tournament simply wouldn’t have been possible.

“With some of the game’s best players set to attend this year’s tournament, we’ve gone above and beyond to ensure the necessary safety precautions are in place for November. Whilst we won’t be able to welcome spectators this year, we are delighted that Dubai will host the unique and day and night event which will be broadcast globally to 60 countries and 348m households.”

Formerly known as the OMEGA Dubai Ladies Masters, the inaugural tournament was played in 2006, with a strong rollcall of previous winners, including two-time winner, Annika Sorenstam, and four-time champion, Shanshan Feng. Sorenstam won the first two events back to back in 2006 and 2007, while Chinese former world no.1, Feng, dominated from 2014-2016, winning the tournament three times in-a-row.

The newly named and scheduled tournament has been switched from May to November after its first staging in spring 2019, when it achieved global recognition as the world’s first professional day-night tour event.