Youngsters Inspired By The Pros At Emirates Golf Clinic
Hendrik Buhrmann imparts finer points of the game to youths at Barclays Singapore Open
Singapore, October 31, 2009 - For the 22 young golf enthusiasts participating in the Emirates Youth Golf Clinic at the Barclays Singapore Open, it was a class no pupil was going to fall asleep in.
While 156 professional golfers – headlined by the likes of Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and Geoff Ogilvy – battle for the US$5 million prize purse, the secondary school students, hand-picked by their teachers for their passion and talent in golf, got a private tutorial from Hendrik Buhrmann, a pro from South Africa, who has been on the professional circuit for 29 years.
The Emirates Youth Golf Clinics provide school children the opportunity to learn from professional players at prestigious tournaments. This is the third time Emirates – the Official Airline Sponsor of the Barclays Singapore Open – has organised this initiative here, with the first two times at the Singapore Masters 2006 and 2007.
Nick Rees, Emirates’ Country Manager for Singapore and Brunei, said: “Emirates is a dedicated supporter of golf events worldwide, and by sponsoring the Singapore Open for the first time, we hope to contribute to establishing the city as a major hub for golf. We hope that the Emirates Youth Golf Clinic will encourage more youngsters to excel in golf and build a healthy attitude towards sports.”
At the tournament, students from Methodist Girls’ School and Anglo-Chinese School (Barker Road) rubbed shoulders with the stars. Buhrmann, who showed students the finer points of the game and shared his personal experiences in the highly competitive circuit, said: "The kids here are among some of the most talented and developed young golfers that I have seen. With golf now included in the Olympics in 2016, we can expect to see the game developed even further amongst youngsters."
The students, accompanied by teachers and parents, also received course passes, courtesy of Emirates, to provide them with the opportunity to watch the thrilling golfing action “live”.
Emirates is a dedicated sponsor of top golfing tournaments globally. It is the Official Airline at 13 tournaments spanning the six continents it flies non-stop to from its home-base, Dubai. In addition to the Singapore Open, Emirates’ sponsors the Australian Open Championship, the Hero Honda Indian Open, the Thailand Open, Austrian Golf Open, BMW International Open, Dubai Desert Classic, HSBC Champions, Malaysian Open, Volvo China Open, The Hong Kong Open, Australian PGA Championship and the Dubai Ladies’ Masters.
The airline also extends its support of golf to passengers by allowing them to check in a set of clubs free of charge – in addition to their normal checked baggage allowance – in any class of service on all Emirates flights.