Arab Women rise to the challenge at Omega Dubai Ladies Masters

Naela El Attar and Maha Haddioui will showcase emerging Arab talent on the global stage when they line up for honours at the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters at the Emirates Golf Club, starting from December 6 to 11.

The duo will join a star-studded field led by veteran Laura Davies, defending champion In-Kyung Kim and charismatic Michelle Wie among other big names in the season-ending Ladies European Tour event, fully confident that their participation will provide a major boost to women’s golf in the region.

“I think it's a great opportunity for us to put the Arab women’s golf on the sporting map It's definitely important for people from other countries to see us and to know we are playing golf," said El Attar, the only women professional from Egypt who will be making her second appearance in the euro 500,000 tournament.

"I don't feel the pressure. I'm just more motivated to succeed and to go back to Egypt and help get more juniors playing,” said El Attar, who learned the basic rudiments of the game at Alexandria Sporting Club course, built in 1898 by the British.

“It’s all in the soul. If you believe you can do it, you can,” said Naela, who has represented Egypt in the 2004 and 2006 Women's World Amateur Team Championship besides winning two British Girls' championships, the 2006 All-African Challenge Trophy, and the 2007 Women's Arab Championship.

Like Naela, Morocco’s Haddioui is also taking small strides towards her dream of playing professional golf on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) tour. The number one player on Florida’s Lynn University team, Haddioui first touched the golf club when she was 13, but quickly gained proficiency in the game.

Haddioui, who earned Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year in 2007, finished the 2010 season with as the highest-ranked NCAA Division II golfer. “My dream has always been to play on a tour, and I really grateful to ‘golf in DUBAi’ for inviting me to compete at the highest-level.”

Mohamed Juma Buamaim, vice-chairman and CEO of golf in DUBAi, said: "We are delighted to invite Naela and Maha to our tournament — they deserve the opportunity. Women's golf in the Arab world is still at an early stage and women golfers, in particular, need more encouragement and playing opportunities to hone their skills. The invitation to Naela and Maha is a part of our commitment to drive the Arab golf forward.

"Their presence will be a good advertisement for the Arab golf as a whole. I am sure the fans will turn up in big numbers to cheer up the emerging stars. Our best wishes are with them."

'golf in DUBAi' is backed by Omega as the title sponsor and Dubal (Dubai Aluminium) as the sponsor. The co-sponsors are: CNN, Gulf New, Emirates Airline, Emirates NBD, Mercedes-Benz, Jumeirah and wasl while Dubai Duty Free, Carpetland and Motivate are the Patrons in golf in DUBAi’s drive to showcase the emirate's vibrant golfing scene to a worldwide audience.

Pic caption: Naela El Attar … “It's important for people from other countries to know we are playing golf.”