Caroline Hedwall sounding confident of upstaging England’s Melissa Reid for second place on Money list at the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters
A strong finish would cap a memorable rookie year for Hedwall, who enjoyed a tremendous run this season, adding the Indian win to her victories in Slovakia, Finland and Austria.
Ai Miyazato of Japan has already secured the Money List title with her victory in the Evian Masters which carried an impressive purse of euro 363,079.68 (Dh 1.8 million) for the winner.
With just euro 12,183 separating the two rising players of women’s golf, they have all to play for, though they insisted it wouldn’t lead to any further pressure.
“I think now it’s more realistic to think that I could pass her this week. Before then it was a pretty large gap, but it’s definitely a goal for this week, but we’ll see. It kind of depends on how she plays, too,” said Hedwall.
“The victory in New DelhiI has given me a lot of self confidence and if I can keep the momentum going, I have a good chance of making it two on the trot,” said the Swede, adding: “This is my first visit to Dubai and I am loving every moment of my stay here.
“The field is great, so I’m excited to play. If I won it, it would be my greatest victory, based upon the level of competition here,” she said.
England’s Melissa Reid, hailed as a new British hope, insisted her game is in good shape even though she hasn’t played any competitive golf in the last six weeks. “I came here early to work on my game with my coach.
“Though I may be a bit rust, I am swinging it well and look forward to a great week,” said the 24-year-old who has never finished outside top-10 since making her first appearance in Dubai in 2008.
“Dubai has been very kind to me. I love the (Majlis) course there. It’s very exciting and I just love playing it,” said Reid, who rates the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters as one of her favourite tournaments.
“The tournament is quite professionally run, and the players are treated very well. The hospitality, the food … everything is just superb. I am really looking forward to visiting the city again,” said Reid, who feels the winning score would probably be around under 12-under since the course is playing touch, but the greens are just fantastic.”
Promoted and organised by golf in DUBAi, the tournament wears truly a global look to it with players from 28 countries represented in the strong 108-player field, which is one of the strongest ever assembled in Dubai.
Also included in the field are Britain’s all-time great and golf in DUBAi ambassador Laura Davies, Michelle Wie, Christina Kim, Sophie Gustafson, new US sensation Alexis Thompson and a host of other top-draws.
In line with their long-held tradition of encouraging and promoting emerging players, golf in DUBAi has extended special invitations to Lindsay Brown, the winner of the Emirates Golf Federation’s Order of Merit title, and promising Abu Dhabi-based Sana Tufail — the only two amateurs in the field.
“It is, far and away, the best field ever seen in Dubai,” Mohamed Juma Buamaim, vice-chairman and CEO of golf in DUBAi, said, adding: “The fact that we have some top LPGA stars joining the cream of the Ladies European Tour players clearly reflects on the growing stature of the tournament in women’s golf.
“It’s been our constant endeavour to try and assemble the best possible field. We have been doing that because of the enthusiastic support of the players,” said Buamaim.
“All these players certainly bring star value to the event, but the reputation of the Omega Dubai Ladies Masters is built on the collective presence of the players,” said Buamaim.
In a bid to encourage more and more fans come to the watch the action, the organisers have once again announced that there will be no entry fee and the tournament, for the third time, will have a Saturday finish.
‘golf in DUBAi‘ is backed by Omega as the title sponsor and Dubal (Dubai Aluminium) as the sponsor. The co-sponsors are: CNN, Emirates NBD, Gulf News, Jumeirah, Mercedes-Benz 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.
