By IANS
Abu Dhabi : South African golf legend Gary Player will design the first of the two championship golf courses planned on an island off the shores of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) capital, WAM news agency said.
The Gary Player Signature course, scheduled for completion in 2009, is being built in Saadiyat Beach district, one of seven zones in the island.
The Saadiyat Island course will be the first in the Gulf region with several beachfront holes.
It is also the first in the UAE to be designed by 71-year-old Player, whose career includes three Masters, three British Open, two PGA championships and the US Open titles.
"Gary Player is renowned as much for his dedication to the principles of design excellence as he is for his golfing accomplishments. He is recognised worldwide as an uncompromising perfectionist who settles for nothing but the best," Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) chairman Sheikh Sultan bin Tahnoon al Nahyan said.
"This course will be a world class asset for Saadiyat Island and Abu Dhabi and will be capable of hosting international-standard tournaments," he added.
"Our research has shown that golf is a key ingredient in the meetings and business tourism sectors which we anticipate will account for one third of our targeted three million annual tourist arrivals by 2015."
A second ocean-style golf course will also come up on the same island.
The two courses will substantially enhance the golf tourism offering of Abu Dhabi, which already has a championship course at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. This is where the annual European Tour-backed Abu Dhabi Golf Championship is to be staged for the third time next January.