Stirring start to the GEC Open World Final in Dubai
The venue of DP World Tour Championship, Jumeirah Golf Estates – Earth Course, hosted the opening round of the GEC Open World Final – Dubai Corporate Golf World Cup 2017 on December 13. Organized in association with bizgolf and OMA Emirates, the event hosted winners from national qualifying rounds held from August to early December across 18 countries in the ‘City of Gold’. With an aim to ply their trade on the coveted venue and be crowned global champion of the Global Enterprise Connect global golf tour, as many as 60 top executives from leading global organisations got together for the two-day extravaganza.
Competing on a challenging par 72 layout by Greg Norman, Frenchman Christophe Callaou who qualified from Egypt round and Azerbaijan representative Susan Drummond are leading the pack with 35 Stableford points. Going into the final round, winner of the Mumbai Round of the five-city Indian swing, Hassanali Bulsara is following them closely at 34 points, tied with Yukol Yingyongkij from Thailand.
Apart from the exhilarating golfing experience, the corporates also enjoyed networking luncheons amidst a mix of various cultures, forging new friendships and business relations as part of GEC community.
Tushar Sahoo, Managing Director, GEC Open, said: “At the 4th edition of this global tournament, we are thankful to all participants for making this journey to be with us in celebration of another year of outstanding golf, networking and new friendships. It is not every day that you get a chance to represent your country on the world stage against competitors from other nations. We are sure that the golfers will cherish this for a long time as true ambassadors of Global Enterprise Connect. We recognise our sponsors, OMA Emirates, bizgolf, Chase54, African+Eastern, Toshiba and Pure Storage for their continued support and patronage for the event. We are grateful to the management at Jumeirah Golf Estates for a seamless execution of the competition.
“We expect the final round to be equally exciting and memorable for the players. Quite an exciting contest is on the cards”, he added.
The Final round of the grand finale will be held at Emirates Golf Club – Majlis Course, a par 72 design by Karl Litten that hosts the annual Dubai Desert Classic on the European Tour.
About GEC Open:
Global Enterprise Connect (GEC) Open is an annual global corporate golf tournament held across several countries in eastern hemisphere amongst top corporates and industry stalwarts. GEC Open serves as a platform for regional business communities to align their interests with international corporations and vice versa bringing financial opportunities to their region and establishing camaraderie.
GEC Open made its debut in 2014 with just one golf round in Dubai. In 2015 and 2016, the event grew in popularity and was played in six and eight countries respectively connecting over 1100 corporates in the GEC ecosystem. Since then, GEC Open has matured into a global platform for networking, forging everlasting friendships and business relations. The 2017 edition is scheduled to hold 29 golf rounds in 18 countries engaging over 2400 corporate leaders under the aegis of 800+ global organisations!
GEC Open, in association with OMA Emirates, breathed a new wave of change in which this elite sport was played. With a lot of downtime to talk and accessibility for all ages, it’s a unique blend of sports and networking. GEC brings together leading global organisations and executives on a common platform through golf. GEC works to improve the lives of others through charitable causes while growing the bond & strength of business between corporate leaders.