Yas Links Abu Dhabi, home of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, has collected both a gold and silver award at the 2022 edition of the recently concluded Asian Golf Awards. The two categories that awards were won in included Best Golf Course in the Middle East and Africa (Gold) and Best Championship Course in the Middle East and Africa (Silver).
The Asian Golf Awards are staged annually and this year marks the 23rd anniversary of these long-standing industry awards. After a couple of years off due to the pandemic, the awards will once again shine a spotlight on the best golf courses in the Asia Pacific golf landscape. This year, the 2022 Asian Golf Awards will take place on 3rd November and will be staged in conjunction with the 2022 Asia Pacific Golf Summit at the multi-billion-dollar Hoiana Integrated Resort and Casino in the UN Heritage City of Hoi An in Vietnam.
As the first links style course in the Middle East, Yas Links Abu Dhabi is renowned for its playability and has been recognised globally thanks to its 34th place ranking on Golf Digest’s Top 100 courses in the world. The course’s signature finishing holes on 16, 17 and 18 are regarded as one of the toughest trios in the UAE. Therefore, Yas Links Abu Dhabi’s double success in these awards demonstrates their continued and growing presence within world golf in terms of not only overseeing one of the most prestigious global tournaments but also running and operating one of the finest golf venues not only in the Middle East but arguably anywhere in the world.
Yas Links Abu Dhabi was particularly singled out due to its work in hosting the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship for the first time. The Championship is not only the first of the calendar season but being a Rolex Series event with an $8m prize fund makes this is one of the highest calibre tournaments on the DP World Tour International Schedule, ensuring that the 2022 edition was one of the season’s unmissable tournaments.
Yas Links Abu Dhabi Golf Course Manager, Corey Finn who led his agronomy team in implementing instrumental changes and making sure that the course was up to Tour standard back in January of this year said:
“It was such an exciting challenge to work with both the DP World Tour agronomists and our own in-house dedicated team to ensure that the course was in its very best condition for the 2022 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Of course this will always be a cherished memory for us all, simply because the tournament was making history in being held at a brand-new venue for the first time. Seeing how challenging it was for the world’s best players was particularly satisfying and confirmed all the hard work we had put in, as they tried to tame our notoriously tricky coastal course.”
By taking home two awards for one course in the highly competitive golf market demonstrates the competencies of the team at Yas Links Abu Dhabi, their comprehensive service ability, commitment to nurturing talent and passion to create the ultimate experience for professionals, guests and members at its award-winning venue.
Lee Waggott, Golf Operations Manager, Yas Links Abu Dhabi said: “To be recognised so comprehensively underscores all the hard work that the team has put in over the past twelve months at Yas Links Abu Dhabi. Not only do we continue to offer the very best in golfing experiences but we’ve amplified that by hosting the 2022 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship for the first time in our venue’s history. We were absolutely delighted with the feedback from the players, caddies and coaches and this award is to all of those at the club whose hard work and sacrifice have ensured that both the course and facility were championship ready.”