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The Championship will return to Dubai and the Middle East for the second time after its debut in the region in 2021. The field is comprised annually of the top male amateurs in the Asia-Pacific region representing the 43 Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation affiliated organisations. The champion of the 2025 Asia-Pacific Amateur will receive an invitation to compete in the following year’s Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club and an exemption into The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale. The runner(s)-up will gain a place in Final Qualifying for The Open. Return to UAE “We have a proud tradition of hosting the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship at world-class venues and are continuing that with the hosting of the 2025 edition at Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course,” said Taimur Hassan Amin, Chairman of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation, on behalf of the Founding Partners. “Dubai and the United Arab Emirates have a rich history of golf in the region, including the 2021 Asia-Pacific Amateur won by Keita Nakajima, and we are thrilled to watch some of the best players in the world return next year.” Notable past competitors include Hideki Matsuyama, a two-time winner of the Asia-Pacific Amateur and the 2021 Masters champion, and Cameron Smith, champion of The 150th Open. Other top players that have used the Asia-Pacific Amateur as a springboard to a notable professional career include Australia’s Cameron Davis and Min Woo Lee, Chinese Taipei’s C.T. Pan, the Republic of Korea’s Si-Woo Kim and Kyoung-Hoon Lee, Japan’s Takumi Kanaya and Keita Nakajima and New Zealand’s Ryan Fox. Collectively, alumni of the Championship have gone on to win 27 tournaments on the PGA Tour to date and more than 130 events across major professional tours. Growth in the region “Bringing the collection of talent from across the Asia-Pacific region to Emirates Golf Club in 2025 will be an honor,” said General Abdullah Al Hashmi, Vice Chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation. “We have seen firsthand the growth of golf and a number of prestigious tournaments in the United Arab Emirates over the years and we are excited for the 2025 Asia-Pacific Amateur to continue that legacy.” Designed by Karl Litten and established in 1988 as the first grass course in the Middle East, Emirates Golf Club’s Majlis Course is located south of downtown Dubai and enjoys views of the city’s skyline. The Majlis Course annually serves as the host of the DP World Tour’s Dubai Desert Classic, an event won by the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Ernie Els, the latter of which owns the course record of 61. Australia’s Lucas Herbert won the Dubai Desert Classic in 2020 to become the first alum to win the event five years after his final appearance at the Asia-Pacific Amateur. Emirates Golf Club will host the Asia-Pacific Amateur for the first time.

Buyers of golf resort real estate are younger and acting more decisively, according to new research. They are also prepared to pay on average 19% more to live inside a golf resort than outside, and a further average premium of 16.5% to have a view of the course. These are the findings of the latest study conducted by European Tour Destinations, a network of world-class golf venues, and explained in a new multimedia feature: A Changing Landscape: Golf Real Estate in 2024. Sandra Ruttle, European Tour Destinations’ real estate consultant, said: “We felt it was the right time to conduct this new study to understand the market post-pandemic. “Having undertaken similar research in 2018, it made sense to update our earlier findings and get a clearer picture of the current golf property market, premiums, buyer profiles and any new sector trends.” The report, based on the completed sales of 138 plots, villas, townhouses and apartments during 2023, gives a clear picture of the market and highlights the shifts in consumer behaviour. It also reveals the sales and marketing tools driving success for venues in the network. “It’s heartening that real estate within European Tour Destinations resorts still commands higher prices than equivalent homes outside the venues,” continued Ruttle. “This demonstrates our venues’ determination to stay ahead of the curve and deliver services and value that outstrip the local competition. “Other insights from this research include the average age of buyers, which is now in the early fifties, down from around retirement age – something that can be attributed to rising wealth in younger people and the trend for working from home. “And they are making decisions quicker. In the past, it would take typically three to four visits before buying; now it’s one or two visits for the vast majority of sales, with an average buying period of 12 weeks from initial contact to purchase completion.” A Changing Landscape: Golf Real Estate in 2024 also shares insights from Camiral Golf & Wellness in Catalonia, Pirin Golf & Country Club, Bulgaria, Estonian Golf & Country Club and Quinta do Lago in Portugal.

Q: What are the European Tour Group’s main sustainability initiatives? Maria: We started the Green Drive, our sustainability programme, three years ago. Although we had championed sustainability for a long time before that, launching the Green Drive formalised our commitment to priority issues such as climate change. Green Drive focuses on four key areas: Resource efficiency – What natural resources are we using? Can we use fewer? Nature – Golf courses cover many hectares, how can we preserve and promote the natural habitat? Can we increase its biodiversity? Social responsibility – Sustainability is not just about the environment. It also encompasses inclusion, accessibility, community and charity. Climate action – Focusing on reducing carbon emissions and embracing innovations that can help us achieve this is a core part of our Green Drive. In addition to our events, we also look at our business footprint – our staff, how we travel, how we impact the community and where we stay during tournaments. The Green Drive’s approach aligns directly with the United Nation Sports for Climate Action Framework, a cohort of around 280 signatories globally – of which we are the first professional Golf tour to have signed up – aiming to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030 and hit net zero by 2040.   Q: What practical examples can you share? Maria: There are around 40 events on the DP World Tour schedule, of which we own or operate around half, meaning we have almost full operational control of them. We set high benchmarks and try to engage with our suppliers around their role in the event’s footprint, encouraging stakeholders to calculate everything they are using and its impact. There are some areas where we are seeing significant innovation and progress. As an  example, in many markets now we have moved away from depending on diesel, instead using biofuel or HVO fuel. The broadcast of the 2023 BMW PGA Championship was entirely powered by hydrogen, which was a world first, and will be replicated this year. At the 2023 DP Tour World Championship, one of the lounges was powered by a hybrid of solar and hydrogen. Elsewhere within operations, the team has also done an incredible job at reducing the use of timber. Where previously we might have had a structured wall with branding, we now use significantly less timber for the structure and have been working with a lot more mesh as opposed to vinyl. Recycling is a huge part of Green Drive too. It’s amazing what you can do with leftover materials. Wood and screws might go to a charity, we can recycle the mesh, what can go to agriculture we take to be used again in the fields. The 2023 BMW PGA Championship generated more than 3,000 meals for a local food bank, and we were able to carpet 20 homes with leftover material from the event.   Q: Do current or prospective tournament venues have to commit to certain sustainability measures in order to host an event? Maria:

The Scotsman started the day four shots off the lead, but he made nine birdies on his way to the best round of the week and a -13 total that was enough to see off overnight leader Simon Khan and Scott Hend, who finished tied-2nd on -11. It was a birdie-fest on the La Forêt course at Le Touquet, especially on the front nine, and as many as 15 players had a genuine chance of winning as a dramatic final round unfolded in northern France. Hutcheon made a good start with birdies at the 1st and 3rd holes. He dropped a shot at the par-5 5th but bounced straight back with a birdie two at the 6th. He thrust himself into contention with a birdie barrage of four in a row from the 9th that got him into a share of the lead. Three pars followed before he broke clear with back-to-back birdies at 16 and 17. He burned the edge for birdie from 20 feet on the final hole, but his magnificent 64 set the clubhouse target at -13. Khan, Hend and Robert Coles had a chance to catch him, but they couldn’t find enough late birdies to force a play-off. “I’m absolutely delighted,” said the three-time Challenge Tour winner. “It’s a lesson in perseverance and just sort of battling on through quite a few injuries, and so on. So yeah, I think it’s determination that has got me here. “I didn’t really expect to get in the mix as much. I started the day on five-under and just hoped for a good round. I was hoping to get to ten-under – that was my target at the start of the day. I managed to shoot three-under on the front nine and then birdied 10, 11 and 12. And I managed to sneak a couple more at 16 and 17. I thought I might be there or thereabouts, so I did have a feeling that I was going along quite well. But I was a little unsure about exactly how things stood until I saw the leaderboard at 17.” His finish was testament to how well his swing and putting stroke stood up under the pressure of going for your first win: “I managed to just swing the club on plane really and hit some nice shots trying not to get too much shape on the ball. And let the putter do the work, you know. I did have a good day on the greens. I holed some nice putts today. The greens were fantastic – they were a great pace and very true. They were a joy to putt on.” Hutcheon finished 8th on the MCB Road to Mauritius in his rookie season last year, and his first win on the circuit takes the 51-year-old to 7th on this year’s standings. While most players were racking up birdies on the first few holes, Khan dropped shots on the 1st and 4th to find himself playing catch up for the first time all week. He fought back valiantly

Peter Baker Last year’s MCB Road to Mauritius number one is back in action after missing the last two events to recharge his batteries ahead of a big second half of the season. He won the first event of the season in Barbados and added 3rd place finishes at the OFX Irish Legends and Swiss Senior Open to sit 4th in this season’s Order of Merit. “I’m looking forward to the rest of the year,” says the former Ryder Cup player. “I’ve had a good break and I’m back on it now, which is great, and really looking forward to the next few weeks. I’ve always played better when I’m fresh and I’m looking forward to playing. We’ve had a good run (at the start of the season). I’ve been up there a lot with the chances to win, so that sort of takes its toll. It was the right time to have a bit of relaxation and refresh to get ready for the second half of the year. “I’ve never played this course, but it looks lovely. It’s a beautiful area, so I’m really looking forward to it. My game felt good last week, so hopefully we’ll play well this week and see what we can do. Of course, it would be nice to win the MCB Road to Mauritius again. I think I’ve got six or seven tournaments left, so I need to play well and try to win one, if not more.” Scott Hend The Aussie returns to the Legends Tour this week after playing a couple of Asian Tour events since his last appearance at the Staysure PGA Seniors Championship hosted by Colin Montgomerie. Hend started the season with four top-5s in a row, including a tied-4th finish at a major, the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. He’s looking forward to getting back in action on the Legends Tour in France – on and off the course. “It’s good to be in France,” says the current MCB Road to Mauritius number three. “There’s some fantastic wines here, even in the grocery stores, and there’s a lot of cheese to be had this week. It’s always great to come for a visit here.” This is his first trip to Le Touquet specifically so he’s leaning on his fellow competitors for course info and hoping it suits his style of play: “I’m asking the boys for a few tips. There are a lot of trees and it’s quite benign at the moment, but who knows what’s going to happen when the tournament starts. They’ve said it’s pretty open and you can smash it. That’s usually pretty good for me. I find the best way to play golf is your natural way, and I’m generally sort of an aggressive type of person, sort of up front, so that’s how I play my golf.”   Brian Davis Davis is making his Legends Tour debut following a brilliant career that includes two DP World Tour wins in 248 appearances and five runners-up finishes in 386