Oman Golf: European Tour chairman hails significance of NBO Classic

Muscat: The European Challenge Tour’s season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final, currently taking place at the stunning Al Mouj Golf in Muscat, received a special visitor today in the shape of European Tour Chairman David Williams who was hugely impressed with the set up at the Oman event.
“It’s a fantastically well-run tournament,” said Williams. “They’re very lucky to have the sponsors they have – whether it’s NBO, Oman Air, the Shangri-la or the other great sponsors, everybody is contributing towards it being a wonderful event and a great end of season tournament.”
The Challenge Tour’s tagline is ‘Where Heroes Are Made’ and Williams believes that it’s a highly appropriate one given that the top 16 players on the Road to Oman Rankings following the conclusion of this week’s tournament will be promoted to play on next season’s European Tour where they will have the opportunity to compete for golf’s biggest prizes.
“This is a very important tournament for the Challenge Tour and then, by definition, for the European Tour,” said Williams.
“So many of the players from this Tour go onto perform at a really high level on the global golf stage, including in the recent Ryder Cup which featured six former Challenge Tour players on the European Team and one on the USA Team. The Road to Oman, and the grand final here at Al Mouj Golf are an integral part of that journey.”
Nick Tarratt, Director of the European Tour’s Middle East office, who accompanied Williams on his visit, added: “Last week we had the first Ras Al Khaimah 2016 Golf Challenge where we saw the top 46 players on the Road to Oman Rankings qualify for this week’s NBO Golf Classic Grand Final at Almouj Golf.
“The proof of where the Challenge Tour sits in the world golfing pyramid is the progress of two players who competed last year in Muscat: Brandon Stone (SA) and Nacho Elvira (Spain) who sit in 40th and 50th respectively in the 2016 Race to Dubai and will both be playing on Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in the DP World Tour Championship in less than two weeks’ time. The tag line ‘Where Heroes Are Made,’ proves itself again with the class of 2015.”