DUBAI, UAE: DP World has once again signalled its commitment to developing the game of golf at UAE National grassroots level in the United Arab Emirates by supporting the visit of Jean-Jacques Rivet, the Head of Biomechanics & Sports Performance from the European Tour Performance Institute (ETPI) in Terre Blanche, France, to work with the UAE National Teams at the facility in Dubai.

The swing biomechanics expert will give the team guidance that will optimise their skills at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ ETPI, which is one of only two of the state-of-the-art facilities in the world along with Terre Blanche.

Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be able to support this fantastic initiative which offers us the chance to play a part in the development of our UAE National Golf Teams. The growth of the game in the region is extremely important to us and giving our local golfers access to a facility as admired as the European Tour Performance Institute offers them the opportunity to reach their fullest potential. I have no doubt that the knowledge and expertise of Jean-Jacques Rivet will be invaluable to our players.”

Rivet’s visit is part of a week long programme which has also seen the 21 of the European Challenge Tour players use the Jumeirah Golf Estates ETPI facilities and tap into the Frenchman’s expertise in preparation for next week’s crucial season-ending NBO Golf Classic Grand Final in Oman. The highlight of the week was the one-day ICAEW Challenge Tour Pro-Am which took place on Wednesday October 28.

Yousuf Kazim, CEO of Jumeirah Golf Estates said: “It’s been a great week and we’ve enjoyed having the European Challenge Tour players, the members of the ICAEW, Jean-Jacques Rivet, and of course, the UAE National Team here. We are very proud of our world class facilities and it is our intention that local and international golfers of all standards and international golf federations and associations use the Jumeirah Golf Estates European Tour Performance Institute so it is more than appropriate that the UAE National Golf Teams have access to the facility. With this initiative we hope to play our part in producing the golf superstars of tomorrow.”

Rivet is excited about the prospect working with the players again having already hosted them at the facility in France where they trained for 10 days in September in preparation for their recent performance at the Nomura Cup at Yas Links, Abu Dhabi.

“It’s great to visit our sister ETPI in Dubai,” said Rivet. “Like our facility in Terre Blanche, the facilities here are really state-of-the-art and amateur golfers in the UAE, as well as the professionals who visit here, are really fortunate to have a place like this to come and develop their games.

“The Director of Instruction, Mark Gregson-Walters and his team at the ETPI are very gifted coaches and I’m enjoying working with them and passing on some of our swing biomechanics techniques.

“I enjoyed hosting the UAE National Team in France in September and we did some great work so I’m really looking forward to continuing to develop some of the ideas we worked on and I’m sure they’ll get a great benefit from it.”

UAE National Team Head Coach Greg Holmes is delighted that his team are being given the chance to work with Rivet again, saying: “The team improved a lot from the trip to the Terre Blanche ETPI. Just using the body and the ground properly definitely benefitted them and helped control their swings.

“We had a great 10 days with Jean-Jacques and it’s fantastic that the team will have a chance to work with him again this week.”

The Emirates Golf Federation thanked DP World for its support in this initiative in helping to develop the game at amateur level in the region, with Secretary General Khaled Mubarak saying: “We’re very grateful for the support that DP World have given over the years to helping develop the game of golf in the UAE. People are obviously aware of their title sponsorship of the DP World Tour Championship, The European Tour’s season-ending event which features some of the top professionals in the game. But their sponsorship extends far beyond the professional game and this is the latest in a long line of initiatives DP World have supported with the aim of helping our local amateur golfers to improve.”

Japan’s fourth man score pivotal to beating Chinese Taipei in Asia-Pacific Golf Team Championship victory at Yas Links Abu Dhabi.

ABU DHABI, UAE (October 25, 2015) – A 26-year wait is finally over for Japan as they have won the Asia-Pacific Golf Team Championship today at Yas Links Abu Dhabi. In a nail-biting countback finish, which called on Japan’s fourth man Toshiki Ishitoku’s closing round of 75 to count, the Japanese team edged out their competitors from Chinese Taipei to claim the 27^th Nomura Cup.

TEAM JAPAN

Held at the world-renowned Yas Links Abu Dhabi from Thursday 22^nd to Sunday 25^th October, 27 teams from countries spanning the Asia-Pacific region descended on Abu Dhabi for the first time in the competition’s history.

The 72-hole strokeplay event in Abu Dhabi was organised by the Emirates Golf Federation and Yas Links Abu Dhabi on behalf of the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation.

The event was eventually decided on countback, after both Japan and Chinese Taipei finished the week on a total of 842, 22-under par, collected from the best three of four scores each day. The Japanese Team of Daisuke Matsubara, Naoyuki Kataoka, Takumi Kanaya and Toshiki Ishitoku received the trophy from His Excellency Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak al Nahyan, the UAE’s Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development during the Nomura Cup prize giving

Helped by an opening round 10-under par, 62 by Daisuke Matsubara, Team Japan have been on a sharp learning curve since welcoming their new coach, Gareth Jones little over three weeks ago. The team’s Captain, Katsuii Hotta was clearly buoyed by the victory and was quick to praise Japan’s new coach:

“It has been a long 26 years for Japan, this means a lot to us, this is huge. We started a new elite program just three weeks ago, this is a great and unimaginable start. This is all about Gareth Jones, The Gareth Jones effect! He really has led us to victory this week, as his preparation with technique and tactics have been fantastic. I let him control the team and I cannot thank him enough for what he has done.”

After a dominant recent spell from Australia who have won a record 10 Nomura Cups, the victory by Japan demonstrates their commitment to amateur golf, which Hotta can only see:

“With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in mind, we are aiming for a gold medal. Last year, we hosted the World Amateur Championships and we didn’t do very well. But this is an important step for Japan. We are trying to build a better program for our best amateurs golfers. This new program is designed to produce more successful golfers for our future.”

The team from Chinese Taipei consisting of Han-Ting Chiu, Chun-An Yu, Yung-Hua Liu and Sun-Yi Lu had lead from Day One but faltered in the final few holes of the award winning Kyle Phillips designed course. Korea was third on 16-under beating who finished on 15-under and New Zealand on 13-under.

Chinese superstar Cheng Jin won the individual event at the Nomura Cup with a dominant 13-under par total. He will play in the 2016 US Masters following his victory earlier this month at the 2015 Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship.

Han-Ting Chiu and team-mate Chun-An Yu first and second individually as Chinese Taipei ease away from joint overnight leaders Japan during second round of the Asia-Pacific Golf Team Championship at Yas Links Abu Dhabi.

ABU DHABI, UAE (October 23, 2015) – Non-playing captain Tim Sung insists his young Chinese Taipei team have “just come here for learning.” But at the halfway stage of the 27^th Nomura Cup at Yas Links Abu Dhabi, they are the ones taking their amateur men’s golf rivals to school.

Han-Ting Chiu (Chinese Taipei)

After sharing the first round lead with Japan at a scarcely believable 18 under par, Chinese Taipei continued to shock even themselves today by forging to a five stroke buffer atop the Asia-Pacific Amateur Golf Team Championship leaderboard.

Led by Han-Ting Chiu’s 65, the lowest round of the day, the Chinese Taipei quartet returned a best three of four card team aggregate of 209 (-7) in round two. That left Sung’s team with a 36-hole total of 407, a combined 25 under par. Japan is second on 412 while Thailand head into Saturday’s third round in the bronze medal position on 419, 12 shots off the pace.

As 10-time champions and the winners of seven of the last eight Nomura Cup titles, Australia were inevitably installed as white hot favourites this week. But like their equally fancied trans-Tasman neighbours New Zealand, the Australian’s have found the early going tough at Yas Links. Australia were sixth overnight, a whopping 20 shots off the pace, while New Zealand were only slighter better positioned for a weekend charge in fifth place on 425, 18 shots back.

Chinese Taipei, meanwhile, slipped into Abu Dhabi under the radar which bemused amateur golf aficionados given they had won the gold medal at last year’s Asian Games in South Korea.

But with Chiu and Chun-An Yu in particularly fine form, it is fair to say Chinese Taipei is no longer a title afterthought.

Yu, who backed up his sizzling opening 63 on Thursday with a one-under 71, is the only survivor from the victorious Asian Games campaign with the remainder of that celebrated team now chasing further fame and a new fortune in the paid ranks. But the well of amateur golf talent is obviously deep in Chinese Taipei as Chiu, Yu, Yung-Hua Liu (73) and Sun-Yi Lu (a non-counting 76 yesterday) have shown.

Chiu tops the individual leaderboard on 132, 12 under par, while Yu shares second place on 134 alongside Thailand’s Witchayanon Chothirunrungrueng and Japan’s Daisuke Matsubara.

Sung is understandably thrilled with Chinese Taipei’s early play.

“It’s a low score, a lovely score,” said Sung who was captain the last time Chinese Taipei won the Nomura Cup, 18 years ago in 1997.
“We had a great start in the first round, 18 under par, and today seven under par. Today we had a little struggle but our best player Han-Ting Chiu [67-65], he’s shot 12 under par, so that’s an incredible [performance] for me.
“Actually I didn’t expect we can win this tournament even though we were the champions from last year at the Asian Games. The Nomura Cup is more competition with Australia and New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, they are all good teams, their players are all really good and we have only one player from the Asia Games and two very young, inexperienced players.

“After two rounds, 25 under par, that’s pretty nice but the tournament is only halfway so we will see. Whatever the result is it is very good experience for them, we have just come here for learning.”

Sung said his team simply needed to concentrate in their game plan which is templated around avoiding trouble off the tee. Yas Links, Sung said, was an “easy chipping course” but putting was more difficult. His quartet of players will have to maintain their hot hands on the greens if they are go all the way given the scoring Sung predicts this weekend.

“Before the tournament, I said to them, if we want to win, 50-under-par would be needed to beat Australia, Korean and Japan.

“But in any tournament you don’t really know if you have a chance to win until the last nine holes. So there are still 27 holes to go until then so we just have to play every shot with authority until then. You need to tee shot well, and putt well. This course is easy to chip but maybe difficult to putt.”
Singapore, who remain fourth overall, 13 shots off the pace, enjoyed an encouraging second day, matching Chinese Taipei’s 209 aggregate thanks chiefly to a 68 from recent South-east Asia Amateur Championship winner Gregory Foo and a 69 from James Leow.

Japan, too, remain firmly in the hunt despite a second round total of 214, the worst day two aggregate of the major contenders. Japan’s total included Daisuke Matsubara’s even-par 72, 10 shots worse than his course record in the opening round.

Matsubara set off yesterday as he had on Thursday, back-to-back birdies getting him to -12 individually. He made the turn in two under 34 and got it to -13 overall with a birdie on the par 5 11^th. But the wheels fell off with a nightmare triple bogey six on Yas Links’ short par 13^th, the second easiest hole on the course, and a nervous bogey on 14. Matasubara did gain a shot back on the par 5 18^th to halt the bleeding and sign for an even par 72 but Japan will need more from their leading player if Chinese Taipei is to be overhauled this weekend.

The United Arab Emirates endured a tough day, left-handed teen Ahmed Skaik’s 79 the highlight as the host slipped behind Bahrain, Qatar and Saudi Arabian in the Arab nation battle within the battle at this championship. Rashid Hamood (80), Khalid Yousuf (82) and Abdulla Al Qubaisi (non-counting 86) will look to take their second round frustration out on Yas Links over the weekend with the UAE on 463, 31 over par and 56 shots behind Chinese Taipei.