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Dubai: George O'Grady has achieved much in the time since he took over as chief executive of the European Tour in 2004.
At the time of his appointment, O'Grady promised he would try and stick to the game plan adopted by his predecessor, Ken Schofield, who governed the sport for 30 years, and sustain the development achieved by the Tour under its former chief.
Of course, he was going to see to it that his appointment was indeed driving golf forward, but O'Grady also felt the need to get back to the drawing board to tweak a few things that would swing (excuse the pun!) the Tour into public consciousness. In the midst of today's global financial meltdown, if the European Tour seems a more secure circuit, it is due in part to the bonds O'Grady has helped forge between the Tour and its partners, particularly those in the Middle East and Asia.
The 59-year-old added two extra tournaments in China, and has taken the sport to newer markets in India and Korea. Regionally, his patronage ensured Abu Dhabi made its debut on the Tour and there is talk of two more tournaments - Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, being added to the prestigious three-tournament Desert Swing, which includes the Dubai Desert Classic, the Commercial bank Qatar Masters and the Abu Dhabi Championships.
The highlight of his appointment to date seems to be the Race to Dubai deal, which will pump a staggering $100m (Dh367.36m) into the Tour over the next five years and include the season-ending Dubai World Championship, golf's richest tournament.
Gulf News spoke with the mastermind O'Grady, who seems to be revolutionising the European Tour and making it a winner the world over.
Gulf News: What impact will the Race to Dubai (RTD) and Dubai World Championship (DWC) have on world golf?
George O'Grady: I think the whole RTD gives a definition to the season, it gives a focus and it gives a challenge when you have this tremendous bonus pool at the end of the year for those who support the Tour. I think the race to win it should go right to the end because. I feel the chances of someone wrapping up the RTD before we get to the DWC are very, very slim. You have to win three Majors or something to get over there, so the excitement, the focus to the season and an improvement in standards will make the whole thing an exceptional experience.
How big and important a tournament is DWC?
It will have an importance all of its own. It can't be more important than the Major championships on day one, but it can become really exciting at the end of the RTD, so much so that all the good players want to win it. Padraig Harrington said he wants to become the first player to win the DWC. He is setting it as a target for next year. I think if you asked whether he'd want to win the Masters first, he might say the Masters, but this is going to rank right up there and now we've just got to go ahead and do it.
This tournament definitely puts Dubai on the world map...
The European Tour was always going around the world in one sense and Dubai recognised that. When I went to America for the Ryder Cup, I spoke to a lot of people about the RTD and had it been a few years ago, a lot of people, not only professional golfers, but business people, and the media as well would've said they did not know where Dubai was. Within the Ryder Cup everybody who is connected with golf has heard about the RTD and they've got their atlases out and they've worked out where Dubai is.
Do you think Phil Mickelson and the others linked with the RTD will join for sure?
I think if they do it will give us tremendous focus. They've talked about it, but they haven't joined as yet, but they've all asked questions about Dubai. They've heard about the Dubai Desert Classic, which is one of the best events on the Tour; and they know how good it is in Abu Dhabi and Qatar.
In what way will the world economic crisis affect the Tour?
Golf is not immune to it. This is an economic crisis, which was completely unheralded and nobody saw it coming. With banks in the US going down, I think it's a re-establishment of what really sound business principles are. On the other hand, it hasn't touched everything yet, so I don't know what effect it will have on the future of golf and the Tour in particular. But I know with the vision that sounds through all our policies, especially with Leisurecorp and Dubai World, we have partners whose business principles are easy to understand and are very soundly based.
The Tour's partnership with Leisurecorp seems to be a boon for European golf...
I think it brings the world's focus on the Middle East. People want to know where it is, they want to know what they do there and they want to know how the different economies are being developed. His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai; everybody has read and learnt about his vision for Dubai and you can see what he is trying to do. I would like to see that golf has played its part in marketing Dubai to support his vision and that it is great value for money. I guess they've got to work out whether it has sold properties, whether it has become popular and whether it has put Dubai on the map. Around two years ago in America, no one knew where Dubai was and certainly no one had heard of Jumeirah Golf Estates, but wherever I go now they have, and they know me as a person, who has, if you like, signed the deal with Dubai.
Leisurecorp have bought and are developing Turnberry and it will host the 2009 Open... How do you view this deal?
Turnberry is one of the world's great golf courses and it is definitely one of my favourites. It is a great ancient links course, which is being modernised, and when it is ready it will be a mixture of the old and the new. Dubai is totally modern and it will add its touch to Turnberry while retaining its history as well. I think we are very fortunate to be able to match what we think are the values of the Tour and give it great visibility and integrity through our partnership with Leisurecorp.
The Tour is exploring newer frontiers, how is that working out?
We are being invited by our partners in the Chinese market and the Chinese Golf Association; in India we're very closely allied with the Professional Golf Tour of India and across region through the Asian Tour. They all have programmes to develop the game with other people and largely, at their instigation we have all major bodies in golf coming together to try and get golf into the Olympics.
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