Rory McIlroy to play in Abu Dhabi Invitational

published 20 January 2016

World Number 3 Rory McIlroy, has confirmed he will play in the 2016 Abu Dhabi Invitational

Rory McIlroy to Play in Abu Dhabi Invitational

The four time major winner, Rory McIlroy, will play in the Abu Dhabi Inivtational. It is an annual European Tour sanctioned Pro-Am event for elite business leaders, sports celebrities and a selection of the leading amateurs from the Gulf states.

The event will take place at the award winning, championship standard Yas Links on Yas Island on the 30/31^s January.

His Excellency Aref Hamad Al Awani, General Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC), which owns the European Tour-sanctioned event said: “This is great news, Rory has true star appeal and is known for his commitment to charity fundraising which is a key aim of this event. His presence will be a major draw for sponsors and supporters.

“Rory has got us off to a great start and we will be announcing the participation of other major golfing stars and celebrities within the coming two weeks.”

Yas Links to host the Abu Dhabi Invitational

On Saturday, there is a full-day Amateur Championship of an individual stableford format, as well as a betterball pairs stableford with invited sponsor and stakeholder guests.

The next day, the main invitational takes place with 58 professionals partnering an amateur VIP to play for a share of AED 1 million-prize fund, while the amateurs compete for glory.

The tournament was established in 2007 by Abdullah Al Naboodah and hosted together with Mohamed Farooq since 2014.

Al Awani said: “The founders continue to support this event which benefits charity and which these year will raise funds for the Emirates Red Crescent.

“Appreciation goes to both Abdullah and Mohamed for giving the event such a strong foundation on which we now hope to build the world’s most popular and prestigious Pro-Am tournament and continue to promote Abu Dhabi as a leading international golf, business and entertainment destination.”

Last year, South African Darren Fichardt won the invitiational. He has joined winners, including European Ryder Cup Captain Darren Clarke, Steven Gallacher, Retief Goosen and Lee Westwood

Tom Clarke joined Golf Monthly as a sub editor in 2009 being promoted to content editor in 2012 and then senior content editor in 2014, before becoming Sports Digital Editor for the Sport Vertical within Future in 2022. Tom currently looks after all the digital products that Golf Monthly produce including Strategy and Content Planning for the website and social media - Tom also assists the Cycling, Football, Rugby and Marine titles at Future. Tom plays off 16 and lists Augusta National (name drop), Old Head and Le Touessrok as the favourite courses he has played. Tom is an avid viewer of all golf content with a particularly in depth knowledge of the pro tour.

Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter