Sharjah Senior Golf Masters: Ronan Rafferty and Europe’s top seniors take to UAE course

Ronan Rafferty is shown during the 2014 Senior PGA Championship in Benton Harbor, Michigan. Gregory Shamus / Getty Images

The inaugural Sharjah Senior Golf Masters takes place this week, with the cream of the European Senior Tour making history in the Emirates. Ronan Rafferty, one of the leading players competing, spoke ahead of the event about competing, his past memories of playing in the UAE, and on the action taking place on a nine-hole course.

Breaking new ground

The tournament, which runs March 16-18, will be held at Sharjah Golf and Shooting Club, the first time that a European Tour, Challenge Tour or Senior Tour event is played on a nine-hole golf course. It marks the start of the 2017 European Senior Tour season and is the first senior event in the UAE since 2000.

Strong line-up

This week’s 57-strong field includes 19 of the top 20 players in last season’s Order of Merit, with Rafferty among those looking to kick-start their 2017 campaign with a victory. The Northern Irishman, about to embark on his fourth season on the senior circuit, was the European No 1 in 1989 and has seven European Tour wins under his belt. He was also part of the European team that retained the Ryder Cup in 1989.

Challenge of a nine-hole course

“It’s a great concept, probably something that there should be more of: good nine-hole golf courses with lots of variations of tees and angles,” Rafferty said. “We’re trying to have different events in golf to increase its appeal, such as the European Tour’s Super Sixes last month and the GolfSixes in May. The Senior Tour hasn’t quite got that drastic yet, but to me this is a precursor to be able to go to venues we’ve never gone to before.”

Renewing old rivalries

“Every week is like a gathering of the guys,” Rafferty said. “It’s nearly all the same players who played against each other 30 years ago - basically an older European Tour event. But what’s nice is the tour is very competitive, the players are all keen to do well and win. There’s no let-up. Golf, and particularly professional golf, is that type of sport: it’s in your blood and you’re eager to compete and eager to do well.”

Making a senior Middle East Swing

“We need to have and really focus on having more tournaments out here,” Rafferty said. “There’s a lot going on in elite golf here already, so there’s no reason why we can’t grow a Middle East section to our tour. That’s why there’s interest in this tournament and why there’s a good field. This a great opportunity to showcase that we should have more tournaments like this in this area. So we can have a run like they do on the main tour, where we come for three weeks and have a real festival if golf.”

Fondness for the UAE

“I remember the last round particularly,” said Rafferty about the 1992 Dubai Desert Classic, which he lost to Seve Ballesteros in a play-off. “I playing with Seve just about the time when his game was crumbling and I was playing fantastic, hitting every fairway and every green. Seve hit every other fairway and every other green. But he holed putts from everywhere, even in the play-off. You were playing against the master of the game at the time, so I’m very proud to have been in that position.”

Encouraging spectators

“Just come and watch and join in,” Rafferty said. “One of the things that is still very obvious in golf, because down here they have the DP World Tour Championship and the biggest names and lots of security around that, it can feel very hands-off sometimes. We’re the opposite; we’re hands-on. We want a chat, we want you to say hello, we want you to have a bit of a laugh and to come up and talk to us. The spectators remember us playing at our best and they remember you holing the putt or getting beaten by Seve in the play-off. So don’t be afraid to engage. We don’t bite.”

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