Adel Zarouni, Vice Chairman of the Emirates Golf Federation said: “We aim to spread the game of golf into schools in the UAE attracting young boys who in future will hopefully be very good golfers. With kids, you need something to inspire them, something to give them that extra push. Golf is not a big sport within the UAE; it’s mostly played by expats here, so it’s not spread at all in the schools. But this is a way for us to break through and naturally they like Rafa, he’s an inspiration for a lot of people. The most important thing is that it opens up the doors for us to go to these schools because the schools want a serious initiative and you can’t find somebody bigger than a Ryder Cup player. I think Rafa is helping us a lot to get through to the schools and reach the kids.”
Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Director General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) said: “Having Ryder Cup stars like Rafa here is what we’ve been missing before. The EGF, European Tour and DP World have done great work to involve kids but now we are getting parents engaged and professionals involved. The kids might not know the professional but the parents certainly will.”
Cabrera Bello endeared himself to golf fans around the world with an inspiring Ryder Cup debut at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota earlier this month, scoring two and a half points from three and forming a devastating partnership alongside fellow countryman Sergio Garcia.
The schedule of a top level golfer is such a hectic and exhilarating one and the big tournaments are set to continue coming thick and fast for Cabrera Bello over the coming weeks. He’s off to play on the US PGA Tour’s CIMB Classic in Kuala Lumpur next week and then it’s back on to the European Tour for the Final Series of the Race to Dubai – he’s currently in fifth place in the rankings – which culminates in the US$8 million season-ending DP World Tour Championship taking place at Jumeirah Golf Estates from Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 November.
“I’ve got myself into a position this season where if I win one of those events I will be contending for the Race to Dubai title. There are four very big events coming up and I will play in all four of them to give myself the best possible chance.
“I’m really looking forward it and if I could end the season with victory at the DP World Tour Championship it would be like double icing on the cake for me.” of them follow in his footsteps.