A new season-long tournament organized by Golf in Egypt - and sponsored by Vodafone - is a sign of the sport's maturity in the country. Golfers in all the clubs will have a chance to play in more than 20 tournaments, all part of the Vodafone Golf Series, culminating in the Vodafone Golf Cup tournament at the end of season. The three top players will receive an all-expense paid trip to attend the British Open in Royal Birkdale, England in July 2008, courtesy of Vodafone. Here is how the Vodafone Golf Cup series works. Golf in Egypt has designated a minimum of 21Vodafone Golf Series tournaments, played at participating golf clubs throughout the season, as qualifying events for the season-ending Vodafone Golf Cup tournament. Some tournaments will be for men only, some for women only, with the remainder open to all players. Men and women will have an equal opportunity to gain points. The first tournament in the series is a Ladies Open to be played on Jan. 21 and 22 at Katameya Heights. Two weeks later there will be a Men s Open at the JW Marriott course in Mirage City. By turning in a valid scorecard after a tournament, every golfer receives Vodafone Golf Series points. Being among the top finishers in a tournament earns golfers additional points. At the end of the series, the 80 men and women golfers with the most points will be eligible to play in the final. Three golfers will win trips to the British Open, the ladies' and men s winners of the final tournament, and the golfer who has earned the most Vodafone Golf Series points. No golfer will be able to win more than one top prize. Golf in Egypt will report in each issue of its magazine the progress of the Vodafone Golf Series so that all golfers will know what it will take to win a place in the final tournament at the end of the season. But what s the big deal? Most popular sports have team competitions throughout the country. Not so in golf. Most golfers play almost exclusively in their own clubs competing against other club members. The goal of the Vodafone Golf Series is to have hundreds of golfers participate in tournaments at the courses in Cairo and Alexandria. Occasionally, other activities will take place at the participating clubs, such as family golf outings, designed to encourage non-golfers to take up the game. There will also be a parallel series of tournaments for juniors who will play for their own prizes at the season-ending competition. Richard Daly, CEO of Vodafone Egypt, announced his support of this effort because it offers golfers in all the clubs in Egypt a chance to compete together for a memorable prize. Ismail Naguib, Golf in Egypt's General Manager, points out that the excitement of having golfers from all the clubs playing throughout the golf season for a prestigious trophy has not been seen before in Egypt. Vodafone s support has raised golf to a new level. This is an important step toward making golf a national sport in Egypt, raising its profile among golfers and those who might wish to take up the game. We will follow the progress of the Vodafone Golf Series in this column and interview the winners at the end of the season.
