Sixty professional golfers will line up with a selection of the Middle East's best amateur and professional players in the $200,000 new-look Egyptian Open when it gets underway at Cairo's Mirage City Golf Course Nov. 5 this year. Although not part of the official 2009 calendar, the event – one of the world's oldest Open golf events – will enjoy European Challenge Tour support with the event set to attain full Challenge Tour status in 2010 and 2011 with the potential of achieving full European Tour status in the years to come. This year, 60 players from the Challenge Tour will compete alongside 20 odd local and regional invitees as the country returns to the global stage. The 7,108-yard Mirage City Golf Course will provide a welcome test to the Challenge Tour stars who will bring down the curtain on their 2009 campaign at the end of season Grand Final in Puglia, Italy, just one week earlier. “While other cities in the Middle East have established their golfing credentials over the past two decades a current complement of eighteen grass courses and a rejuvenated Open Championship, Egypt can position itself as one of the leading golfing destinations in the region,” said Egyptian Golf Federation Vice Chairman Mohammed El Attar.
