FIFTY six teams are set to tee off in the AMH Island Classic Charity Golf Tournament which gets underway today at His Majesty King Hamad's private golf course in Safriya.
The three-day tournament, one of the leading events in Bahrain's sporting calendar, is now in its 13th year. The format of the tournament will be the traditional Texas Scramble with no less than five side contests taking place each day.
Golf starts at 7.30am but the official opening ceremony will take place at 12 noon. The official VIP closing ceremony will be held this year on His Majesty's golf course on Saturday after the last round of golf.
The Island Classic Gala Dinner takes place at the The Ritz-Carlton Hotel and Spa's Al Noor Hall on November 12, 2009 where sponsoring companies will be honoured.
Iain Pyman, the international golfer, will be joining this year's event for a round of golf at the course. Pyman holds the record with Tiger Woods for the lowest score in US Masters as an amateur.
He is also an eight times tournament winner including the current Tusker Kenya Open, twice BMW Russian Open winner and PGA Austria Masters winner.
Air France KLM, one of the most dedicated Island Classic Gold sponsors, are sponsoring Pyman's flight to Bahrain.
"The American Mission Hospital works in a variety of ways to improve the quality of life around the island, one of them is this golf tournament which raises funds for the operation of specialised clinics and upgrading medical equipment without the hospital having to add on to patient's costs," said AMH marketing and development manager and Island Classic organiser Bahnaz Abbas.
"This event wouldn't have been possible without the extreme generosity of His Majesty the King for granting us permission to use the golf course over a period of three days."
"On behalf of the organising committee, I would like to welcome all the golfers and guests as we look forward to another three-days of fun and excitement," said AMH CEO/Chief Medical Officer Dr Paul Armerding.
"Once again the golfers will be competing for the top positions especially the grand hole-in-one prize which is the Lexus IS 300 sponsored by E K Kanoo."
Sponsors:
Platinum sponsor (BD10,000): BBK.
Emerald sponsors (BD6,000-BD 8,000): Al Hawaj Group, Chevron, Ebrahim K Kanoo, The Ritz Carlton Hotel & Spa, TAIB Bank.
Gold sponsors (BD5,000): AVIS, Al Osra Supermarket, Bahrain Confidential, Bahrain Television, Bapco, DHL, Gulf Daily News, Air France, KLM Bahrain, United Gulf Bank, XEROX.
Silver sponsors (BD3,000): BMI Bank, MoFakro, Securities & Investment Company, Standard Chartered Bank, The Royal Golf Club, The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Bahrain.
Hole sponsors (BD1,000): AerRianta Int'l (Middle East), African & Eastern, AXA Insurance, Asry, Bahrain Duty Free, Caesars, Contax, Deeko Bahrain Ltd., FP7, Future Hotel Management, Gulf Translations, JP Morgan Chase Bank, McDonald's, Mazin Computer Centre, Mohammed Jalal Catering, Merrill Lynch International Bank, Ministry of Information, National Photo Services, Swiss Food Specialities, Yateem Oxygen.
In kind support: King's Golf Course, Crowne Worldwide Movers, Jalal Ionics, Radio Bahrain, G P Zachariades, Hol-N-One.
