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With royalty, fellow sporting superstars and invited VIPs and guests looking on, course designer Colin Montgomerie had the honour of taking the inaugural first shot on the Montgomerie Course as he drove off the 1st tee of the newly-completed 18-hole championship course at Riffa Views Signature Estates.
It was the culmination of close on 18 months of detailed design and construction work to produce a spectacular course that should very quickly assume its place in the world's best golfing venues.
Attending the opening ceremony was Shaikh Fawaz bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, president of General Organisation for Youth & Sports, Atif Abdulmalik, CEO of Arcapita Bank, members of the board of directors of the Bahrain International Golf Course Company (BIGCC) and, of course, the seven visiting stars - professional golfing greats Montgomerie, Retief Goosen, Michael Campbell and Camilo Villegas alongside sporting legends Boris Becker, Sir Steve Redgrave and Kapil Dev.
Richard Browning, CEO of Riffa Views, described the completion of the new course as a very big milestone in the timeline of Riffa Views Signature Estates and likened it to creating the heart-beat of what will be the foremost luxurious residential lifestyle development in Bahrain.
He said: "Obviously there is a still a good deal of construction work going on and will be through next year as the villas are completed and delivered to the estate's new residents, but today was all about making a statement - to the sporting world that the Montgomerie Course was ready to take its place as one of the world's great courses and to the wider world that the world-class nature and quality of the facilities of Riffa Views Signatures Estate is becoming a reality."
The Riffa Views Signature Estates is a joint venture between Arcapita Bank and the BIGCC. On behalf of the shareholders, Abdulmalik thanked Colin Montgomerie for designing such a great course and praised both the Riffa Views team under Browning and the Colin Montgomerie Design team for producing a golf course that far exceeded expectations.
A commemorative plaque was unveiled by Monty on the first tee in the company of Shaikh Fawaz, Abdulmalik, Browning and Mike Braidwood, general manager of The Royal Golf Club at Riffa Views.
He then expressed his delight at the new course and highlighted the importance of top class sporting facilities within residential developments such as Riffa Views Signature Estates, which provide a high quality environment for raising families and enjoying the lifestyle and benefits of a country such as Bahrain.
The opening ceremony marked the start of the three-day golfing festival, the Riffa Views Invitational, to celebrate the completion of The Montgomerie Course.
The course will officially open at the start of next year, when it will be handed over to The Royal Golf Club at Riffa Views.
It will soon take its place amongst the world's finest golf courses and will be open to members, guests, and all residents of Riffa Views Signature Estates.
The Riffa Views Invitational was supported by The Ritz-Carlton Bahrain Hotel ans Spa, EuroMotors-Land Rover, BIC and Coca-Cola.
