Free tickets for Woods-headlined HSBC Golf tourney on offer to Etihad travellers

Travellers due to fly in December or January with Etihad Airways will net free access to Abu Dhabi’s HSBC Golf Championship, headlined by Tiger Woods, the airline said Wednesday.

The emirate’s flag airline said in a statement it was partnering with the golfing event, which runs from Jan 26 to 29 next year. Passengers will receive free entry on any of the days by presenting their boarding pass at the access gates, the carrier said in an emailed statement.

The event will mark former the world No.1’s debut in Abu Dhabi.

Travellers that have boarding passes for flights during the two months will be able to see German golfer Martin Kaymer defend his title against the world’s leading golfer Luke Donald and Major winners Charl Schwartzel, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke.

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship is a European PGA Tour-sanctioned event, with a US$2.7m prize fund on offer, making it the richest purse in the region. This year’s event attracted around 40,000 spectators.

Abu Dhabi unveiled a campaign in November aimed at netting the emirate a larger slice of the $17bn global golf tourism market.

The city’s state tourism arm said the marketing push, ‘Golf in Abu Dhabi’, would roll out cut-price hotel rates, green fees and bundle add-ons such as flights for golf tourists.