When Tom Phillips saw how his father's advertising job landed him invitations to sporting events, he was hooked.
Now, the Briton rubs shoulders with some of the planet's best golfers as the head of the Middle East for the DP World Tour.
That includes the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Dubai's Jumeirah Golf Estates on Saturday and Sunday.
Despite what some people think, golf is a physically demanding sport
Tom Phillips,
Head of Middle East for DP World Tour
“It's one of – if not the – biggest week of our year,” says the 50-year-old, of the event that sees the likes of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm compete on the Earth Course.
“It's broadcast in 170 countries to more than 600 million households. The number of people attending last year was 68,000, a record over the four days.
“We've increased capacity this year and sold out again, so the signs are that we're going to beat that record again.”
Love for the game
Mr Phillips' love affair with golf began when he first swung a club at age 10. However, he admits he wasn't bound for a career in the sport.
“I wasn't brilliant at it then, and I'm not particularly brilliant now,” he says.
“I enjoy playing with friends, colleagues and clients. My son, currently at university in Shanghai, is a keen golfer.
“But that's the extent of it – I'm not in this job for my golfing ability,” he says, adding that his handicap is 14.
“I can go without disgracing myself, but I won't be playing the DP World Tour anytime soon.”
The game has coloured Mr Phillips' career since childhood.
After going into sports PR from university, his roles have included spells as chief executive of the Hong Kong Golf Association and director of business development for China's Mission Hills.
But it was 15 years in London and Hong Kong as chief executive of the Faldo series, the worldwide tour for elite-level junior and amateur golfers, which first introduced him to some of the stars chasing a $10m prize purse.
“I’ve been fortunate to know some players a long time,” he says.
“Running the Faldo Series – Nick Faldo's golf development programme – the likes of Rory and thousands of others would come through.”
“The nice thing is being around players I have seen develop from promising young kids to some of the world’s best.”
A few of those live in Dubai and have been on-course practising ahead of most arriving for the tournament on Monday.
For Mr Phillips, who lives in Palm Jumeirah, the week before teeing off on Thursday has included meeting new clients, existing and potential sponsors, and government officials.
He took on the job in 2019, assuming responsibility for developing the Tour across the Middle East.
Mr Phillips' career has always involved the marketing and promotion side of sports.
“We have other tournaments in the region, on the DP World Tour and the Challenge Tour – eight in total during 2024,” he says.
“The Tour headquarters is in Wentworth, UK, but this has always been an important region. For me, the brief was to continue that development.
“We have a team of more than 20; half on the staging and operation side, the other working with partners, marketing, promotions. My job is to lead that team.”
Accessible to all
Mr Phillips describes golf as “really good exercise … five hours in beautiful surroundings”, and is keen to spotlight its evolution beyond an “elitist” reputation.
“Despite what some people think, it’s a physically demanding sport,” he says.
“The biggest change over 20 years is how athletic players have become … not just fitness, how they approach all aspects, including the mental side of the game.
“It also gets underestimated how accessible golf is to people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds.
“We have events at our tournaments where golfers of determination compete; we have a world ranking and winners will be playing during this DP World Tour Championship.
“It’s become such a popular event, and not just on the course,” he says.
“You get non-golfers, families, and some base themselves in the tournament village with the kid zones, live music, magic shows, trick shot shows, and might not watch any golf.”
There was even a marriage proposal in a hospitality chalet one year.
The Championship fixture – and golf generally – is also doing good work promoting sustainability, Mr Phillips claims.
“The Earth Lounge on the 16th hole this year has solar panels and hydrogen generators, so we run that hospitality unit emissions-free.
“Cars ferrying people to hospitality are electric. We have free refillable water stations around … last year we saved more than 50,000 plastic bottles; it’s going to be somewhere near 80,000 this year.”
Big business
One aspect Mr Phillips isn’t surprised about is the prize money in the game.
“Golf is really big business and these guys are the main attraction,” he says.
“It’s a lot of money, but that’s what they’ve generated through the business of golf. It comes down to supply and demand.”
Mr Phillips admits that it sometimes comes with pressure.
“Every time we deliver the tournament, we want to provide a fantastic experience for the viewers and Dubai.
“This is Dubai going around the world.”
About 3,500 people are expected to be on-site on Saturday and Sunday including contractors, agencies, sponsors, caterers, media, referees, and players.
Despite the hard work that goes into organising the event, Mr Phillips says he would rather work behind the scenes than perform with the professionals on the course.
“I wouldn't want that pressure, performing in front of 600 million people. I'd much rather take my job,” he adds.
“They've got a tournament to win and our job is to provide the platform on which to perform their best ability.”
DP World Tour Championships 2023: Day 2 – in pictures
Brief scores:
Toss: Rajputs, elected to field first
Sindhis 94-6 (10 ov)
Watson 42; Munaf 3-20
Rajputs 96-0 (4 ov)
Shahzad 74 not out
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
In numbers
1,000 tonnes of waste collected daily:
- 800 tonnes converted into alternative fuel
- 150 tonnes to landfill
- 50 tonnes sold as scrap metal
800 tonnes of RDF replaces 500 tonnes of coal
Two conveyor lines treat more than 350,000 tonnes of waste per year
25 staff on site
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
CHATGPT%20ENTERPRISE%20FEATURES
%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Enterprise-grade%20security%20and%20privacy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Unlimited%20higher-speed%20GPT-4%20access%20with%20no%20caps%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Longer%20context%20windows%20for%20processing%20longer%20inputs%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Advanced%20data%20analysis%20capabilities%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Customisation%20options%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Shareable%20chat%20templates%20that%20companies%20can%20use%20to%20collaborate%20and%20build%20common%20workflows%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Analytics%20dashboard%20for%20usage%20insights%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%E2%80%A2%20Free%20credits%20to%20use%20OpenAI%20APIs%20to%20extend%20OpenAI%20into%20a%20fully-custom%20solution%20for%20enterprises%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
Wonka
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Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
The language of diplomacy in 1853
Treaty of Peace in Perpetuity Agreed Upon by the Chiefs of the Arabian Coast on Behalf of Themselves, Their Heirs and Successors Under the Mediation of the Resident of the Persian Gulf, 1853
(This treaty gave the region the name “Trucial States”.)
We, whose seals are hereunto affixed, Sheikh Sultan bin Suggar, Chief of Rassool-Kheimah, Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon, Chief of Aboo Dhebbee, Sheikh Saeed bin Buyte, Chief of Debay, Sheikh Hamid bin Rashed, Chief of Ejman, Sheikh Abdoola bin Rashed, Chief of Umm-ool-Keiweyn, having experienced for a series of years the benefits and advantages resulting from a maritime truce contracted amongst ourselves under the mediation of the Resident in the Persian Gulf and renewed from time to time up to the present period, and being fully impressed, therefore, with a sense of evil consequence formerly arising, from the prosecution of our feuds at sea, whereby our subjects and dependants were prevented from carrying on the pearl fishery in security, and were exposed to interruption and molestation when passing on their lawful occasions, accordingly, we, as aforesaid have determined, for ourselves, our heirs and successors, to conclude together a lasting and inviolable peace from this time forth in perpetuity.
Taken from Britain and Saudi Arabia, 1925-1939: the Imperial Oasis, by Clive Leatherdale
NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
WITHIN%20SAND
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