(Cheshire, England – February 18 2005) Diana Luna from Italy will leave behind the lush and verdant courses of the southern hemisphere in her early season schedule and will head to Abu Dhabi to become the first women to participate in the World Sand Golf Championship, which takes place on March 7th 2005.
Luna, who represented Italy at the inaugural Women’s World Cup of Golf last week in South Africa, will depart after next week’s ANZ Ladies Masters at Royal Pines GC on Queensland’s Gold Coast in Australia and head to the desert to compete alongside her male counterparts including Ryder Cup stars Colin Montgomerie, Paul McGinley and Miguel Angel Jimenez.
The glamorous 22-year-old from Rome, winner of last year’s Tenerife Ladies Open on the Robe di Kappa Ladies European Tour, is relishing the chance of playing sand golf almost as much as having the opportunity to take on some of the best men in the world.
“I am really looking forward to the double challenge of sand golf and taking on the boys! I have never played on sand before, but it sounds crazy,” said Luna who will swap the slick and smooth grass putting surfaces of normal golf to play on ‘browns’, a mixture of sand and oil, which offers a surprisingly good putting surface.
After a successful inaugural event in 2004, an all-star cast of 24 European Tour professionals including Luna, return to Al Ghazal Golf Course. The par 71, 6600 yard course will be a challenging experience for all concerned and they are sure to be tested by the famous ‘browns’ characterised by their uniquely true and fast roll.
The inaugural event in 2004 captured the imagination of the golfing fraternity around the globe with event coverage reaching over 30 countries worldwide.
For further information contact David Silvers at Professional Sports Events Ltd on +44 1276 858930 or email david@profsports.com