Emirates at New Zealand open pro-am curtainraiser

Emirates Airline, in its third year as a major sponsorship partner with the New Zealand Open, will do its bit for golf and charity in New Zealand starting with the tournament's pro-am curtainraiser today.

The pro-am golf event, in which professionals teamed up with amateurs, precedes the start tomorrow of the four-day open, which is co-sanctioned by the European Tour and the PGA Tour Australasia.

Both professionals and amateurs at the pro-am contributed to charity when they came to the Emirates-sponsored eighth hole at Gulf Harbour Country Club, just north of Auckland. The beneficiary of their donations was The First Tee organisation, which improves the lives of young people from every walk of life by promoting character development and life enhancing values to them through the game of golf. Pro-am golfers hitting closest to the pin on the picturesque, par-three eighth hole in both morning and afternoon fields, will also be rewarded with an Emirates trip to Dubai.

Donations from those entering the contest will be added to other donations from spectators entering the Emirates public hole-in-one challenge during the tournament proper, and the total raised for The First Tee is expected to run into thousands of dollars.

For a donation, any member of the public at the course in the four days of the tournament can attempt to achieve an ace at the special hole-in-one tee, set up next to the driving range at the course. Daily prize winners will go into a draw at the end of the tournament for a trip to Dubai on Emirates.

Emirates is a prolific sponsor of top-flight golfing events around the world. Besides the Blue Chip New Zealand Open, the airline also supports: the Dubai Desert Classic, the BMW Asian Open, BMW International Open, Austrian Open, Hong Kong Open, Singapore Masters, and the Malaysian Open. Outside of golf, the airline's "FLY EMIRATES" slogan is also a familiar sight at world-class soccer, cricket and rugby events around the globe.