The second Fatima bint Mubarak Ladies Open golf tournament gets under way next week at Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Beach Golf Club. Part of the Ladies European Golf Tour, it was first staged last year. It runs from 1st-4th November.

The event is being held under the patronage of the Mother of the Nation, Her Highness Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak.

It is being organised in partnership with the Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the Ladies European Tour and is a milestone event in the women’s golfing calendar, particularly because it was the first-ever ladies professional golf event to take place in Abu Dhabi. Total prize money for the event is US $ 550,000.

A field of 126 players from the Ladies European Tour will take part in the event on the Gary Player-designed course, with sponsors including the Department of Culture and Tourism, TDIC, Etihad Airways, Marriott Downtown and Al Masaood.

Among top players taking part will be Beth Allen, from the United States, who won last year’s inaugural event, Cheyenne Woods, also from the USA, who is the niece of golfing star Tiger Woods, and Georgia Hall, last year’s runner-up, and Catriona Matthew, both from the United Kingdom. Two rising teenage Swedish golfers, Amanda Linner and Julia Engstrom are wildcard entries.