Welcome From Our Title Sponsor
Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Dubai Duty Free
I am delighted to welcome you to the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open at the historic, Mount Juliet Estate in Kilkenny. This year we celebrate our 7th year as title sponsor of Ireland’s national golf tournament. In 2020 the tournament took place behind closed doors and it is wonderful to have a limited group of spectators permitted on the course at Mount Juliet
Despite the challenges of the past year, Dubai Duty Free has continued to operate its retail business at Dubai International Airport. In December 2020 we marked our 37th anniversary and recorded annual sales of US$697 million. I am very proud of the great efforts made by our team of staff and managers in the past year, and I am very grateful to His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Duty Free, for his ongoing support of our operation.
Dubai Duty Free continued to invest in sports sponsorship throughout the pandemic and in addition to our sponsorship of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open we have once again sponsored the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, which took place at the Curragh Racecourse last week (June 26th) with some spectators in attendance. In August we return to Ascot for the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup and in September we return to the historic Newbury Racecourse for the Dubai Duty Free International Raceday. Back in our home base, in March of this year the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which is owned and organised by Dubai Duty Free, was staged. The tournament went fantastically well with the WTA week being won by two-time Grand Slam winner and former World No.1 Garbiñe Muguruza, while Wild Card entrant, Aslan Karatsev, won his very first ATP title
I would like to commend the European Tour for keeping golf going during the pandemic and for safely overseeing the return of spectators to the sport.
Wishing the players, caddies, European Tour staff, media and all the team at Mount Juliet the very best for the week ahead.
Yours sincerely,
Colm McLoughlin
Executive Vice Chairman & CEO of Dubai Duty Free
