jan14 yachtshot

Reigning US Masters champ Trevor Immelman was quite literally all at sea during his rather unusual preparations for the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship which starts tomorrow.

Etihad Airways, main sponsor of the event, has once again made the headlines on the eve of the European Tour event by hosting another of its innovative challenges, this year involving South African Immelman.

The inaugural “shot from the yacht” event saw Immelman hitting ten golf balls from the superyacht “Aviva” in the sea moored off the Emirates Palace Hotel beach onto a specially designed “Etihad world map” green.

“Shot from the yacht” follows Etihad’s hugely successful “swing on the wing” challenge, a long drive competition from the wing of an aircraft, which the Abu Dhabi-based airline has hosted prior to the previous three Abu Dhabi Golf Championships.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ executive vice president marketing and product, said: “Etihad continually strives to offer exciting and iconic events around its sponsorships and we are very proud of the “shot from the yacht” challenge.

“Trevor did extremely well during the challenge, especially in the breezy conditions, and everyone at Etihad Airways wishes him the very best of luck in the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.”

Immelman said: “This is one of the most unique golf challenges I have been involved in and was much tougher than it probably looked from the shore.

“It’s been great fun though and a chance to relax in the lovely surroundings of Emirates Palace prior to tee-ing off on Thursday morning in the tournament.”