GOLF – SPANISH golf superstar and former Masters champion Sergio Garcia is “super excited” about his design for the all-new 18-hole championship course that is to be developed in Bahrain.
The project is to be built at Rashid Equestrian and Horseracing Club (REHC) in Sakhir in partnership with real estate company Bareeq Al Retaj.
Garcia signed a deal last year to create the design masterplan for the world-class venue and also serve as its brand ambassador, and he expressed his delight with what is in store.
“We are designing the new golf course by the horseracing track and we are super excited about it,” Garcia told the GDN yesterday after completing his first round of the 2026 Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship at Royal Golf Club.
“It’s something that I’ve just kind of started doing a bit more full-time, and we really like the design that we want to put in there. We’ll see how things can come around.”
The new course comes as part of REHC’s efforts to enhance Bahrain’s position as a leading sports tourism destination, then-REHC CEO Yusuf Buheji said after last year’s signing of the agreement with Garcia.
Meanwhile, the 46-year-old Ryder Cup veteran highlighted the significance of the 10-year agreement signed between the Bahrain Olympic Committee and the DP World Tour that was announced earlier this week, securing the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship on the DP World Tour schedule until at least 2036.
The prestigious event is set to remain at Royal Golf Club for its 2027 and 2028 editions, but Garcia is hopeful that the tournament can be staged at the new REHC course in the future.
“It’s great for the Tour to be here – anywhere you can have a commitment like that it’s obviously very important – it’s huge,” Garcia told the GDN.
“They should be very proud of that, and hopefully in the near future we can play this event in the golf course we are designing.”
Garcia is playing for the first time in the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship but is making his second competitive appearance in the kingdom. He was previously part of the star-studded field that took to Royal Golf Club’s fairways in 2011 for the Volvo Golf Champions.
“The game has settled down a lot and grown here, which is nice,” said Garcia. “It’s been a while since I played here – 15 years.”
Of yesterday’s opening day of play, which he finished two-under-par after carding three birdies and one bogey, Garcia said: “The round was okay. Would have loved to make a couple of close putts coming in, but I didn’t play that great. Anything under par – and it got a little windy towards that back nine – was nice.”
The new championship course is part of a strategic project of the REHC High Committee, led by Prime Minister’s Court Minister and REHC High Committee chairman Shaikh Isa bin Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
The initiative aligns with efforts to diversify development projects at the club, transforming it into a premier destination while supporting the sports and tourism sectors and attracting investment to advance Bahrain’s economic growth.
patrick@gdnmedia.bh
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