Top golfing stars will head to Bahrain this week for a clash at the Riffa Views Invitational, which celebrates the completion of a world class championship golf course, 'The Montgomerie', at Riffa Views.

Colin Montgomerie (winner of eight order of merit titles and 31 European Tour wins), Retief Goosen (twice US Open Champion), Michael Campbell (US Open Champion) and Camilo Villegas (twice victorious on the PGA Tour this year) head the list of champions at the event, which runs from November 13 to 15.

Sporting legends such as five-time Olympic rowing champion Sir Steve Redgrave, German tennis great Boris Becker, and Indian cricket icon Kapil Dev will take to the fairways with their professional counterparts in a pair of pro-am tournaments, said Riffa Views chief executive Richard Browning at a media briefing.

The star-studded event, will feature a total prize pot of over $250,000, which will be donated to each of the players' nominated charities.

The invitational also features a golf demo by a group of professional players, an interactive trick shots show, and a question and answer session where the public can interact with the sports stars at the Riffa Views International School, he said.

Riffa Views, which has built its reputation as 'the most distinguished residential address in Bahrain' boasts of the first residential golf resort in the Kingdom.

'The Montgomerie-designed 18-hole championship golf course will help propel Bahrain as a leading venue for hosting top international tournaments,' Browning pointed out.

He described the venue as a 'hidden gem' which will be exposed to the world during the grand opening event - the Riffa Views Invitational.

'The course is fantastic; it's a hidden gem. It's a great milestone for us to have completed it to the quality in which we have,' said an elated Browning.

'It's brand new, and it will take time to get to the maturity that you see from other top courses around the world. But in terms of a playing surface and the experience you will get from it, it's wonderful even now, and Colin will be pleased with the end result.'

The course will be inaugurated with the three-day invitational, which will include an 18-hole skins competition to be participated by golfing greats Montgomerie, Camilo Villegas, Retief Goosen, and Michael Campbell.

'Playing for a prize of $250,000 for their given charity, the golfers will go head to head to truly test the new course,' he added.

'Golf is an enormous sport, so we want to get out there and tell the world about the new course we have and in the future be on the world map of golf,' said Browning.

He pointed out that The Riffa Views Invitational was just another sign of Bahrain's growth as a desirable market of interest.

'This is a great way to do that with these loved and admired sportsmen. We want to show that Bahrain is capable of hosting four of the world's top golfers and have them play an international competition of this standard,' he added.

Dev star attraction

Dev will be arriving in Bahrain tomorrow morning, and will take part in several community events throughout the day.

Voted 'India's Cricketer of the Century' in 2002, the 49-year-old icon had led India to its World Cup victory in 1983. He also held several positions related to the sport including chairman of India's National Cricket Academy.

Dev will be the star attraction at the three-day badminton tournament that begins in Bahrain today.

He will also visit a few of the kingdom's schools which have a large population of Indian students, and take part in a friendly cricket match at the Awali Cricket Club at 11.30am.-TradeArabia News Service