• Iconic Rolex Series event will take place from January 26-29, 2023 at Emirates Golf Club
  • World’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles to support two events in the UAE in 2023

Hero MotoCorp has today been confirmed as the new Title Partner of the Dubai Desert Classic, the second Rolex Series event of the 2023 DP World Tour season.

The Hero Dubai Desert Classic brings together Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles, and the DP World Tour’s longest-running event in the Middle East. The iconic tournament returns to Emirates Golf Club on January 26-29 for its 34th edition and will once again boast a stellar field headed by World Number One and two-time Dubai Desert Classic winner Rory McIlroy.

The tournament was elevated to Rolex Series status in 2022 and next year will once again form part of the traditional ‘Desert Swing’, which annually attracts golf’s leading players to the region. The four-week series of events begins in January with the Hero Cup - a new team match play contest aimed at giving European players experience in the format ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup – followed by back-to-back Rolex Series events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and concluding at the Ras al Khaimah Championship.

The new agreement extends Hero MotoCorp’s long-term relationship with the DP World Tour which began in 2015 at the Hero Indian Open. Since then, Hero has also supported the Hero Challenge - a series of fast-paced showpiece events and short form social and digital content, which have taken golf to new audiences - as well as the Hero Open, which featured on the DP World Tour schedule from 2020 to 2022.

Hero MotoCorp will be Title Partner of three events on the 2023 DP World Tour International Schedule – the Hero Cup, Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Hero Indian Open.

Dr. Pawan Munjal, Chairman & CEO, Hero MotoCorp, said: “We continue to have a long -term partnership with the DP World Tour; and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic is an extension of this engagement. We are delighted to be associated with this iconic event and will now be supporting two much-awaited marquee tournaments in the Middle East – the Hero Cup and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic – as part of the traditional Desert Swing. It surely promises to be an exciting start to the season, and we look forward to seeing world-class golf on display.”

Simon Corkill, Executive Tournament Director – Hero Dubai Desert Classic, said: “We are delighted to welcome Hero MotoCorp as the new Title Partner of the Dubai Desert Classic as we once again prepare to host a global field at Emirates Golf Club.

“Hero have been supportive of golf, and particularly innovation in the game, for a number of years and we look forward to working together to continue the evolution of the tournament as we enter our second year as part of the Rolex Series.”

Keith Pelley, CEO of the DP World Tour, said: “It is my pleasure to welcome Hero MotoCorp as the new Title Partner of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. We are proud to further develop our long-term relationship with Hero MotoCorp and thank Dr Pawan Munjal for his continued support of golf in general and the DP World Tour in particular.

“January promises to bring yet another memorable edition of this historic event, as we once again welcome some of the best players in the world to Dubai for the second Rolex Series event of 2023, two weeks after an exciting season-opener in the new Hero Cup.”

The Dubai Desert Classic was the DP World Tour’s first event in the Middle East region in 1989, cementing the Tour’s relationship with Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. That association has developed significantly since then, including through the introduction in 2009 of the season-long Race to Dubai, and the ground-breaking evolution of the European Tour group’s long-term partnership with DP World, with the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions becoming the Title Partner of the group’s main Tour from the start of the 2022 season.

The historic event has been won by some of golf’s great names, including Major Champions Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els, Fred Couples, Jose Maria Olazábal, Mark O’Meara, Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson, Rory McIlroy, Danny Willett, Sergio Garcia and Bryson DeChambeau.

For more information about the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, please visit the tournament website here.

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About Hero MotoCorp Ltd.

The New Delhi (India) headquartered Hero MotoCorp Ltd. is the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles, in terms of unit volumes sold by a single company in a year — the coveted position it has held for the past 21 consecutive years. The Company has sold over 100 million motorcycles and scooters in cumulative sales since its inception. Hero MotoCorp currently sells its products in 43 countries across Asia, Africa, Middle East, and Latin South & Central America. Hero MotoCorp has eight state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, including six in India, and one each in Colombia and Bangladesh. Hero MotoCorp has two world-class, state-of-the-art R&D facilities — the Centre of Innovation and Technology (CIT) in India and Tech Centre Germany (TCG) near Munich. Hero MotoCorp is one of the world’s largest corporate promoters of multiple disciplines of sports, including, Golf, Football, Field Hockey, Cricket and Motorsports. Fifteen-time Major winner Tiger Woods is Hero’s Global Corporate Partner.      

Press Contact: corporate.communication@heromotocorp.com  

About the Hero Dubai Desert Classic

The Hero Dubai Desert Classic, first held in 1989, is the oldest professional golf tournament in the Middle East and has established itself among the most highly anticipated events in the region, showcasing the best talent from around the world and up-and-coming golfers.

Played on the Majlis course at Emirates Golf Club, the tournament is supported by Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), who is a founding partner of the Dubai Desert Classic and the world’s largest ‘premium aluminium’ producer as well as the biggest industrial company in the UAE outside oil and gas. Other partners include DP World, Rolex, BMW, CNN, Emirates NBD, Khaleej Times and Wasl, with Arena, ARN, Dubai Duty Free and Motivate Media Group among the patrons of the event.

The tournament is owned and operated by Falcon and Associates. It aims to help create, deliver, and implement initiatives to increase the understanding of and appreciate the vision of Dubai to achieve specific social, economic, and trade-related goals to help support the long-term strategic positioning of the region.

To learn more about the tournament, visit https://dubaidesertclassic.com/       

About the DP World Tour

The DP World Tour is the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group, with a global schedule featuring a minimum of 39 tournaments in 26 different countries across the 2023 season.

Formerly known as the European Tour, which was established in 1972, the 2023 DP World Tour schedule includes five Rolex Series events, along with four Major Championships, one World Golf Championship event, as well as tournaments staged around the world with a minimum prize of $2million for all events solely sanctioned by the DP World Tour.

The season concludes with the final Rolex Series event, the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai, where the winner of the Tour’s season-long competition, the Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex, will be crowned.

DP World, the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, is the title partner of the DP World Tour, which is administered by the European Tour group.

About the Rolex Series

The Rolex Series is the premium category of events on the DP World Tour, comprising five tournaments in 2023, staged in a variety of world-class golfing locations around the globe, each with a minimum prize fund of US$9 million and 9,000 DP World Tour Rankings points available.

Showcasing innovation, enriched media, content and broadcast coverage, and a superior event experience for the world’s top players, the list of Rolex Series Champions includes some of golf’s most distinguished names.

The Rolex Series was launched in 2017, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Rolex’s enduring partnership with the European Tour group.

In 2023, the Rolex Series comprises; the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (January 19-22), the Hero Dubai Desert Classic (January 26-29), the Genesis Scottish Open (July 13-16) the BMW PGA Championship (September 14-17) and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, Dubai (November 16-19), where the winner of the Race to Dubai in Partnership with Rolex will be crowned.