Why Are Players Wearing Black Ribbons At The Dubai Invitational?
Players wore black ribbons and held a minute's silence at Dubai Creek to honor the victims of the New Year fire at Crana-Montana
There was a sombre start to the Dubai Invitational as the DP World Tour and everyone at Dubai Creek Golf Club paid tribute to young golfer Emanuele Galeppini.
The first big tournament of 2026 held a minute's silence during Thursday's first round at Dubai Creek to honor those that sadly lost their lives at the New Year bar fire at Swiss ski resort and golf venue Crans-Montana.
Players, caddies and tournament staff also wore black ribbons as a mark of respect to the 40 people who tragically died in the incident on New Year's Day.
But it's a particularly poignant week for Dubai Creek, as promising young Italian golfer Emanuele Galeppini, who died in the fire, was a member at the club.
This week's event is in fact being played in his honor.
Just a teenager, Galeppini was about to become Dubai Creek's Under-16 captain, and big things were expected from him in his golfing future.
The loss of such a young talent has rocked everyone associated with Dubai Creek and the wider golfing community in Dubai.
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Play was stopped at 13:30 local time in Dubai during Thursday's first round to pay tribute to Galeppini and the other victims of such a sad tragedy.
An announcement was made as the DP World Tour voice its condolences to the families, friends and anyone else affected by the tragedy.
The DP World Tour and European golf in general was rocked by the events in Crans-Montana, which is widely recognized by anyone who follows the sport.
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The Omega European Masters has been held in the region since 1972 and the cinematic views that fill TV screens make it among the more iconic events on the tour.
Hailing from Genoa in Italy, Galeppini was making a name for himself across the Middle East after relocating with his family to Dubai.
He won the 2025 Omega Dubai Creek Amateur Open and played in the King Hamad Trophy in Bahrain and the UAE Cup in Al Ain.
Galeppini's untimely death was felt across golf and especially with two big names in the sport, as he won a Faldo Junior Tour event and also went to the Tommy Fleetwood Academy at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Paul Higham is a sports journalist with over 20 years of experience in covering most major sporting events for both Sky Sports and BBC Sport. He is currently freelance and covers the golf majors on the BBC Sport website. Highlights over the years include covering that epic Monday finish in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor and watching Rory McIlroy produce one of the most dominant Major wins at the 2011 US Open at Congressional. He also writes betting previews and still feels strangely proud of backing Danny Willett when he won the Masters in 2016 - Willett also praised his putting stroke during a media event before the Open at Hoylake. Favourite interviews he's conducted have been with McIlroy, Paul McGinley, Thomas Bjorn, Rickie Fowler and the enigma that is Victor Dubuisson. A big fan of watching any golf from any tour, sadly he spends more time writing about golf than playing these days with two young children, and as a big fair weather golfer claims playing in shorts is worth at least five shots. Being from Liverpool he loves the likes of Hoylake, Birkdale and the stretch of tracks along England's Golf Coast, but would say his favourite courses played are Kingsbarns and Portrush.
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