Over the years, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship has forged a reputation as a tournament which regularly attracts some of the world’s best players while also providing plenty of drama for fans early in the golfing calendar.
Here we bring you five storylines to look out for in the Middle East this week:
1. Fleetwood’s golden year
Last year was all about Tommy Fleetwood from start to finish.
Fleetwood came into 2017 in a rich vein of form – he had recorded ten top-20 finishes in his previous 14 starts before teeing up in Abu Dhabi – but he raised his game to an elite level in what was his first appearance of the year.
The Englishman had gone three seasons without a victory, but he returned to the winners’ circle in style by holding off challenges from the likes of Major Champion Dustin Johnson and Abu Dhabi specialist Martin Kaymer to seal a memorable one-shot win.
Twelve months on and the 26 year old is the reigning Race to Dubai champion and will fancy his chances of becoming just the second player – after three-time champion Kaymer – to win back-to-back in Abu Dhabi.
2. Rock DJ
Also impressing in Abu Dhabi last year was Johnson. The 2016 US Open champion, who was making his tenth appearance in a regular European Tour event, showed why he is now world number one with an imperious display in the desert.
After an opening level par 72, Johnson rose up the leaderboard with a four under par 68 followed by an eight under par 64 on moving day – the joint low round of the week.
Although the big-hitting American was unable to keep up with Fleetwood on the final day, he will be brimming with confidence on his return to Abu Dhabi this week, especially after claiming his 17th victory on the US PGA Tour just over a week ago.
3. Rory returns
While Fleetwood and Johnson excelled last season, it is safe to say 2017 was a difficult year for Rory McIlroy.
Despite impressing on occasions: McIlroy finished tied fourth at The Open Championship and joint seventh at the Masters Tournament, the Northern Irishman’s campaign was cut short by injury, forcing him to stop competing in mid-October.
Refreshed and revitalised, the four-time Major winner comes back to a course where has plenty of fond memories – he bagged the sole hole-in-one of his professional career at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in 2015 and has finished as a runner-up there on four occasions.
4. Kaymer king of Abu Dhabi
Kaymer loves Abu Dhabi. In 11 appearances in the Middle Eastern event he has won three times, finished in the top five on three further occasions and is a combined 127 under par.
Abu Dhabi was also the site of Kaymer’s first European Tour victory, when in 2008 he became the youngest German player to win on tour – at 23 years and 24 days old he was 14 days younger than Bernhard Langer when he triumphed on Europe’s top tier for the first time.
In 2011 Kaymer broke more records with his stunning eight-shot victory while he also became the first player to win back-to-back in Abu Dhabi and he is the first to win three times on their first appearance of the season – all in Abu Dhabi (2008, 2010 and 2011).
Simply put, you can never rule out Kaymer in this event.
5. 13th time lucky for Stenson?
While Henrik Stenson has won four times in the Middle East – three times in Dubai and once in Qatar – he has never quite managed to get over the line in Abu Dhabi, despite having an enviable record there.
Stenson has played in all 12 editions of the prestigious tournament, where he has twice been a runner-up (2006 and 2008) and has finished tied third (2016). The Swede still holds the course record at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, which he set during the inaugural staging of the competition in 2006 with a third round of 62.
The number 13 may be unlucky for some, but it could be on his 13th attempt when Stenson gets the job done in Abu Dhabi.
Credit: European Tour
