The fourth event of the fourth edition of The Race to Dubai sees the World’s Top Four launch their 2012 European Tour campaigns this week, as Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer return to action in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.
Four is certainly the ‘magic number’ at Abu Dhabi Golf Club as defending champion Kaymer attempts to join an exclusive group of players who have won the same official European Tour event four times – a group that contains 14-time Major Champion Tiger Woods who makes his debut in the tournament.
German Kaymer has a formidable record in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, winning his first Falcon Trophy – and breakthrough European Tour title - in 2008 before finishing runner-up to Paul Casey the following year.
He returned to Abu Dhabi to win the title in 2010 before successfully defending the Falcon Trophy in style last year and Kaymer now has the opportunity to join an illustrious collection of players who have won the same official European Tour event three years in succession.
“Abu Dhabi is a special championship for me, obviously,” said Kaymer. “I love the course and I’ve played some of my best golf on The National. The amazing field means it is going to be special and it will be my toughest Abu Dhabi challenge yet.”
World Number One Donald gained his first victory of last season in the desert in Arizona, winning on his first European Tour event of 2011 at the WGC - Accenture Match Play Championship. With the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship launching The European Tour’s traditional three-tournament desert-swing, the Englishman will be looking for another fast start as he defends The Race to Dubai crown he won in the desert of Dubai in December.
Donald was tied 11th on his only previously appearance in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship but has finished in the top ten in 12 of his last 15 outings on The European Tour.
Meanwhile Westwood, who passed the 400 European Tour career appearance mark in Dubai at the end of last season, will also be hoping to begin 2012 with a victory. The Englishman was joint runner up to Kaymer when the German won his first title in 2008, while McIlroy will also hope to extract his own revenge over the German, having finished runner-up to Kaymer 12 months ago, albeit by a distant eight shots.
Joining The European Tour’s ‘Famous Four’ at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, as part of the strongest field in the tournament’s history, will be former World Number One Woods, who will be looking to continue the resurgence he showed at the end of 2011 when he won the Chevron Challenge – his first victory since the JB Were Masters, in Australia, in 2009.
Woods has previously enjoyed success on The European Tour in the Middle East, winning the Dubai Desert Classic in both 2006 and 2008.
Also in the field will be reigning Open Champion Darren Clarke and Masters Champion Charl Schwartzel, joining US Open Champion McIlroy to make it three out of four reigning Major winners competing for the $2.7million prize fund at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
The presence of Australian Jason Day, the World Number Ten, also means six of the top ten on the Official World Golf Ranking will contest the seventh edition of the tournament.
Finally, there is no question about the man travelling to Abu Dhabi in the best form; South African Branden Grace, who followed up his win in the Joburg Open two weeks ago with victory in last week’s Volvo Golf Champions, beating his legendary countrymen Retief Goosen and Ernie Els at the first hole of a sudden-death play-off at Fancourt.
