Defending Champion Pablo Larrazábal returns to the scene of his third European Tour triumph this week, 12 months on from a titanic Sunday battle at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship where the Spaniard overcame Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson.
Playing alongside the Northern Irishman in the final round one year ago, having started the day three strokes adrift of Craig Lee, Larrazábal holed out from six feet for a birdie on the 72nd green at Abu Dhabi Golf Club to seal a one stroke victory over his esteemed closest challengers.
That was his 67th stroke of an impressive final round, and thanks to five further birdies to counter a solitary dropped shot at the fifth hole, the Spaniard was left victorious.
He therefore returns to the capital of the United Arab Emirates with fond memories, and while a repeat of his desert success would be nice, the World Number 71 is instead turning his attention to developing the kind of consistency that will help him contend on the global stage and in the biggest championships on a more regular basis.
“It was a tough final day last year, as there was a little wind out there, and I remember making a couple of birdies on the front nine to put myself in with a good chance,” said Larrazábal, who also won the BMW International Open in 2011, three years after a maiden title at the Alstom Open de France.
“Obviously playing alongside Rory and Miguel (Angel Jiménez) helped me too, as I knew that if Rory was playing well he's going to have a chance to win a golf tournament, so to be playing with him I knew I had a chance. I made a great up and down on 12, and a birdie on 13 which gave me a chance to win, and that's what I did.
“Coming to the last hole one ahead, I knew that if I made a four the tournament was 90 per cent mine, so walking to the green it was tough and I felt a little bit nervous.
“The first putt was a little bit up the hill and into the grain and the last six or seven feet were down the hill and down grain, so I didn't want to hit it too hard. That left me a six foot, straight putt to win the golf tournament, and I made it.
“I'm not a player that before the season likes to go for goals. I just want to prepare myself to win golf tournaments and to be prepared to fight up there.
“You never know when or how many chances you're going to have to win golf tournaments, but the only thing I know is that I'm going to try my best to prepare myself to fight for those, and if I take one or two, it will be another great season.
“I really want to be in the top 50 in the world though, as I want to play in the World Golf Championships and I want to play in the Majors.”
