• The Dubai Desert Classic was first played in 1989 and the roll of honour includes six different Major Champions. They are: Seve Ballesteros (1992), Ernie Els (1994, 02, 05), Fred Couples (1995), José Maria Olazábal (1998), Mark O’Meara (2004) and Tiger Woods (2006). Between them they have won 26 Major Championships.
• Els has played ten times in the Dubai Desert Classic over the Emirates course. In that time he has recorded three victories, eight top threes and never finished lower than eighth. Of his 40 rounds on the Emirates course he is a total of 157 under par, with a stroke average of 68.12. He set the current course record of 61 (-11) on the opening day in 1994, which contained a European Tour record of 12 birdies in a single round. He has broken par in 37 of his 40 rounds and has yet to sign for on over par score – his highest being a 72.
• Defending champion, Henrik Stenson, who became the first Swede to win the event, will try and create Dubai Desert Classic history by becoming the first player to successfully defend the crown.
• The tournament has seen 16 different winners from eleven different nations. Only Els has recorded multiple victories.
• In 2004 Mark O’Meara became the oldest winner of the Dubai Desert Classic, aged 47 and 54 days and the sixth oldest in European Tour history.
• Tiger Woods will be playing in the Dubai Desert Classic for the fifth time. He was tied second in 2001; tied fifth in 2004; first in 2006 and narrowly failed to defend his title in 2007, finishing tied third. From his 16 rounds in the Dubai Desert Classic he is a total of 66 under par, with a stroke average of 67.87. From those 16 outings, all of them have been under par, with 14 in the 60s.
