Players celebrate 50 years of the United Arab Emirates

The story behind… the cake at this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

This week, the 15th edition of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship will kick off the 2021 European Tour season with a world-class field, including defending champion Lee Westwood and Major champions Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas.

On Tuesday, all three players came together as part of a photocall that involved a cake, in honour of the United Arab Emirates celebrating its 50th anniversary.

The official date is in December, but the UAE are keen to make their Golden Jubilee a year-long celebration, starting with some of the world’s biggest events.

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is one of their key events in January, and the tournament holds the distinction of hosting the first Rolex Series event for the third year in a row, having been elevated in status in 2019.

Ahead of the event, defending champion Lee Westwood talked about the ways in which he has witnessed the UAE develop since he first arrived in Dubai in 1994.

“I first came here in 1994 for the for the Desert Classic, and that was basically Nahlah Air between the airport and the Emirates Golf Club. You drove down trackside road. It was one lane going one way, another lane coming back. And, you know, the growth stayed that way for a few years, probably till about 1997/98. Then things started to crop up, you know, a few more hotels being built on the beaches and the change over since about 1998, these 22 years has just been staggering really.

“I was playing golf yesterday at the club and the first time I came out you know, the club wasn't there and the houses around it weren't there and all the skyscrapers, you can see it's just amazing how much it's changed now that has developed it's one of the best places in the world to come now. You know, there's so much to it you know, so many if you're a golfer. It's incredible.

“There's so many different opportunities to play golf. It's no wonder most of the tour looks like this one minute from and it's just ideal practice conditions and touching on that as well, with it being an ideal area for golf, Abu Dhabi sort of established itself as a global sporting capital. And there are a lot of big, major events there. Hosting the F1 finale there at the end of the season and Fight Island back for the UFC this week. The golf is there as well. There's even tennis happening this weekend.”