There are few players in the world who can claim they beat Tiger Woods when he was at his very peak - but Thomas Bjørn is one of them.
Woods arrived at Emirates Golf Club in 2001 as the reigning US Open, Open Championship and US PGA Championship winner and just five weeks later he would go on to claim the Masters Tournament and complete the Tiger Slam.
He was not victorious in the desert, however, with Bjørn firing a final round 69 to beat him by two shots and win the sixth of his 15 European Tour titles so far.
The pair return to the scene of their great battle this week for another Omega Dubai Desert Classic, and a healthy respect and friendship has developed between them over the last 16 years.
"It was just a wonderful week," said Bjørn. "I had my base here and my family and friends and it was home for me at the time, that made it extra special.
"We were witnessing something in golf we might never see again. Somebody dominating the game like Tiger did and every time anybody went up against him you were bound to fall short and that week I didn't. That was something to be proud of.
"But it wasn't just the way we played and the way we just went at each other but also that respect that we grew for each other that week, that's carried through another 16 years after.
"And the respect is very much there today and has grown into a friendship and I think that's more what I take away from it. That one week can mean so much to me but I think it also meant something to Tiger and that friendship grew from there. Every time we see each other, it's more than two golfers just meeting, that's for sure."
Woods is playing his first European Tour event since the 2015 US PGA Championship after a serious back problem and Bjørn is coming back from some back and neck problems of his own.
The Dane did not play in the 2016 campaign after the Italian Open but has started 2017 in positive fashion, securing top 50 finishes at both the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
That friendship grew from there. Every time we see each other, it's more than two golfers just meeting, that's for sure - Thomas Bjørn
After being named Ryder Cup Captain for the clash at Le Golf National in 2018, the 45 year old admits his own game may have to take a back seat next year, but he arrived in Dubai pleased with his start to the season.
"I haven't been able to do anything and after three months completely away from the game I started hitting balls six days before Abu Dhabi and then played quite alright in Abu Dhabi and played so-so last week," he said.
"But I still managed to put a couple of decent scores in. So I'm quite pleased with the way the start has gone to the season but I'm not getting ahead of myself. I also know very well that I have a lot of other things going on at the moment but I'm enjoying playing here, I always do.
"I enjoy coming down here and I've said that I want to try and play golf, certainly, for the next 12 months and have that as my main focus. Then I've got other things going on with the Ryder Cup that I have obviously got to keep an eye on and get wheels in motion on.
"But I feel that I can manage those two things quite well playing."
