The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship marks the resumption of the 2023 Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex as Yas Links plays host for the second year running.
The first Rolex Series event of the season also coincides with the return of the popular DP World Tour Fantasy game, which allows fans from around the world to compete against each other in predicting the top six players at each tournament.
This week will see Thomas Pieters defend his title, with a world-class field – including 19 players who featured at last week’s inaugural Hero Cup – looking for strong starts to the year.
If you have not done so already, you can sign up to play the official 2023 DP World Tour Fantasy game and submit your six-man team before round one on Thursday: https://fantasy.dpworldtour.com/
The 2023 season-long winner will win a trip to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next year, enjoy a lesson with a DP World Tour professional and a round of golf on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. For more information on this amazing prize and others, read here.
Favourite – Tyrrell Hatton
Motivation will not be in short supply this week for the Englishman as he looks to draw level with Jon Rahm by winning a record-equalling fifth Rolex Series title. A past champion of this event, having won at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in 2021, and with a further three top tens to his name he will have taken confidence from winning two points for Great Britain & Ireland at the Hero Cup, including a comfortable singles victory. The World Number 26 will now look to reclaim the prestigious Falcon trophy after finishing in a tie for sixth on his title defence as the event made its debut at Yas Links last year. A proven winner on the big stage, Hatton is targeting his seventh DP World Tour, and it would take a brave person to go against him ending his two-year wait for a win on Sunday. At the time of writing on Monday, only two-time champion Tommy Fleetwood had been picked more by fans.
Form horse – Thriston Lawrence
The South African arrives in Abu Dhabi for his debut appearance in this prestigious event and is looking to win his fourth DP World Tour title and second of the 2023 season, having most recently won the Investec South African Open Championship in December. Victory for Lawrence at his home national open lifted the 26-year-old to the top of the season-long rankings – a position he did not relinquish over the final two events of 2022 The reigning Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year accumulated the most points in last year’s Fantasy game, averaging just shy of 120 points per event played. The World Number 68 will be hoping to impress again this week as he makes his fifth start at a Rolex Series event and could prove a popular pick.
Wild card – Scott Jamieson
The Scotsman has both a good tournament record and recent form on his side as he aims to end his long wait for a second DP World Tour title. Jamieson is making the 11th appearance of his career in this tournament, boasting three top tens and a tie for 16th in his last four. Last year, in his 300th DP World Tour start, he held the lead after the first three rounds as he set the course record with a bogey-free nine-under 63 on the opening day at the testing Yas Links layout. He registered a further three top tens during the 2022 season as he finished 55th on the DP World Tour Rankings. The 39-year-old underlined his ability with back-to-back top 15 finishes at the Investec South African Open Championship and Alfred Dunhill Championship – his final two events of 2022.
