Paul Casey is seeking to add another achievement to his already glittering CV when he defends the title at this week's 2022 Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic.
The Englishman has 15 DP World Tour wins to go with his three on the PGA TOUR and has been on the winning side in three of his five Ryder Cups.
He successfully defended his Valspar Championship across the Atlantic in 2019 but a victory this week would be the first time he has retained a title on the DP World Tour.
It would also bring him a first Rolex Series victory and take him into the top-15 on the DP World Tour's all-time list in terms of wins, and Casey is relishing the chance to lift the Dallah trophy again in an "iconic" event.
"It feels great," he said. "There's not many times you're defending champion - feels brilliant.
"For me it was an emotional win last year, big win. This year, we're back, it's Rolex Series, a new sponsor with Slync.io. It feels great.
"We have got fans back which is even better, so it's wonderful to be back in Dubai.
"A guy came around with a flag, he's had all the previous past champions sign and he's got pretty much everybody but Seve (Ballesteros), bless him. And you start to look at guys on there: Wayne (Westner), Ernie (Els), Mark James, all sorts of stuff.
"It is one of the iconic events, not just in European golf but in global golf.
"So to see the trophy again, I saw it on Monday night in the event down the road and to see my name next to other great champions is a very, very cool thing, it's not something I take lightly.
"I've still yet to defend a title on the European Tour. I did it in the States. I did it as an amateur. I'd love to do it on the DP World Tour."
Casey's playing partner Viktor Hovland arrives in Dubai in excellent form having finished fourth at last week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and with two wins in his last four events.
His performance at Yas Links was his second Rolex Series top-five in five appearances and the Norwegian is happy to keep peaking at the right time.
"There's something about the event," he said. "When you get here it feels a little different. The atmosphere is a little different.
"So there's an extra incentive to be on top of your game and last week was a great field. It was a great event. There was another one here this week so now you're kind of in the same rhythm.
"You want to perform the best you can every single week. You don't want to get beaten too badly when you're playing against the best people in the world.
"There's a lot of good tournaments this year and obviously you want to play the best you can every single week. But the Majors are coming up later in the year, so it's not like your game has to be the best it's ever been right now.
"But certainly I want to play the best I can and I feel like I'm certainly in a good spot. So if I can kind of just build on that throughout the year, it's going to be a fun year."
