The most popular golf topics in the search engine for 2023 were split into categories of golfers (overall), golfers (monthly) and golf-related terms (overall). To get a ranking for each, Google listed searches according to its trends data within the search engine. It analyzed “search interest” for subjects using a sample of all searches and then indexing the topics in relation to the top item on each list. So the top player in each category tops the list at 100 percent, and the percentages decrease from there. Google did not provide raw numbers for the 2023 search volume.

Let’s start with Woods. He also topped the Google list last year, and likely every year since it was created, despite the fact the 15-time major winner played just two official PGA Tour events in 2023.

At the Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles that he hosts each February, Woods made the cut in his 2023 debut before shooting a thrilling 67 in the third round at Riviera. At Augusta National two months later, the 47-year-old matched a tournament record already held by Gary Player and Fred Couples with 23 successive Masters cuts made. But in cold temperatures and constant rain, Woods succumbed to his ongoing plantar fasciitis and withdrew before the delayed third round resumed. He didn’t play again until December’s Hero World Challenge, though Woods was in the news for ramping up with the TGL simulator league that ultimately had to be postponed, and for joining the PGA Tour Policy Board following the June framework agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

World No. 2 Rory McIlroy was second in Google searches, generating 88.7 per cent of the search interest of Woods. McIlroy caused a stream of headlines, including several wins and close calls. He won the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour in January, and at the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, a late bogey thwarted his hopes of ending a nine-year majors victory drought. In July, McIlroy won the Genesis Scottish Open the week before the Open Championship. At the end of September, the Northern Irishman had a blow-up outside the clubhouse of the Ryder Cup following a verbal altercation with Patrick Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava on the 18th green during a Day 2 match. In December, McIlroy stepped down from the tour’s Policy Board, citing inability to commit to its time requirements.

Coming in third was LIV Golf’s Brooks Koepka (70.8 per cent of the search interest), who caused many Google queries when he was shown in a vulnerable, injured light during a dedicated episode of Netflix’s “Full Swing” docuseries. He finished second to Masters winner Jon Rahm and a month later, at the PGA Championship, Koepka became the first LIV golfer to win a major, capturing a fifth career title and third PGA. He also featured on the losing US Ryder Cup team in September.

Predictably, the top five most-searched golfers by month highlighted the gap between what the Internet finds interesting and what the biggest golf-centric storylines were.

For example, you might think the biggest golf story in January was Rahm winning twice on the PGA Tour, at the Sentry on Maui and the American Express in the California desert. The internet would disagree. Sam Ryder wearing maroon jogger pants at Torrey Pines—and getting criticized on social media for doing so by John Daly and Phil Mickelson—catapulted him to the most Googled golfer in January. In February, Woods making the cut at Riviera gave him the No. 1 spot, while in March, Scottie Scheffler took the mantle on the strength of him winning the elite Players Championship.

In April, Rahm winning the Masters for his second career major was not enough for the Spaniard to be the most Googled golfer that month. Instead, it was a fellow Masters competitor and amateur, Sam Bennett, with Rahm at No. 2. Bennett, the US Amateur champion and Texas A&M star, contended deep into the weekend at Augusta National and had a moving backstory that compelled sports fans to root for him: He lost his father, Mark, to early onset Alzheimer’s disease in June 2021. Bennett got a tattoo on his arm to honour his dad.

In May, Michael Block and his story—a club pro who scored an ace during the final round at the PGA Championship while playing with McIlroy en route to a T-15 finish—made him the most Googled golfer. In June, McIlroy held the top spot courtesy of finishing second at the US Open and being the focal point of the framework agreement news. July was a layup on Google for celebrity golfer Steph Curry, with the Golden State Warriors icon making a hole-in-one and winning the American Century Championship with a final-hole eagle. Unlucky was the second-most searched golfer in July, Brian Harman. All he did was win the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Shooters Shoot!!! Hole In One vibes out here in Lake Tahoe. That’s?@acchampionship @callawaygolf pic.twitter.com/8Nzlznf9EL

— Stephen Curry (@StephenCurry30) July 16, 2023

In August, we’re unsure if Lucas Glover winning back-to-back weeks—or his incredible sweat patches during those victories—caused him to be the most searched golfer, but he was. Viktor Hovland’s $18 million FedEx Cup win had him No. 2 on Google for the month. In September, Woods returned to his Google throne but was then No. 2 in October behind Andy Bean, the 11-time PGA Tour winner who died aged 70 after undergoing a double-lung transplant. Woods then returned to No. 1 for November, while in December the announcement of Rahm signing with LIV Golf allowed him to topple Woods.

Finally, we get to golf-related topics. For the second straight year, “LIV Golf” was the most Googled subject this year, while “US Open golf” was second. The one phrase including a player’s name among the top 20 might surprise you: “sam bennett golf.”

Most Googled golfers for 2023—top 5 (per month) and top 10 (indexed search interest)

January
1. Sam Ryder
2. Davis Thompson
3. Max Homa
4. Tiger Woods
5. Rory McIlroy

February
1. Tiger Woods
2. Brooks Koepka
3. Joel Dahmen
4. Rory McIlroy
5. Scottie Scheffler

March
1. Scottie Scheffler
2. Tiger Woods
3. Rory McIlroy
4. Jordan Spieth
5. Rickie Fowler

April
1. Sam Bennett
2. Jon Rahm
3. Tiger Woods
4. Brooks Koepka
5. Phil Mickelson

Then amateur Sam Bennett gained national attention when he contended at the Masters in April. Ben Walton

May
1. Michael Block
2. Brooks Koepka
3. Rory McIlroy
4. Tiger Woods
5. Harry Hall

June
1. Rory McIlroy
2. Wyndham Clark
3. Rickie Fowler
4. Nick Taylor
5. Sam Bennett

July
1. Steph Curry
2. Brian Harman
3. Rickie Fowler
4. Rory McIlroy
5. Lee Hodges

August
1. Lucas Glover
2. Viktor Hovland
3. Rory McIlroy
4. Tiger Woods
​​5. Bryson Dechambeau

September
1. Tiger Woods
2. Rory McIlroy
3. John Daly
4. Ludvig Aberg
5. Andrea Lee

October
1. Andy Bean
2. Tiger Woods
3. Lexi Thompson
4. Rory McIlroy
5. John Daly

November
1. Tiger Woods
2. Jon Rahm
3. George Bryan
4. Rory McIlroy
5. John Daly

December 1-18
1. Jon Rahm
2. Tiger Woods
3. Rony Finau
4. Rory McIlroy
5. Nelly Korda

2023 (full year to date)
1. Tiger Woods (100 per cent)
2. Rory McIlroy (88.7)
3. Brooks Koepka (70.8)
4. Jon Rahm (62.1)
5. Rickie Fowler (58.5)
6. Scottie Scheffler (51.1)
7. Jordan Spieth (49.9)
8. Phil Mickelson (46.0)
9. Justin Thomas (35.5)
10. Viktor Hovland (34.6)

Top 20 most Googled golf terms (full year)
1. liv golf
2. us open golf
3. golf channel
4. callaway golf
5. golf now
6. golf shoes
7. golf clubs
8. pga tour
9. golf leaderboard
10. used golf clubs
11. nike golf shoes
12. world golf rankings
13. golf scores
14. sam bennett golf
15. pga golf
16. golf simulator
17. liv golf leaderboard
18. global golf
19. jordan golf shoes
20. golf balls

Main image: Tiger Woods laughs during the 2023 PNC Championship. Mike Ehrmann

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A Ryder Cup victory for Europe at Marco Simone in September will be long remembered without prompting for those involved in the triumph. But just in case anyone on the losing side might be starting to get over the disappointment of a 16½-11½ defeat, well Luke Donald was here with a reminder, courtesy of the DP World Tour social media team.

Do you hear what I hear? ?@LukeDonald | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/EeRhvkZtiD

— Ryder Cup Europe (@RyderCupEurope) December 23, 2023

There’s something exquisite in the simplicity of this wondering message/troll. After polishing replica Ryder Cup trophies, Donald hears the famous cheers that rang throughout Marco Simone, capped by the call for two more years. The Englishman is excited to do that, having already been named a returning captain for the European side that will compete at Bethpage Black in 2025.

Donald wasn’t done with the Ryder Cup look back. On Christmas Day, he had another post to share with followers and make sure everyone once more got to appreciate how meaningful the victory at Marco Simone was for him and his family.

Merry Christmas from the Donalds ?? pic.twitter.com/dheIQV7Ubu

— Luke Donald (@LukeDonald) December 25, 2023

Something tells us that there is any article of clothing, desk accessory, etc., that has the Ryder Cup logo or trophy on it, the Donald family owns it. 

Main image: Richard Heathcote

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The partnership will position Destination Sport to help golf fans get closer to the action, through exclusive Majesticks GC ticket and hospitality packages curated by its brands Sportsbreaks.com and Sportsworld, unlocking access to the team consisting of Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Henrik Stenson and Sam Horsfield. They will also work together to provide premium benefits to fans & followers of Majesticks GC via giveaways, discounts and more.

Destination Sport will also provide business travel services to Majesticks GC, supporting with global travel and accommodation across the team. The group’s specialist division for elite sports travel management – Destination Sport Travel – works with

35+ teams and governing bodies, including Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, British Cycling, Football Association of Wales, Scottish Rugby and International Ice Hockey Federation.

“I am thrilled to announce this long-term partnership with Destination Sport. As a truly global team with tournaments in 14 destinations around the world, we’re not only excited to work with Destination Sport to expertly deliver for our team and staff, but to also create unique and engaging experiences as well as exclusive offers to benefit our fans,” said James Dunkley, Team Principal Majesticks GC. “Alongside Destination Sport, Majesticks GC are looking forward to building on the success of our 2023 fan experience by delivering unique access and behind-the-scenes opportunities for fans in 2024.”

With over 250 staff in 14 countries around the world, Destination Sport have expertise in travel management for elite sports clubs and governing bodies, supporter travel, global hospitality, youth development programmes, endurance, and participation travel plus global destination management.  

“We’re delighted to announce a new partnership with Majesticks GC, representing our first involvement with the LIV Golf League. It’s fantastic to be working with a team who are leading the way in innovation in this new format of golf, and as two organisations with British roots and a global outlook, it’s a perfect fit for us,” said Destination Sport Group Managing Director Paul Hemingway. “The global nature of LIV Golf results in a significant volume of travel so we’re excited to provide Team Majesticks’ players, caddies and staff with a best-in-class travel provision to support their preparations and performance.

“The LIV Golf League is a unique, engaging format of professional golf which lends itself to exciting experiences for spectators. We look forward to working closely with Team Majesticks to create new fan travel and event hospitality experiences via our Sportsbreaks.com and Sportsworld brands which we hope will appeal to new and existing golf fans alike, starting at next year’s UK tournament.”

Ian Poulter, Co-Captain of Majesticks GC, added, “We’re really excited about the possibilities of the partnership between Destination Sport and Majesticks GC, and are looking forward to being involved in some fantastic bespoke fan experiences. We also know the level of support and service that Destination Sport provide to elite sports teams, and we are thrilled to have them on board to offer their expertise and help the team.”

Main image: LIV Golf

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“I think what Jon said about growing the game and stuff, that’s obviously what they have to say,” Lowry said, according to the Irish Independent, at a press conference this week promoting next year’s Amgen Irish Open on the DP World Tour. “They’ve signed on the dotted line. They’ve been told by the communications team that this is what you say when you’re asked this and you have no other choice really because they own you now.

“I don’t know if it’s been damaging, but people who have spent their hard-earned money going out to join a golf club and buy golf clubs and play golf for the weekend, it’s tough for them to listen to the guy who’s already worth whatever say he has to do this to put food on the table for his wife and kids.”

Lowry is one of many who hopes that the standoff between the PGA Tour, LIV Golf and the DP World Tour will come to a halt sometime soon as the disruption caused by LIV has put golf in a “funny place.” He didn’t go so far as to attack executives at the PGA Tour, à la Viktor Hovland, but the 2019 Open champ is undoubtedly exhausted by the never-ending news cycle.

“Do I think they’ve been amazing? No, probably not,” Lowry said. “But I’m not going to criticise them because I think they couldn’t foresee this coming. It was something that just happened. I don’t really know.

“A lot of players have a lot of opinions on the leadership of the tour. But I don’t consider myself clever enough to be able to comment on running a billion-dollar organisation.”

Lowry echoed those comments while speaking with Irish sports website Balls.ie, where it was obvious his disappointment that he won’t get to tee off against Rahm until the Masters. His fellow pros hopping around has forced him to become a bit more “selfish” as well.

“Because it’s been going on for so long now, at the start it was dispiriting, but now, I’ve talked about this a lot with my team, you just have to worry about yourself,” Lowry told the website. “You just have to become that selfish golfer who picks their schedule and wants to play and win the best tournaments in the world. The best tournaments in my mind are Riviera, Bay Hill, the Players, and then leading up to the Masters. They are the tournaments I want to win.”

With all that said, Lowry is fanatical when it comes to the Ryder Cup, and he doesn’t see a reason for Team Europe to lose Rahm just because of his recent about-face. When it comes down to it, Lowry wants to win (and celebrate) the biennial event, and having Rahm on the team is certainly better than not having him.

Rory McIlroy recently called for a rules change to insure the Spaniard could make Team Europe’s Bethpage squad in 2025, but Lowry seemed confident that it won’t need to come down to that.

“The reason they [Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood] couldn’t play Ryder Cup this year was because they resigned their [DP World Tour] membership,” Lowry said Irish Open press conference. “There were certain players that would have been able to make the team if they played good enough, but they just didn’t. I am sure Rahmbo can play well enough to make the team, so if he doesn’t resign his membership, he can still make the team.”

Image: Andrew Redington

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According to an OWGR release, a new “points distribution curve” will be applied to official OWGR events that have fields of 80 or fewer competitors, with a greater percentage of available points (around 21 percent compared to the usual 17 to 18 percent) allocated to top finishers. This would apply to the majority of the “signature events” on the PGA Tour in 2024, which will have smaller fields.

“Following internal and independent analysis, OWGR determined its standard distribution curve did not accurately reflect performances in these events,” read an explainer from the OWGR.

Meanwhile, if such events have no cut (again the case for several of the upcoming signature events, including The Sentry, AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, RBC Heritage, Wells Fargo Championship and Travelers Championship), the number of players receiving points will be limited. Approximately 15 percent of the finishers at the bottom of tournament standings will walk away without any points. Likewise, in any match-play tournaments, first-round losers or players who fail to win any match in a pool format won’t earn points.

The effective impact of this change will be that players competing in limited-field, no-cut events are no longer guaranteed points simply for having qualified to play in the event. Players will have to perform in order to be rewarded for competing, a criticism of the system previously where tour pros who shooting high scores were still rewarded simply for finishing 72 holes.

Interestingly, had this policy been in place this year, the three bottom finishers at the Hero World Challenge earlier this month would not have received World Ranking points. That would have included Tiger Woods, who finished 18th and was able to jump from 1,328th to 898th in the OWGR.

OFFICIAL WORLD GOLF RANKING GOVERNING BOARD ANNOUNCES UPDATES TO THE RANKING SYSTEM

Read more here –https://t.co/uJ2HHlsm3y#OWGR#OfficialWorldGolfRanking pic.twitter.com/jArqVEDa6G

— OWGR (@OWGRltd) December 21, 2023

There are a few exceptions to tournaments where these changes will apply. The OWGR noted that season-ending events on various tours are exempt from. Points still will be awarded to all players in FedEx Cup Playoff events on the PGA Tour, the DP World Championship and the Nippon Series JT Cup on the Japan Tour, among others.

The second broader change is more basic: the OWGR will reward a 60-percent points bonus to a player who wins twice on any eligible tour in a 52-week period and a 70-percent bonus to a player who wins three or more times.

On its website, the OWGR noted that players with lower World Ranking are likely to gain more from the bonus. The organization reports that since 2019 there has been an average of 63 players per year with two wins in a 52-week period and 39 winners of three or more events. The bonus system was instituted “to more quickly identify emerging talent,” according to its website.

“Based on extensive analysis following the changes implemented in August 2022, we recognized these two opportunities to further enhance the OWGR and to accurately evaluate performances of the world’s participating players on all eligible Tours,” said Official World Golf Ranking Chairman Peter Dawson. “Adjustments to the Ranking are made after careful consideration, and we are confident that today’s updates will better position the OWGR for the future.”

The latest changes are the first since August 2022, when the OWGR overhauled its algorithm with a new Strokes Gained World Rating system that rewarded players competing in stronger fields. Of course, the OWGR took a pass on further updates in October when it denied LIV Golf’s application to be included in the rankings.

Scottie Scheffler is set to finish 2023 as No. 1 in the OWGR, having held the top spot since May.

Image: Ross Kinnaird

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Hot on the heels of the completion of its 2023 season last weekend, the Tour has unveiled an initial schedule of 20 strong events across 12 countries– with a significant number of important tournaments to be added.

Once finalised it is expected that the schedule will surpass this year– which saw 23 events staged with total prize money of US$35 million.

The Malaysian Open will celebrate its return to the schedule after a four-year hiatus by becoming the season-opening event and will be played from February 15-18.

It will be followed the week after by the International Series Oman – the first of 10 International Series events in 2024, which provide a pathway to the multi-million-dollar LIV Golf League.

International Series events will be played in Macau (International Series Macau presented by Wynn, March 14-17), Morocco (July 4-7), Indonesia (October 31–November 3), and Qatar (November 28 – December 1). 

The Hong Kong Open will once again be part of The International Series while making its debut on the series will be the PIF Saudi International powered by Softbank Investment Advisers, which was the Tour’s opening event in 2022 and 2023. Both events will be in Q4. The dates will be announced later along with the details of three more International Series tournaments.

The Tour will also once again return to two of its traditional tournament strongholds, Korea and Chinese-Taipei. 

Three events will be played in each market, with the GS Caltex Maekyung Open (May 2-5), Kolon Korea Open (June 20-23) and Shinhan Donghae Open (September 5-8) staged in Korea; while the Yeangder TPC (September 26-29), Mercuries Taiwan Masters (October 3-6) and Taiwan Glass Taifong Open (November 14-17) will be hosted in Chinese-Taipei.

The New Zealand Open presented by Sky Sport (February 29–March 3), the Saudi Open presented by Public Investment Fund (April 17-20) and the SJM Macao Open (October 10-13) are also back on the schedule.

Said Cho Minn Thant, Commissioner & CEO, Asian Tour: “The strength and depth of the Asian Tour’s 2024 schedule is reflective of the phenomenal growth we have been enjoying and we are already excited about what the new year will bring.

“Importantly, we are delighted to confirm the schedule so soon after the completion of our 2023 season, which will allow our members to plan accordingly and act as enormous incentive to those heading to Qualifying School.

“The International Series events combined with our central column of established tournaments form the backbone of the Tour while we look forward to being able to announce other premier events in due course.”

The Final Stage of the Asian Tour’s Qualifying School (January 16-20) commences proceedings next year, providing a gateway into what will be another season of great advancement for the Asian Tour.

The Asian Development Tour schedule will be released early in 2024 and will feature an expanded line-up of tournaments, for what is the Asian Tour’s constantly evolving feeder circuit.

Image: Asian Tour

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The 20-year-old Russian, who has led since round three, rolled in back-to-back birdies on seven and eight before dropping a shot on the 11th hole.

Guseva then made an eagle on the par-five 13th before rolling in her final birdie of the week for a round of four-under and to win Lalla Aicha Q-School with a total of 23-under-par.

“It’s amazing! It’s crazy that I came here already with my LPGA Tour card and then just coming here and winning LET Q-School, it’s something I have always dreamed of,” she said.

“It’s amazing how people are welcoming here and how this place is amazing. It’s beautiful and I just want to thank everyone who organised this event and takes care of us.

“It means a lot and for women’s golf as well. I want to congratulate all the girls who secure their LET cards, it’s an exciting time for us and let’s rock it!

“I had so much fun. Playing with the LET and the weather was amazing. My team coach came here to support me and my caddie as well – we had a lot of fun this week!”

South Africa’s Cara Gorlei finished in second place on the leaderboard on 19-under-par after shooting a round of 71 (-2) which included five birdies and one bogey.

Thailand’s Aunchisa Utama finished in third place on 18-under-par having carded a round of 70 (-3) on the final day at Al Maaden.

One shot further back was Spain’s Luna Sobron Galmes after she fired a closing round of 67 (-6) in Morocco.

Sobron said: “Today, I’m happy with the round. I made a lot of putts and I did an eagle on hole number seven which was a good one. I’m happy with getting my LET status again, this year was a difficult year because I had an injury, so I’m happy.

“I had a protrusion in my back. This week was the first week that I was playing without medication so I’m very happy. Alvaro is really good at reading the greens, he gave me a lot of confidence and we had a lot of fun. We’re going to enjoy the holidays at home and work hard for next year.

“It’s great to see so many Spanish players in the top 20. Next year we are going to play together, and it will be like the Spanish teams when we were amateurs!”

Three players were tied for fifth place with France’s Agathe Laisne, English amateur Annabell Fuller and Mexico’s Fernanda Lira all on 16-under-par.

Spain’s Fatima Fernandez Cano and Singaporean amateur Shannon Tan were both one shot further back in a share of eighth place on 15-under-par.

Fernandez Cano fired a round of 67 (-6) on the final day to secure full LET status and she was pleased with her two weeks in Morocco.

The Spaniard said: “I’m feeling great. I came into this week with no expectations at all, it’s been a tough year because I had surgery a couple of months ago. I couldn’t practice much coming into these past couple of weeks.

“Last week I made it on the number and then this week, I’ve just had fun and played some good golf and here we are!”

Spain’s Teresa Toscano fired the round of the day with a 64 (-9) to soar up the leaderboard and secure LET status.

Toscano finished in a share of 10th place alongside England’s Bel Wardle, who ended her week with a round of 70 (-3), while Sloevnia’s Ana Belac was 12th on 13-under.

Three players finished in a tie for 13th position with Norway’s Dorthea Forbrigd, India’s Pranavi Urs and France’s Perrine Delacour all on 12-under-par.

Spanish duo Teresa Diez Moliner and Paz Marfa Sans ended the week in a share of 16th place on 11-under-par with Poland’s Dorota Zalewska and Sweden’s Ellinor Sudow.

South African amateur Danielle du Toit finished in a tie for 20th place alongside New Zealand’s Momoka Kobori and Korea’s Jung Min Hong.

Should they wish to accept and take up LET membership, a total of 22 players secured Category 12 membership for 2024 while 30 players clinched Category 16 membership.

Image: Ladies European Tour

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Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, who played on Europe’s winning Ryder Cup team before competing in a major and captured his first PGA Tour title in November, said on a Eurosport podcast that he is “super confident” in his decision to play on the PGA Tour rather than the LIV Golf League that is run by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Aberg, 24, said he received the latest LIV offer after finishing his rookie season with a victory in the RSM Classic, where he shot 61-61 on the weekend.

The news of Aberg’s decision comes in the wake of Jon Rahm leaving for LIV, along with a couple of other high-profile PGA Tour players rumoured to be going to the upstart circuit—World No. 4 Viktor Hovland and Tony Finau—saying they were staying.

In translated text from the podcast interview, Aberg said, “There were a number of red flags, which is not good. We realised that I could potentially burn a lot of bridges, and I wasn’t interested in that. When I look back, I am very confident in my decision. I will never chase money; what I do is compete. I did the right thing.”

Of course, others, such as Rahm and Brooks Koepka, have taken similar stances, only to eventually leave the tour for LIV.

“I want to play against the best, because I am a competitive person and like to compete against the best players,” Aberg said. “Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that at the moment, it’s a bit more fragmented.”

“When I look at the PGA Tour and the competitions there, there is so much history around all the competitions. And that’s what I like, that’s what I go for. But then you have to respect everyone’s decisions.”

A Texas Tech product who was the first player to earn his card by being No. 1 in the PGA University standings, Aberg showed potentially transcended talent by notching eight top-25 finishes in 11 starts. After going 2-2 in the Ryder Cup, his season built to a crescendo with a runner-up in the Sanderson Farms Championship and four-shot victory in the RSM, at which he scored 29 under for the week.

Image: Ross Kinnaird

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The quartet, all rising stars on the DP World Tour, will compete at Al Hamra Golf Club from January 25-28 before heading to Royal Golf Club in Bahrain the following week during the International Swing on the new-look 2024 Race to Dubai.

The events follow back-to-back weeks in Dubai with the Dubai Invitational and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic as the Middle East forms the focal point of the DP World Tour’s early 2024 schedule.

With defending champion Daniel Gavins having already confirmed his return to Ras Al Khaimah along with three-time Major Champion Pádraig Harrington and DP World Tour winners Rasmus Højgaard and Pablo Larrazábal, the field for the showdown at Al Hamra Golf Club is starting to take shape.

Padraig Harrington – Jared C. Tilton

Bradbury, who enjoyed a stand-out debut season in 2023, is looking forward to progressing further in 2024 after finishing 36th in his maiden year on the Race to Dubai.

“I enjoy playing golf in the Middle East so I’m excited to head back to Ras Al Khaimah and also visit Bahrain for the first time. They should be great events,” he said.

Fellow countryman Fitzpatrick earned his playing privileges for 2024 through a combination of the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca and strong performances in limited starts on the DP World Tour, including a tie for 17th in The Open at Royal Liverpool, and is now able to play a full schedule on the Race to Dubai.

“There was quite a lot of pressure last year because I felt like I had to play well in the limited opportunities I got to play, so it’s quite nice now to be able to plan my schedule a bit more,” said Fitzpatrick. “It’s always nice to go out to the Middle East so I’m looking forward to getting out there next month.”

Germany’s Paul, who won the 2021 Mallorca Golf Open, is also looking to build on a strong 2023 which included two runner-up finishes and five other top tens.

“I felt like I played some good golf last season, particularly in the first part of the year, so hopefully I can do that again next year. I can’t wait to see everybody in Ras Al Khaimah and Bahrain,” he said.

Two-time DP World Tour winner Smith is someone who knows Al Hamra Golf Club well, having won the Challenge Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah, 2016 Golf Challenge, and always enjoys returning to a place where he’s enjoyed previous success.

Jordan Smith – Challenge Tour / Getty Images

“That victory in 2016 effectively secured the number one spot on the Challenge Tour Rankings for me, so I’ll always enjoy going back to Al Hamra,” said Smith. “This event, in addition to Bahrain, will be a really fun part of the schedule and I’m looking forward to getting out there.”

Main Image: DP World Tour / Getty Images

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Simon Corkill, Executive Tournament Director of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic said: “We’re delighted to partner with IFZA as we prepare to deliver the historic 35^th edition of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January.

“This new partnership is of strategic importance with IFZA playing a key part in supporting Dubai’s economic growth in recent years, and this collaboration is another step forward that will help enhance our position as one of the leading golf tournaments in the global calendar while providing memorable experiences for players, officials and our fans alike.”

Jochen Knecht, IFZA’s CEO said: “IFZA is delighted to be a partner of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The event has incredible legacy and is a standard bearer for quality and excellence in the region. For 35 years, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic has been bringing the world’s greatest golfers to Dubai – this fits perfectly with IFZA’s commitment to position Dubai as a strategic business and lifestyle destination as we assist business leaders and entrepreneurs from around the world to establish their businesses in Dubai so we can create success together.

“IFZA is undergoing unprecedented international expansion to drive business generation from markets around the world into Dubai. A part of this drive will see IFZA offices in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, China and the Americas. In addition, through our IFZA Cares programme, we have strong social and environmental values which we will bring to life at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic through our mangrove planting initiative.”

As the most dynamic and truly international Free Zone Community in the UAE, IFZA optimises the country’s strategic location and world-class infrastructure to enable organisations to set up their business in Dubai to create success. To date, they have incorporated thousands of businesses from key international markets, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, USA, India and China, into UAE.

As part of the partnership, IFZA will provide invaluable support to help deliver the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region’s longest-running golf tournament, first held in 1989. In addition, as part of its ongoing environmental efforts, IFZA will plant a mangrove sapling at one of its existing planting locations in the UAE for every car that is parked by visitors at Emirates Golf Club during the milestone 35^th edition of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic from 18^th to 21st January.

Its ecosystem is designed to provide a network of support to entrepreneurs and businesses beyond company formation, including commercial real estate, insurance, banking support, accounting services and professional training through the IFZA Academy for Training FZCO.

Just four weeks remain until the Emirates Golf Club welcomes some of golf’s biggest names for the Rolex Series tournament. World No.2 and defending champion, Rory McIlroy, will be searching for his historic fourth title with organisers set to confirm further names for this year’s stellar line-up in the coming weeks.

Image: Supplied

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