The 14th DP World Tour Championship takes place from November 17-20, and promises to be another cracker as the top 50 players in the rankings fight it out on two fronts.

First of all, there is the DPWTC itself, the individual strokeplay event that brings the curtain down on the 2022 DP World Tour season. 

Then there is the season-long DP World Tour Rankings race, with the fans guaranteed a treat as two of the tour’s top names are set to fight it out on both fronts.

FedEx Cup champion, two-time DPWTC winner and world No. 1 Rory McIlroy is set to do battle with US Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick as both are confirmed for the fifth and final Rolex Series event of the season on the famous JGE Earth Course.

Northern Irishman McIlroy has led the way in the Rankings since July when he finished third at the 150th Open Championship at St Andrews. Fitzpatrick, who shot to global fame when he won his maiden major at the US Open in Brookline, is breathing down his neck.

Ras Al Khaimah champ Ryan Fox is hunting his third DP World Tour title of the season. Getty Images

JGE has been a happy hunting ground for both McIlroy and Fitzpatrick, with the world No. 1 having won the Race to Dubai (as it was known then) in 2012, 2014 and 2015, doubling up with the DP World Tour Championship in 2012 and 2015.

For his part, Fitzpatrick claimed the DPWTC in 2016 and 2020 and narrowly missed out on defending his title to Collin Morikawa last time out. 

“I’m really excited to return to the DP World Tour Championship, especially with a chance of winning the Harry Vardon Trophy [Rankings] for a fourth time,” McIlroy said. “I have some great memories of playing golf in Dubai, from making my first cut on Tour as an amateur, to winning my first DP World Tour title and then finishing top of the rankings on three occasions.

“To win both the DP World Tour Rankings and the FedEx Cup in the same season would be a great achievement and would cap what has been a memorable year on the golf course.”

Fitzpatrick, 28, has steadily rose to prominence over the past few seasons and won his eighth DP World Tour title at the US Open at the Country Club — the same course where he won the US Amateur nine years earlier, becoming just the second golfer in history after Jack Nicklaus to win both championships at the same venue.

The Englishman has stayed in form since his June triumph at Brookline, and just missed out on winning the Italian Open in September.

“It’s very exciting to go to Dubai with a chance of winning the DP World Tour Rankings,” said Fitzpatrick. “I’ve come very close to finishing top in the past, so I’ll be going to Jumeirah Golf Estates with a lot of confidence knowing that I’ve had some great results on the Earth Course in the past.”

McIlroy has a commanding lead in the Rankings standings, but with 12,000 points on offer in Dubai (2,000 to the DPWTC winner), things can change rapidly, as McIlroy knows all too well as he was overhauled on the final day of the 2021 campaign when Morikawa took both the Rolex Series title and the season-long race crown. 

Rory McIlroy is not the only Irish interest in Rankings contention as Shane Lowry also has a chance for glory. Getty Images

McIlroy can mathematically still be caught by seven other players in the standings and that could possibly increase with the Portugal Masters and Nedbank Golf Challenge still to be played ahead of the season finale in Dubai, and McIlroy expected to skip both events. 

Looking ahead to the event, Tom Phillips, Head of the Middle East, DP World Tour, said: “Anticipation is building across the UAE, not just among golf fans but also the general public who are looking forward to enjoying some of the finest premium experiences a golf tournament can offer.

“We’ve had a huge number of fans already register and we expect many more to avail the free general admission tickets in the final weeks leading up to the greatest weekend on Earth at Jumeirah Golf Estates.”

While this pair will certainly draw the crowds, there will be no shortage of other stars — some of whom while be plotting their own move to take one or both of the titles on offer. 

Ras Al Khaimah Classic and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship winner Ryan Fox has been in consistent form all year and the Kiwi would love to claim his third win of the year in Dubai.

Norwegian Viktor Hovland is no stranger to victory in the UAE and claimed the Dubai Desert Classic crown in January. Mr Consistent Will Zalatoris, Abu Dhabi HSBC champ Thomas Pieters, BMW PGA Championship winner Shane Lowry and Irish Open champion Adrian Meronk could all still reel in McIlroy as it stands. 

Whatever happens, everyone who can should get down to Earth.

[divider] [/divider]

EVENTS

A week-long festival planned on Earth

The fun in Dubai begins well before Thursday’s official tee-off as the DP World Tour Championship, celebrating its 14th year, prepares for a week of entertainment on and off the course.

It all kicks off with the Rolex Pro-Am event on Tuesday, as guests will have the chance to watch the pro golfers, sporting stars and other celebrities play a fun competition. There will also be meet & greet opportunities as well as family-oriented activations, entertainment and F&B at the Jumeirah Fan Village.

On Friday, the tournament will host a Community Day, inviting schools, junior golfers and people of determination to experience behind-the-scenes tours, first-hand introduction to golf clinics, innovative kids’ workshops, as well as sundowners for the adults.

Following last year’s success, making its return to the DPWTC is Ladies Day on Saturday. Female guests will be treated to two complimentary beverages, ladies’ golf clinics, a ‘best dressed’ competition and plenty of perks.

Also taking place over Friday and Saturday is the new-look G4D (Golf for the Disabled) Tour Series Finale, which will see the world’s eight leading golfers of determination come together to compete in the series finale in Dubai. The G4D golfers will play on the same course as the top 50 golfing professionals participating in the DPWTC.

The finale on Sunday will see Jumeirah Golf Estates host a Family Day with a variety of activities including children’s shows and interactive events in the Village.

Gates will open at 7am each day with general admission tickets available free of charge. Tickets are also available for the tournament chalets and Earth Lounge.

The post Pulling rank: The crowds are set for a thrilling DP World Tour Championship appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Fourth DP World Tour Rolex Series event set for Wentworth in September

By Matt Smith
Billy Horschel knows he has a fight on his hands if he wants to retain his BMW PGA Championship title, as the American will need to fend off former winners Tyrrell Hatton and Danny Willett at the fourth Rolex Series tournament of the DP World Tour season, at Wentworth Club from September 8-11.

Horschel was a popular winner among the British fans last year when he birdied the famous 18th hole at Wentworth’s West Course to clinch a one-stroke victory and the 35-year-old is sure to receive a warm welcome when he returns to defend his crown.

Having become just the second American winner of the prestigious event, after Arnold Palmer in 1975, Horschel would be the first non-British player to successfully defend the title should he emerge victorious this September. The only players to have done so are Luke Donald (2011-2012), Colin Montgomerie (1998-1999-2000) and Nick Faldo (1980-1981).

“I cannot wait to return to defend my BMW PGA Championship title at Wentworth,” said Horschel, who finished second to Collin Morikawa in the 2021 DP World Tour Rankings. “It is a tournament which has always been close to my heart, so to win the way that I did, in front of the supportive crowds, was incredible.

“It will be so much fun stepping onto that first tee and being announced as the defending champion, and I have a really strong record at Wentworth so hopefully I can bring my A-game once again and put up a strong title defence.”

With Hatton and Wilett also confirming they will compete in the strong field, it means all of the last three champions will tee it up at Wentworth, Hatton having claimed the 2020 title while Willett won in 2019.

Two years ago, Hatton realised a boyhood dream when he sealed a four-stroke victory over Frenchman Victor Perez at the Surrey venue, which is less than 30 miles from where he grew up.

“The BMW PGA Championship is always one of my favourite weeks of the year,” he said. “It’s an event I regularly attended as a kid and one of those ones I always dreamed of just playing in, never mind winning.

“The event seems to just get bigger and bigger every year and the crowds are always really supportive. I also get to play in front of family and friends which is pretty special. It should be another great event.”

Willett, meanwhile, claimed his second Rolex Series title at the 2019 BMW PGA Championship, finishing three shots clear of Jon Rahm after a titanic weekend battle. It marked a return to form for the former Masters winner, who claimed his eighth DP World Tour title at the 2021 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

“My win in 2019 at the BMW PGA Championship was a really special moment in my career,” said the Englishman. “To win such a massive title in front of my whole family was pretty cool, and it’s always one of the first tournaments on my schedule when I’m planning out my season.

“The fans always make it an incredible atmosphere at Wentworth and give me a great reception so I’m looking forward to another fun week in September.”

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The post Tyrrell Hatton and Danny Willett sign up to take on defending champ Billy Horschel at BMW PGA appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Can South African pacesetter Justin Harding hang on at Emirates Golf Club? Will McIlroy join Ernie Els as just the second three-time winner of the $8 million DP World Tour event? Will Dubai teen Josh Hill climb even higher up the Rolex Series event leaderboard?

All this and much more in the Sunday edition of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic ‘Daily News’ FREE here. Get up to speed with all the news and scores from Saturday and plan your day with Sunday’s tee times for round three by scrolling through the ISSUU link below or download Saturday’s Daily News to your favourite device to read offline or keep for prosperity.

Enjoy and stay tuned to GolfDigestme.com for full coverage of the final round.

The post Get the Sunday edition of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic ‘Daily News’ FREE here appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
You wouldn’t begrudge Josh Hill even a momentary leak of emotion given the amateur’s giddy Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic debut thus far. Instead, the 17-year-old is impressively flat-lining his way through the biggest week of his young career.

A three-under 69 on Saturday made the Dubai-born world record holder one of the more noteworthy climbers on moving day at the $8 million Rolex Series event, up to a share of 23rd place. You may be familiar with a few names surrounding the Trump Dubai club member on the leaderboard: Open champion Shane Lowry and 2020 Dubai victor Lucas Herbert are also on three-under. Former Masters champion Adam Scott and Collin Morikawa, the current world No.2? They’re only a single shot to the good. 

Excited? Hill surely must be but it’s hard to tell with that veteran game face masking his actual adolescent one. Like he did at Yas Links last week, when Hill made three birdies in his final four holes to make a first DP World Tour cut on the number, he’s taking it all in his stride. When you’ve been on the fast-track to a professional career since childhood, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. You’ve pounded thousands of balls to get here after all.

Making the weekend in Abu Dhabi gave Hill the confidence that he truly belongs and he’s making the most of it in this week’s comfy surroundings on the Majlis.

“I hit it a lot better today than I did yesterday. I think a quick range session last night was important and it showed today. I had the same amount of control on the ball as I did in the first round,” Hill said in an answer encompassing his scores of 70-74-69 heading into Sunday.

Even the way Hill dead-batted his post-round media huddle was striking, like a player who’s been around the block a bit rather than someone who still needs parental approval to leave the house.

He could easily have been sucked into a teenage gaff when a reporter jokingly asked if he’d like a “blow up” the notoriously difficult 9th ala Tyrrell Hatton after his repeated run-ins with the 18th at Yas Links.

After dropping four shots in three visits to the par-4 so far, including a three-putt bogey in the third round, the England international has every right to feel a bit miffed with the outward nine’s final, water-guarded hole. Bernd Wiesberger, Paul Casey and Richard Bland all found H2O later to highlight the difficulty. But Hill is clearly as level-headed as he is hard-working, giving a thoughtful answer with zero chance of causing offence.

“I think it’s the hardest hole on the course but I think it’s a fair hole and If you hit a good shot, you’re going to get rewarded as well, if you hit a bad shot… so I wouldn’t say I’d want to bomb it. Of course I’d like to take it off my scorecard but you can’t do that, so…”

“Pretty annoyed” by the three-putt, Hill regathered himself to birdie his next three holes – with an 8 iron into the par-5 10th, a 9-iron to a foot on the par-3 11th and then a chip-in three on 14. There was a sloppy bogey on 16 but Hill rallied again to finish with a flourish.

“I wanted a birdie down 18. I mean I hit a bad two-iron but it ended up in a perfect spot and I made a nice up and down so it was a good finish and a good way to get into tomorrow.”

Hill faded to a share of 58th in Abu Dhabi so will be hoping to comfortably better than in Dubai. Surely though, with all the big names around you, you must be feeling the blow torch of expectation?

“I feel like I normally do in a normal tournament to be honest,” the youngest winner of an OWGR event, the MENA Tour’s Al Ain Open in 2019, said with another of his matter-of-fact responses.

Sure, but how are you going to approach Sunday? “Play good golf. There’s not much to think about, it’s just another round of golf, isn’t it. Just go and play golf and see what happens.

“There’s just a few bigger names around me but I haven’t let that affect me. I’m just playing like it’s another amateur championship.” 

“Like it’s the Abu Dhabi Amateur championship [which Hill won to qualify for last week’s Role Series event at Yas Links],” a reporter posed. “Yeah, just like it’s the club champs,” Hill said, breaking into a rare laugh.  

There it was. The kid does have a pulse after all. And, after this week, a new legion of admirers as well.

The post Dubai amateur Josh Hill is taking his dream Desert Classic debut in stride appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Things didn’t auger well when the Kiwi due-sweeper started bogey-bogey-par but the 35-year-old’s fortunes changed with a perfect swing of his 9 iron on the par-3 4th.

? HOLE IN ONE ?

An ace for @ryanfoxgolfer at the fourth hole!#SlyncDDC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/TaMwUTWuiw

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 29, 2022

The ace from 175 yards was the 31st in the 33 year history of the DP World Tour event and the first since its elevation to $8 million Rolex Series status.

It eventually propelled Fox, the son of former All Blacks flyhalf Grant, to a 69, up to a share of 33rd place and comfortably into the final round. 

“That was as good a shot as I could have hit on four, it was nice to see it go in but to be honest I would have been just as excited if it had been a birdie putt, given the start I had just had,” said Fox.

“It was the perfect number for a nine iron for me, I tried to hit left and use the slope and I got the shot I wanted – quite surprising after the first three holes. There was a fair bit of luck but it was the shot I wanted to hit.” 

With more than 78 players (81 in total) making the 36-hole cut on Friday, an additional 54-hole cut to reduce the field to 72 players and ties was announced.

Starting at one-over in the third group out on Saturday alongside China’s Ashun Wu and Victor Perez of France, Fox didn’t make things easy for himself even after the ace. He dropped further shots on the 5th and 8th but roared home with birdies on the 9th 10th, 12th, 17th and 18th.

The hole-in-one sealed an eventful week for Fox, who led his fourball to victory in the pre-tournament Pro-Am on Tuesday.

For the record, the players who made the 36 hole cut but not the third round chop will be paid on their third round position but will not play the final round. 

The post WATCH: Kiwi Ryan Fox found a novel trigger to make the Desert Classic’s rare third round cut appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Tell us more about your decision to play the Slync.io Desert Classic for the first time since 2002?
Re-joining the DP World Tour this year, having moved my base back to Europe over the last couple of years, was a sensible geographical choice. It made total sense to start the year here, especially with the good weather and golf courses, and of course the fact that the first two events are Rolex Series events.

When you have played for a couple of years, it’s important to make changes. Sometimes it’s equipment and sometimes it is the schedule, and this year coming back to the Middle East has been a really exciting thing. I enjoyed the first Rolex Series event of the year in Abu Dhabi last week at Yas Links, and although I’m not so familiar with the course here at the Emirates, I remember certain holes and the shot shapes required.

Nice to be back on the Majlis?
They’ve put some new tee boxes in, and have some new greens, but it’s nice to be back and it does feel familiar to me, although the skyline is very different. I’m not even sure there was a building at the Marina when I last played here, so a lot has changed in that aspect. I did play at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai in 2009 but the famous shot from the 8th tee here looks very different.

Why the long absence from the UAE?
After 2009 I was at a very frustrating time in my career, so I committed to play my golf on the PGA Tour. Up until that point I was playing on both tours and didn’t feel I was giving myself the best chance. I needed to change something, a bit like I’m doing again now. I would love to win here this week and I’ll be eager again to come back next year given it’s such an easy trip from Switzerland, so it works perfectly.

How have you managed to re-energise and come back so hungry?
We are a bit sensitive us pro golfers, especially off the back of an average round. I was very frustrated in St Georges at The Open, especially now my main goal is to win major championships. 2021 felt like a bit of a wasted year for me and I didn’t really threaten in 2020 either. As a golfer, you know whether you’re close or not, and having had a lot of experience, I knew deep down that changes needed to be made in my game for me to be competitive again.

What have you been working on?
My driver wasn’t behaving for me last year, so once I began to make changes, the foundation of my game began to improve. Since making the changes I have seen a lot of improvement, but there are always good days and bad days in golf. I think my swing has largely stayed the same, but naturally there are elements to it that have evolved over the years. I’m not the young whippet that I once was, but I don’t think I’ve changed anything too drastically with my swing. The sound advice that I have received with regards to technique and recovery will hopefully allow me to carry on playing for many more years.

Can you talk about the decision to move to Europe fulltime?
We are now fully based in Switzerland with the kids in school there. As invested as I am into my career, I am obviously most invested into my wife and kids and we feel Switzerland is the best environment for them at the moment. I wouldn’t say I sacrifice the golf that much. I certainly don’t expect to roll off the ski slopes and think that I’m good enough to come somewhere like this and win amongst such a strong field. So, I have to balance everything, and time management is so important. At this point in my career, there are about nine months of the year where I totally prioritise the golf, but for the other three months I have to give myself some time away from the game. The balance is good for me.

Getty Images

I’m sure you have some fond memories of your Rolex timepieces?
I have been a Rolex Testimonee for 20+ years now and when I first became a Testimonee I got the opportunity to choose a timepiece. I was 21 years old, and I chose a pink gold Day-Date with a black dial. It was a really great choice as I still wear it today. The design with most Rolex’s hasn’t changed all that much which shows how timeless they are.

How many Rolex’s do you own?
It is hard to resist buying these watches, but I have about twenty or so.

What’s your plan to get back to major-championship winning form?
A lot of things in my life has changed since I won the Masters in 2013, but I am continuing to change parts of my game and routine ahead of majors. Not being so fixed on needing a week off before a major is something that I might change. Maybe I need to play more in the build-up to the majors, but it will always depend on how I feel at the time. I am lucky that I can pick and choose my schedule to a degree, so this will definitely help my preparation, but the most important thing is momentum.

Do you still think you can win the bigs?
I feel as fit as ever and I don’t have any restrictions. Looking at my numbers, they’re still right there as well. Covid has been difficult to manage but I feel like I’ve made a lot of good choices to put me in a good position. The big one this year for me is going to be the 150th edition of The Open at St Andrews. You never know how many more chances you’re going to get so I am really looking forward to that one.

Do you plan to play in any other Rolex Series events this year?
My plan is to play in all five Rolex Series events this year. The BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth was a real treat for me last year and I really enjoyed it. Even with the majors, it was the first tournament that felt like it had a crowd back and that was amazing for us as players.

If you were a youngster, who would you follow around the course these days?
I’m probably slightly too removed from the Bryson hype, so if it was me knowing what I know about the players today, I would probably say Dustin Johnson. He’s a powerful guy with a magic touch and he makes the game look very easy. I played with this young kid, Nicolai Hojgaard, and I feel like he is a 20-year-old version of DJ. Although it’s very tricky to piece everything together at such a young age, he is going to be a force in world golf if he can. He hits the ball very hard, but in an easy way.

RELATED:
Official Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic ‘Daily News’ Issue 1
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Official Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic ‘Daily News’ Issue 3

The post Get used to seeing more of Adam Scott in the Middle East – and in the majors appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

Joachim B. Hansen is making a nice habit of 18-hole leads in Dubai. He knows how to turn an early edge in the Emirate into lasting DP World Tour glory too, although going the distance at the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic this week is going to be an altogether tougher assignment than his near wire-to-wire win at the AVIV Dubai Championship in November.

A bogey-free seven-under 65 earned Hansen the overnight lead at the $8 million Rolex Series event, albeit with an asterisk. When fading light forced the suspension of the opening round, Justin Harding was six-under with the eminently birdie-able 18th still to play. The 35-year-old South African, like Hansen a two-time DP World Tour winner, will return at 7.45am hoping to edge alongside or even ahead of the Dane, before a quick turnaround for his 8.40am second round tee-time.

It’s not just Harding that will have had Hansen sweating on the lead though.  

Former champion Sergio Garcia and desert specialist Tommy Fleetwood are in a group of six at five-under, Fabrizio Zanotti included. The Paraguayan also has the 18th to complete so will fancy moving up like Harding.

Just a stroke further back on four-under, meanwhile, are a gaggle of six featuring Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland, the world numbers two and five respectively. If that wasn’t sobering enough, the names of Scott, Westwood and Hatton light up those on three-under, further evidence, not that Hansen needed it, that winning at Emirates Golf Club is going to be far tougher than clinching the penultimate event of the 2021 season at JGE proved. 

“A bit of shame there wasn’t any more tournaments at the end of last year but [I’ll] try to keep it going,” said Hansen who went on to a share of 9th at the DP World Tour Championship the week after the Dubai Championship.

“I’m a bit more relaxed, have a bit more belief in myself [after finishing 37th in last year’s R2D standings]. But still have to play pretty good golf to play here again in 2023. So just trying to do my best.”

Hansen’s best on Thursday was as good as his post-round comments were to the point. “Pretty good,” the world No. 110 said when asked for a summation of his 65. “I kept the ball in play. I didn’t drive it that well. Putted fantastic.”

Friday’s galleries will no doubt swarm to the Morikawa, Rory McIlroy and Bernd Wiesberger three-ball, off the 1st tee at 12.20. McIlroy and Wiesberger will resume one-under, notably a stroke behind Dubai 17-year-old Josh Hill who got it to four-under but finished tied on 70 with Texan Sam Bennett in the race for amateur honours. Emirati No.1 Ahmad Skaik signed for a 75.

The post JB Hansen loves an early Dubai lead but kicking on won’t be as easy second time around appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

They play in front of packed stadiums every week and race around circuits in excess of 300km. But not even the English Premier League or F1 can prepare your for the nerve-jangling experience of teeing it up alongside a DP World Tour star.

So it proved in the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic Pro-Am on Wednesday.

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire and Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, two regular England international team-mates, joined compatriot Lee Westwood in a glamour group on the eve of the $8 million Rolex Series event at Emirates Golf Club.

Pickford later admitted he found the round more nerve-wracking than keeping goal for his country.

“I loved it really. Even though I play in front of 40,000 people every week, I’m out of my comfort zone here – it was a bit nerve-wracking,” said the Goodison Park custodian, before joking: “Normally my handicap is eight but I think I played off about 28 today. I thoroughly enjoyed it though and I learned a lot playing with a top professional like Westy. I’ve not played many courses abroad, so this was an amazing opportunity.”

Jordan Pickford & Harry Maguire

Manchester United skipper Maguire, who plays off a six handicap, was delighted to interrupt a mid-season break from club football with his first Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic Pro-Am appearance. 

“I enjoyed it, the course is amazing and to get the chance to play with Lee and score a few birdies was great. We’ve been looked after really well, it has been a lovely day overall.”

McLaren Racing star Lando Norris swapped the high-octane thrills and spills of the F1 cockpit for the Majlis Course fairways. The 22-year-old, taking part in his first ever Pro-Am event, teed off in a group with Austrian pro Bernd Wiesberger and admitted to being a bundle of nerves.

Lando Norris

“I was very nervous for the first few holes,” said Norris. “I was shaking on the first few tee shots, but I ended up playing much better than I thought I would. Normally I play a relaxed round with mates, so this was very different – a lot more pressure!

“The course was incredible, and it was great to play with Bernd. It is very interesting to watch a professional at the top of his game in a different sport, to see his approach and his mentality, especially when I am at the bottom level of his sport! It was lovely to get some time away from the cold of the UK, and great to relax as I will be straight back to work when I go home.”

The post “Nerve-wracking”. Lando Norris was just like us at the Dubai Desert Classic Pro-Am appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

For many of those in contention, however, there will be obvious and surely lingering regrets. None of those who looked most likely to offer potent challenges to overnight leader Scott Jamieson ended up breaking par, never mind 70. All of which meant the relatively fast-finishing (!) Rafa Cabrera-Bello (70) and Shubhankar Sharma (71) ended up in second place, one-shot back of the new champion.

Starting one-shot off the pace, Shane Lowry’s outward half of 40 contained a brace of 7s. The inward half wasn’t a lot better either. In the end, the former Open champion’s 77 saw him fall to a T-12 finish.

MORE: Shane Lowry says he suffered Ryder Cup blues—’I actually felt sick. I felt rundown.’

Viktor Hovland eventually came up two-shots shy of Pieters in a tie for fourth place alongside Frenchman Victor Dubuisson and will surely look back on the triple bogey he made at the par-4 third hole and the double-bogey 6 on the 15th as the primary reasons for that failure.

Jamieson wasn’t immune either. Far from it. Four bogeys in the first five holes set the Scot who had been leading each of the first three days back on his heels. And despite subsequent steadiness, his weight never again returned to his toes. His forlorn 77 left him tied 10th.

Still, none of the above was bothering Pieters. The soon-to-be 30-year-old Belgian (his birthday is Jan. 27), a veteran of the 2016 Ryder Cup (where he finished with four points from his five matches), has since failed to fulfil the huge potential that was obvious when he claimed the 2012 NCAA Championship while playing at Illinois. A victory in the Portugal Masters towards the end of 2021 provided a much-needed fillip, however, before this, his sixth victory on what is now the DP World Tour.

“I was well in control,” said Pieters, who arrived in the Gulf ranked 69th in the world. “When you’re in control of your ball flight and the golf ball, it’s fun. You can be creative and that’s how I felt out there today. Winning a Rolex Series event is as good as it gets in Europe. Hopefully this lifts me. I want to play all of the big tournaments and hopefully this gets me close. I kind of disappeared for a couple years. Top 50 is your strive point, and when I fell out of that maybe three years ago, I took it badly. I’m happy to be there again.”

Back in the pack, where he started and eventually finished, Rory McIlroy did add some typical excitement to the proceedings with a bold run of figures through the 13th hole, highlighted by an eagle at the par-4 ninth where he holed out from 141 yards.

Rory McIlroy hole-out eagle!#ADGolfChamps | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/fvOLsbpJmY

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) January 23, 2022

At that stage he was tied for second place. But that was where he stalled on a Yas Links course for which he clearly feels little affection compared to the tournament’s previous home, Abu Dhabi Golf Club. Told this event will be played here for at least another three years his smiling response said it all: “see you in 2026.”

Anyway, a wild drive at the 359-yard 14th led to a momentum-ending bogey. And two more shots were dropped at the closing two holes, a wild 3-wood into the water at the par 5 pretty much summing up the last hour of the Northern Irishman’s life.

“Honestly, I’m happy enough I got to play an extra two days,” said McIlroy of a five-under-par total that saw him finish T-12. “I had to make a birdie at the last on Friday night to be here. Then I almost made the most of the weekend. I played well yesterday. And I played really well today before a couple of loose shots coming in cost me.

“I thought if I played the last five in two under and got to double digits I would have a decent chance,” he continued. “But I didn’t quite do that. I probably hit the wrong club on 14 trying to get close to the green with the pin at the back. And I just didn’t quite play the shots I needed to coming down the last few holes. Still, it was good to see where my game is at. It was good to get an extra couple of days golf going into Dubai next week. Obviously, that wasn’t the finish I wanted today, but big-picture-wise it was good to assess where everything is and know what to work on going into next week.”

The post Thomas Pieters kept his cool as others faltered in Abu Dhabi, and has the biggest win of his career to show for it appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

It was a fittingly dramatic finish to the second edition of the WAGR-sanctioned event but not half as clutch as the wild par the 17-year-old conjured up on Thursday to capture the 54-hole title for a second time in three years and book his return to the $8 million DP World Tour event next month.

It was all tied up at -9 with Denmark’s Frederick Birkelund heading down the last at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club when Hill’s title hopes seemed lost courtesy of a tugged drive left that his father Russell described as “…so wide and dead”.

And then the Trump International Golf Club, Dubai member produced this miraculous recovery shot from the desert. Check. It. Out. (we suggest going to full-screen mode and urge you to wait for the ball to emerge, seemingly from thin air) :

 

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A post shared by Russell Hill (@golf_osteo_path_dxb)

Anyone who has ever played golf in the UAE knows how difficult shots are from wasteland, much less from the particularly gnarly lie that confronted Hill. And don’t forget all that wetness beyond that demanded absolute pin-point accuracy. Russell Hill provided a proud father commentary on his Instagram feed.

“Josh hit one of the most incredible golf shots I have ever seen today, SEVE Would have been proud of it himself,” Hill Snr wrote.

“Was tied for the lead going up the last hole, from the tee he left himself so wide and dead, he was in the desert behind a grass lump had about 25 yards to clear, of desert, cart path and rough and he had to land it in the fringe on a knuckle. If it landed left side it would have gone 15 yards away from the hole, to far right it would have kicked into the water and if to long it could have been wet… he landed it in a foot window and it rolled past the hole to eight foot, absolutely friggin stunning! It was so clutch it won him the title!”

Indeed, while Birkelund bogeyed, Hill two-putted for par to sign for a closing 72 to go with earlier rounds of 66-69 and a championship-winning 207 aggregate. His -9 total edged the Dane by a stroke with India’s Yash Majmudar third on 210 while Dubai-based Welsh international Toby Bishop and Victor Svendsen (DEN) finished T-4 a shot further back.

The victory sets up a third DP World Tour (formerly European Tour) start for Hill who will rub shoulders with the likes of Collin Morikawa and Rory McIlroy at the 17th Abu Dhabi Championship, a Rolex Series event to be hosted by Yas Links Abu Dhabi for the first time from Jan.20-23.

Hill has coincidently finished T-117 in both his previous DP World Tour starts, carding rounds of 74-76 around Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s National layout in 2020, a week before a pair of 77s also saw him miss the cut at the Dubai Desert Classic. He earned the invite to ‘Major of the Middle East’ after topping the MENA Tour’s amateur Journey to Jordan OOM title during a stellar 2019. Hill became the youngest winner of an Official World Golf Ranking event that season when he captured the MENA Tour’s Al Ain Open and has since gone on to gain selection to the senior England amateur team for the coveted Home Internationals.

The post With ‘Seve’-Esque par from ‘dead’ lie, Josh Hill is the epitome of clutch and on his way back to the DP World Tour appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.