Dubai: The golfing landscape in Dubai gets a major boost as the likes of Danny Willett and Martin Kaymer, both Major winners, line up for the the inaugural Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World at the Fire Course in Jumeirah Golf Estates. The new addition, which makes it fourth men’s European Tour event in the UAE, will be held from December 2-5.
Both Willett and Kaymer can claim solid credentials on the golf courses of the country, with Willett winning the 2016 Omega Dubai Desert Classic and 2018 DP World Tour Championship and Kaymer triumphing three times at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship throughout his career.
Englishman Aaron Rai can put himself into contention to take the Race to Dubai crown with what would be his second win of the campaign, following a maiden Rolex Series title at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open.
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Ryder Cup stars in the field include Thorbjorn Olesen, Chris Wood, Nicolas Colsaerts, Stephen Gallacher, Victor Dubuisson, Thomas Pieters, Ross Fisher and Andy Sullivan.
Taking its place in the limelight alongside the more well known Earth Course next door, which will host the DP World Championship the week after, the Fire course gets its chance to shine and will stand in sharp contrast to it’s ‘neighbour.’
While the Earth is a bold attack on the senses with bright white sand and deep red bark offsetting the lush greens fairways, the Fire course provides a more natural visual dynamic. The terracotta sand gives a rustic touch and the ruggedness of the fescue in the rough and around some bunkers links the course to its immediate surroundings. Contours are less subtle and the greens are slightly easier targets than those found on the Earth, in that they are not as raised, and the greenside bunkers are not as deep.
The addition of this week’s Golf in Dubai Championship, also presented by DP World, completes the revamped schedule for the European Tour, which now includes 15 new events which did not exist prior to the season being put on hold after the completion of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in March before restarting in July.
Attendance at both events will be for invited guests only. Golf fans can follow the action on the Dubai Sports channel in the UAE or by tuning into their local network as well as staying up to date with all of the action at www.europeantour.com and on the European Tour’s social media channels.