Dubai Desert Classic

The Dubai Desert Classicis a very popular golf tournament that takes place each year at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai. This tournament, which is part of the European Tour, started in 1989, though it did skip a year in 1991. Past winners include Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els (who has actually won three times), Colin Montgomerie and Tiger Woods. The Prize Fund is currently worth around $2.5 million.

The tournament is played over the Majlis course, which – as the official web site points out – is famous for being “the first grass course in the Middle East”. The Majlis course, which is a par-72, is some 7,211 yards long, and efforts have been made to ensure that it retains as much of the natural character of the original landscape as is possible. The result are lush greens and fairways set against the starkness of the desert and an overall challenge that makes achieving par here something to be especially proud of.

The whole of the Majlis course is memorable, but the final hole in particular is one that many professional golfers have developed a love-hate relationship with. This is due to the fact that the 18th features a double green and is bordered by a lake, making it as difficult a hole as any and one that has led to the tournament leader giving his advantage – and the first prize – away right at the very end. As you might imagine, gasps from spectators here are commonplace.

Played on a course that is as visually stunning as it is technically challenging, the Dubai Desert Classic is a favourite tournament of many competitors. To win here a player doesn’t just need to be in good form, he needs to be at the very pinnacle of his game.

May 13, 2008