The new-look US$2.7 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship 2011 has secured all four reigning Major winners – not least is last year's winner, Martin Kaymer - and for the first time the prestigious quartet will appear in a single Middle East tournament.
Graeme McDowell will be joined this week by seven Irish players - Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke, Peter Lawrie, Damian McGrane, Gareth Maybin and Michael Hoey.
Paul McGinley is currently third reserve.
South Africa’s Louis Oosthuizen, The Open Champion, and US Open winner, Graeme McDowell of Northern Ireland, will vie with previously confirmed Phil Mickelson, the defending US Masters Champion, and Martin Kaymer, a two-time Abu Dhabi winner and US PGA Champion, at Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s National Course.
Faisal Al Sheikh, Events Manager, Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), the championship organiser, said: “This great news means that our annual European Tour-backed championship now boasts three of the world’s top four players and five of the top 10. The 2011 Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship isn’t big, it’s Major!”
Alongside the Major quartet, new World Number One, Lee Westwood, and world number seven, Paul Casey - another two-time Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship winner - are also confirmed for the January 20-23rd championship, the richest leg of the Desert Swing events. More leading names are expected in coming weeks.
“While our championship has always attracted some of the biggest names in golf, the 2011 event will be the best ever, in terms of strength, quality and entertainment,” added Al Sheikh.
“To have the four reigning Major winners and the World Number One and our defending champion together in a single championship is virtually unheard of outside North America. I am certain that competition for the Falcon trophy will be intense and the action electric.”
Oosthuizen tore apart the Open field in July, winning by seven strokes and setting the second lowest four round score (272) in St. Andrews history, to claim his maiden Major. Although the win rubberstamped the South African’s arrival on the big stage, top five finishes in the last two Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championships show the consistency which has underlined the 28-year-old’s ascent to the game’s upper ranks.
Now, with a Major title in the trophy cabinet, Oosthuizen is optimistic of securing an Abu Dhabi triumph on his fourth appearance in the emirate.
“Winning my first Major at the Home of Golf in 2010 was a dream come true, but now I want to look forward,” said Oosthuizen. “It is important I start 2011 on the right note, especially having been sidelined for six weeks when I hurt my ankle in September. I am really looking forward to playing a full schedule injury-free and building on the confidence I gained from winning my first Major.
“The Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship is now a hugely important event on the European Tour and with such a strong field - including my three fellow Major winners - it will be the title we are all trying to win to get our 2011 campaigns off to the best possible start.”
No European Tour player will be more concerned with maintaining his 2010 form in to a new season than McDowell. The Northern Irishman’s memorable season included winning a first Major title at the US Open, as well as sinking the putt that sealed Europe’s Ryder Cup victory over their trans-Atlantic rivals at Celtic manor in September.
With seven career victories on The European Tour, McDowell is hopeful of putting in a convincing performance this time around as he chases title number eight.
“The Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship has a reputation on Tour for its fabulous hospitality, and its friendliness to everyone from players and officials to spectators,” said McDowell. “I can’t wait to get there and kick off the new season in the perfect Abu Dhabi weather and excellent playing conditions that we enjoy on the National Course.
“Winning in Abu Dhabi would be tremendously satisfying for me, but it will be a tough challenge with so many world-class players in the field.”
The inclusion of McDowell and the other three Major winners in the sixth edition of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship has boosted ADTA’s primary objectives of annually improving the event’s depth of field and strengthening the overall tournament experience.
The event’s strongest field to date follows the securing of the championship’s new title sponsor, HSBC, the world’s local bank, and the subsequent increase in the tournament prize fund, which now stands at US$2.7 million – US$500,000 up on 2010.
