Phil Mickelson
Martin Kaymer faces one of golf’s toughest examinations when he defends the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship at the start of an absorbing, history-making four week “Desert Swing” on The 2011 European Tour International Schedule.
Kaymer, winner of The 2010 Race to Dubai during a record-breaking year when he captured four titles including the US PGA Championship, confronts Phil Mickelson, Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen – winners of each of the other three Major Championships last year – in addition to World Number One Lee Westwood.
Additionally, Paul Casey, two-time Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship winner, Ernie Els and Padraig Harrington, both winners of three Major Championships, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Robert Karlsson, Matteo Manaserro, Edoardo and Francesco Molinari, Rory McIlroy, eight-time European Number One Colin Montgomerie, Ian Poulter and Justin Rose all tee-up in a powerful field of 126 challenging for the coveted Falcon Trophy.
In the near-40 year history of The European Tour there has never been such a superb festival of golf so early in the season with no fewer than six of the top ten and 16 of the top 30 (check!) in the Official World Golf Ranking converging on the majestic Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
World Number Three Kaymer, fresh from his four wins in 2010 and a helping hand in Europe’s Ryder Cup victory over the United States, declared: “This is a great way to start the year. If 2010 was sensational for The European Tour then the field in Abu Dhabi indicates that this year is going to be even more exciting.”
McDowell virtually mirrored the German’s impressive trophy haul during a year described by many of the game’s most astute observers as the ‘greatest in the history of The European Tour’. The Northern Irishman won three times in pushing Kaymer all the way to the line in the season-long Race, securing the winning point in The Ryder Cup and closing a momentous year by beating Tiger Woods in a play-off for the Chevon World Challenge in the USA.
Kaymer and McDowell’s achievements, along with Oosthuizen’s magnificent Open win at St Andrews and Westwood’s ascension to World Number One, were hugely significant factors in the Tour’s outstanding success in 2010, as were so many dominant performances by many of its leading Members.
With so many of those star names in the field, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship is, without doubt, golf’s main attraction in the first of those four consecutive high-class Tour events in the Gulf region.
“Abu Dhabi was where I won my first European Tour event and it will always be a special venue for me,” said Kaymer, who cannot overhaul Westwood – currently safe at Number One – but can climb from third to second in the World Ranking above Tiger Woods.
“Winning here last year was the perfect start to the season and gave me a lot of confidence to go on and have the best year of my career so far. I achieved so many career goals last year: winning a Major; playing in The Ryder Cup and winning the Race to Dubai so I hope that I can continue my winning form into the new season.”
McDowell begins the week, by remarkable coincidence in view of the fact that the World Ranking is accurate to five decimal points, exactly level in joint fourth position with four-time Major winner Mickelson.
He said: “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. I can’t wait to 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.”
Mickelson, making his first trip to Abu Dhabi, commented: “The Arabian Gulf is now established as an important part of worldwide golf and the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship is a centrepiece of the sport in the region. I understand the course and hospitality are among the best anywhere, so I’m really looking forward to it.
“I know there is a lot of attention on the Number One World Ranking these days but, as I’ve said, if I focus on winning tournaments the Ranking will take care of itself.
“The last two winners in Abu Dhabi have done very well in the Ranking, and the strength of field here is obvious, so I’m looking forward to starting the season strongly at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.”
Oosthuizen, who has already won in 2011 after capturing the Africa Open in his homeland a fortnight ago, commented: “Winning my first Major at the Home of Golf in 2010 was a dream come true, but now I want to look forward.
“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.”
