OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC 2021 DAILY - ISSUE 4

SUNDAY

JANUARY 31, 2021

ROUND 4

Paul Casey and Robert MacIntyre intend turning Sunday’s final two-ball into a private match for the Dallah trophy. Brandon Stone leads those with other ideas.

By Kent Gray – Editor, Golf Digest Middle East

AN ENGLISHMAN with proven desert pedigree, effortless power and a game as sharp as it’s ever been so early in the season. A Scot high on confidence, striking it as sweetly as ever and learning to accept when he occasionally doesn’t.

There are no guarantees either Paul Casey or Robert MacIntyre will win the 32nd OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic but the way the duo stole the narrative on moving day at Emirates Golf Club, it will be a surprise if one of them doesn’t hoist the fabled Dallah.

Casey leads the way, a sensational birdie-eagle finish capping an equal best of the week 64 that he was reluctant to call flawless but kind of did anyway.

Few would dare argue as the 14-time European Tour winner eased to 15-under, a shot clear of MacIntyre who snared an eagle of his own early on Saturday before recovering from a potential title-ending blip to sign for a 67. The Scottish lefty described his third round as “eventful”, others tenacious and ultimately terrific.

At 13-under, South African Brandon Stone shapes as the most likely plot spoiler on Sunday although 2017 champion Sergio Garcia and Englishman Laurie Canter won’t have given up yet at five adrift.

But as statements of intent go, Casey’s bogey-free romp and MacIntyre’s gritty third round fightback are hard to ignore.

“Same as always: Go for it. I’m not going to hang about,” MacIntyre said of his final round game-plan. “I’m going to put it all on the line whether it’s good or bad. Hopefully it’s going to be good and I’ve just got to enjoy it again. It’s another experience that I want to get, you know what I mean. It’s something that not many people get the chance at my age to do, and it’s just...I’ll give it everything I’ve got.”

A second European Tour title to go with his Cyprus Showdown breakthrough 10 weeks ago will take all of MacIntyre’s aggression and new found acceptance of inevitable mis-hits. Turn to page 2

Sunday Best Daily Draw Sheet & Course Map Navigate Emirates Golf Club with your guide to the final round groups.

PAGE 9-11

PATRON & OFFICIAL PUBLISHER

No hanging about

Scot Robert MacIntyre promises to put it ‘all on the line’ Sunday. PAGE 2-3

Brandon’s a Rolling Stone The South African intends playing the role of spoiler on the Majlis. PAGE 8

Late Bloomer

The rise and rise of Laurie Canter has continued at Emirates G.C. PAGE 14

@OmegaGolfDubai #MadeForGreatness #TimeToMakeHistory

OM E GA D U BA I D E S E RT C L A SS I C 28–31 JANUARY

NEWS

2

LEADERBOARD Rank Name

Country Par

1 CASEY, Paul

ENG -15

2 MACINTYRE, Robert SCO -14 3 STONE, Brandon

RSA -13

4 CANTER, Laurie

ENG -10

GARCIA, Sergio

ESP -10

6 SAMOOJA, Kalle

FIN -9

7 DETRY, Thomas

BEL -8

ROSE, Justin

ENG -8

HARDING, Justin

RSA -8

Secret sauce

R

obert MacIntyre may well have discovered the secret to golf.

The Scottish southpaw spilled the beans as he walked off the 10th tee at Emirates Golf Club on Saturday alongside on-course reporter Tim Barter, a man adept at drawing revealing sound bites from the European Tour’s best.

“It’s part of something I’m really working hard on, just acceptance,” the 24-year-old from Oban said.

“I’ve struggled over the years but it’s been drilled into me the last few weeks that it’s been a weakness and I feel like I’m starting to appreciate that there’s nothing I can do once that thing has left the club.”

Editor-in-Chief Obaid Humaid Al Tayer Managing Partner & Group Editor Ian Fairservice Editor Kent Gray Correspondent Joy Chakravarty Art Director Clarkwin Cruz Images Getty Images, Supplied by Falcon Associates Chief Commercial Officer Anthony Milne Publisher David Burke General Manager – Production S. Sunil Kumar Assistant Production Manager Binu Purandaran

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Continued from cover page...

“Yeah, I feel like I’m starting to appreciate that there’s nothing I can do once [the ball] has left the club,” he said “That’s something I struggled with last year. But this year, it’s been drilled into me by many people: Accept what comes. Just control what you can control. And it’s working well.”

Equally, a 15th European Tour title sure sounds sweet to Casey, twice a winner in Abu Dhabi and the champion of the Volvo Golf Championship when it was held in Bahrain in 2011.

“Behind you, I can see the very impressive list of winners, those photos of them behind the 18th green. It’s cool. Iconic trophy.

Iconic event. Dubai has given so much to golf, especially European Tour, so yeah, that would be very, very cool,” Casey said.

Like MacIntyre, Casey has new clubs in his bag, a driver and 3-wood. His game feels sharper than normal to the courtesy of less range time and more off-season money games with the likes of Jon Rahm and Chez Reavie back home in Arizona.

“Like I’ve said many times it seems so far this week, I’m enjoying my golf, and that was an example of it today,” Casey continued.

“Today, I mean, really good. You can never say flawless, can you, because there’s always errors but it was very controlled. Really enjoyable round of golf; challenging yet at the same time with a little bit of wind here and there, I mean, it’s good stuff. “ It got better as it went on as well.

After committing the cardinal sin of missing the fairway after taking an iron off the 17th tee, and then leaving his wedged approach short, Casey promptly chipped in for an unlikely birdie. A 296-yard drive and 3-iron flushed from 238-yards to 10 feet then set up the closing eagle, Saturday’s pivotal play.

“Yeah, it was the perfect club. It’s a glorious finish. I said to Johnny [caddie John McLaren] on the fairway there, that was a cool-looking shot when Monty hit a driver off the deck without the skyline

you get now, and it might be cooler now with the skyline. It’s one of the iconic shots in golf, isn’t it. To have a perfect 3-iron in there and finish off with an eagle is pretty cool.”

After his opening 67 Thursday, Casey seem bemused to learn that his T-8 start to the year at the American Express didn’t warrant any Ryder Cup points as the PGA Tour event was played opposite Abu Dhabi, one of the European Tour’s gold-star events.

Winning the ‘Major of the Middle East’ would be swift retort, just as victory for MacIntyre would advance the former MENA Tour winner into the world’s top 50 with all those major championship sand WGC privileges. Whatever transpires, both men have become much larger targets on Padraig Harrington’s radar for the 43rd Ryder Cup matches at Whistling Straits. But that is for September. For now, enjoy the final round of January. It shapes as a doozy, perhaps even a Ryder Cup warm-up match of sorts. If the drama is anything like Saturday, the Desert Classic is poised to celebrate another very worthy British champion. ◼

3

By the 10th MacIntyre had dipped deep into his new-found reservoir of self-control and emerged out the other side, well on his way to securing a start in Sunday’s final two-ball alongside Paul Casey who leads by one at 15-under.

A par, birdie, chip-in eagle start saw MacIntyre alone atop the leaderboard after the 3rd hole but the likeable lefty looked to have wasted the blistering start when he bogeyed the 4th and doubled the 5th.

But MacIntyre, looking to join 1997 champion Richard Green (Australia) as just the second lefthander to hoist the Dallah and sneak inside the world’s top50, handled the potentially title ending adversity like a seasoned veteran. He bounced back immediately with a birdie and binned a long putt MacIntyre’s for another gain on the par-3 current world 7th, Three further birdies ranking. The Scot finished 23rd in followed on the homeward last season’s Race nine as he signed for a 67. to Dubai.

He left a few shots out on the Majlis as well, many of them

52

just a roll or two short, in the jaws of the cup on 15 and an even longer effort that slide by on 16.

MacIntyre will need his normally reliable mallet to continue co-operating Sunday as well as a driver sporting a clubface with a very well-worn centre, as he eluded to in the brief chat with Barter.

“If you miss a fairway you are in trouble but if I keep driving it the way I’m driving it, I mean I’m hitting the middle of the clubface, you can control the ball.”

Control of the clubface and control of his emotions. It’s a combo Casey will have to fight hard to overcome in Sunday’s final round. –kent gray

“I really am striking my irons as well as I struck it late last year.”

4

QUOTE, UNQUOTE

They said it...

“The game has felt quite easy or has felt unbelievably hard. There hasn’t been much plodding along. I’m making it look pretty tough on the greens. I haven’t got the speed at all. Haven’t all week.” – LAURIE CANTER, T-4 at 10-under

“The Emirates golf course has an illustrious history on its own; the location itself is special. Doesn’t matter who was playing here, when you stand up on the 8th tee box and you look at that tee shot with the skyline in the distance, it’s very unique. You don’t get that anywhere else in the world.”

– BRANDON STONE (-13)

“Yeah, it was perfect club, Barty [reporter Tim Barter]. It always helps when you have a nice number in there. It’s a glorious finish.” – Leader PAUL CASEY (-15) on his 238-yard 3-iron to 10 feet to set up a closing eagle “You can never say flawless, can you, because there’s always errors but it was very controlled.

Really enjoyable round of golf; challenging yet at the same time with a little bit of wind here and there, I mean, it’s good stuff.” – CASEY again describing his third round 64

OM E GA D U BA I D E S E RT C L A SS I C 28–31 JANUARY

5

“I played great golf. I controlled my golf ball I think as good as I have all week. The wind was up more today. I was patient, and committed to every shot. That’s something I struggled with last year. But this year, it’s been drilled into me by many people: accept what comes. Just control what you can control. And it’s working well.” – ROBERT MACINTYRE (-14) after his gritty 67 “Oh, it’s as high as it’s ever been. I’m driving it great. 3-wood, 5-wood, new clubs in the bag, they have been absolutely brilliant.

And I’m striking it. I really am striking my irons as well as I struck it late last year.”

– MACINTYRE again on where his confidence level is at “It would be unbelievable. Still a long way to go, 18 holes. I’m just focused on the tee shot off the 1st tomorrow.” – MACINTYRE would love to add his name alongside the likes of Ballesteros, Woods and McIlroy on the Dallah trophy

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PICTURE THIS

6 Tyrrell Hatton

Kalle Samooja

Takumi Kanaya

An eagle about to be landed by Paul Casey

Sergio Garcia

7 Ross Fisher

Andy Sullivan

Fitting flags for Pink Saturday

Justin Rose

Tommy Fleetwood

8

Rolling Stone “The number of illustrious winners that BRANDON STONE has won one of the have won here before is obviously incredible, European Tour’s biggest tournaments – the but at the same time the golf course has its 2018 Scottish Open - but reckons it would be own history and the event itself has that extra special to win the OMEGA Dubai Desert prestige around it.

Classic on a golf course he absolutely loves.

“So you always want to be The South African, who has playing against the best players, also won the Alfred Dunhill but you want to be playing on the Championship and the SA Open back best courses and winning the best home in 2016, made five birdies and tournaments, and I’ve given myself an eagle in a round of six-under par the opportunity to do that.”

66. He is now at 13-under par total, Stone’s third Stone was pleased with his efforts one behind Robert MacIntyre and round included a on Saturday. two behind leader Paul Casey. birdie-birdie start, “Just played solid golf all the way “I think you obviously look at the a bogey on 12, a around to be fair. Drove the ball previous winners, but you also look brilliant bounce really nicely and managed to hole at the venue,” said the 27-year-old back eagle on 13 some nice putts on the front nine, from Rustenberg when asked how and a two on the which always gets the adrenaline and special would it be for him to win par-3 15th. momentum going,” added Stone, the tournament. now ranked 205th in the world.

“The Emirates Golf Club has an “I felt very calm and collected all day illustrious history on its own; the location and hit the ball fantastically well. Felt like itself is special. Doesn’t matter who was I was putting for birdie on almost every hole, playing here; when you stand up on the 8th so whenever that’s the case, you’re always tee box and you look at that tee shot with the going to figure like there’s a low number skyline in the distance, it’s very unique. You in you.” –joy chakravarty don’t get that anywhere else in the world.

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DRAW SHEET

9

Order of Play SUNDAY

JANUARY 31, 2021

Plan your day watching your favourite players with this guide to the groupings and tee times.

1. TIME 07:10 • HOLE 1 ◼ Gavin GREEN (MAS)

+11

2. TIME 07:19 • HOLE 1 ◼ Miguel Ángel JIMÉNEZ (ESP) ◼ Collin MORIKAWA (USA)

3. TIME 07:28 • HOLE 1 ◼ Richie RAMSAY (SCO) ◼ Jordan SMITH (ENG)

4. TIME 07:37 • HOLE 1 ◼ Chris WOOD (ENG) ◼ George COETZEE (RSA)

5. TIME 07:46 • HOLE 1 ◼ Nacho ELVIRA (ESP) ◼ Edoardo MOLINARI (ITA)

6. TIME 07:55 • HOLE 1 ◼ Jayden SCHAPER (RSA) ◼ Sean CROCKER (USA)

7. TIME 08:04 • HOLE 1 ◼ Renato PARATORE (ITA) ◼ Sami VÄLIMÄKI (FIN)

8. TIME 08:13 • HOLE 1 ◼ Marcus KINHULT (SWE) ◼ Ross FISHER (ENG)

9. TIME 08:22 • HOLE 1 ◼ Ashley CHESTERS (ENG) ◼ Benjamin HEBERT (FRA)

10. TIME 08:31 • HOLE 1 ◼ Andy SULLIVAN (ENG) ◼ Alexander BJÖRK (SWE)

11. TIME 08:45 • HOLE 1 ◼ Danny WILLETT (ENG) ◼ Nino BERTASIO (ITA)

12. TIME 08:54 • HOLE 1 ◼ Dean BURMESTER (RSA) ◼ Jeff WINTHER (DEN)

13. TIME 09:03 • HOLE 1 ◼ Fabrizio ZANOTTI (PAR) ◼ Matt WALLACE (ENG)

-2 -2

25. TIME 10:56 • HOLE 1 ◼ Matthew FITZPATRICK (ENG) ◼ Justin WALTERS (RSA)

+4 +4

14. TIME 09:12 • HOLE 1

+3 +3

15. TIME 09:21 • HOLE 1

27. TIME 11:15 • HOLE 1

+2 +2

16. TIME 09:30 • HOLE 1

28. TIME 11:25 • HOLE 1

+1 +1

17. TIME 09:39 • HOLE 1

+1 +1

18. TIME 09:48 • HOLE 1

+1 +1

19. TIME 09:57 • HOLE 1

E E

20. TIME 10:11 • HOLE 1

E E

21. TIME 10:20 • HOLE 1

-1 -1

22. TIME 10:29 • HOLE 1

-1 -1

23. TIME 10:38 • HOLE 1

-1 -1

24. TIME 10:47 • HOLE 1

◼ Steven BROWN (ENG) ◼ Pablo LARRAZÁBAL (ESP)

-2 -2

◼ Grant FORREST (SCO) -2 ◼ Christiaan BEZUIDENHOUT (RSA) -2 ◼ Jason SCRIVENER (AUS) ◼ Martin KAYMER (GER)

◼ Richard STERNE (RSA) ◼ Kiradech APHIBARNRAT (THA) ◼ Adrian OTAEGUI (ESP) ◼ Ryan FOX (NZL)

◼ Joost LUITEN (NED) ◼ Rasmus HØJGAARD (DEN) ◼ Kurt KITAYAMA (USA) ◼ Matthias SCHWAB (AUT) ◼ Lucas HERBERT (AUS) ◼ Wade ORMSBY (AUS)

◼ Ashun WU (CHN) ◼ Thomas PIETERS (BEL) ◼ Adri ARNAUS (ESP) ◼ Guido MIGLIOZZI (ITA) ◼ Takumi KANAYA (JPN) ◼ Tyrrell HATTON (ENG)

-2 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -3 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -4 -5 -5 -5 -5

26. TIME 11:05 • HOLE 1 ◼ David LIPSKY (USA) ◼ Shubhankar SHARMA (IND) ◼ Bernd WIESBERGER (AUT) ◼ Antoine ROZNER (FRA)

◼ Nicolas COLSAERTS (BEL) ◼ Rafa CABRERA BELLO (ESP)

29. TIME 11:40 • HOLE 1 ◼ Tommy FLEETWOOD (ENG) ◼ Mikko KORHONEN (FIN)

30. TIME 11:50 • HOLE 1 ◼ Lee WESTWOOD (ENG) ◼ Alexander LEVY (FRA)

31. TIME 12:00 • HOLE 1 ◼ Padraig HARRINGTON (IRL) ◼ Scott JAMIESON (SCO)

32. TIME 12:10 • HOLE 1 ◼ Shane LOWRY (IRL) ◼ Thomas DETRY (BEL)

33. TIME 12:20 • HOLE 1 ◼ Justin HARDING (RSA) ◼ Justin ROSE (ENG)

34. TIME 12:30 • HOLE 1 ◼ Kalle SAMOOJA (FIN) ◼ Laurie CANTER (ENG)

35. TIME 12:40 • HOLE 1 ◼ Sergio GARCIA (ESP) ◼ Brandon STONE (RSA)

36. TIME 12:50 • HOLE 1 ◼ Robert MACINTYRE (SCO) ◼ Paul CASEY (ENG)

-5 -5 -5 -6 -6 -6 -6 -6 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -7 -8 -8 -8 -9 -10 -10 -13 -14 -15

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COURSE GUIDE

11

SPECTATOR GUIDELINES Please follow play by walking behind the ropes at all times and use the crossing places where indicated.

Please stand still and be silent while players prepare to hit their shots.

Please observe the requests of the Marshals.

All handheld devices, including mobile phones, must be switched to silent.

SCORE CARD HOLE YARDS PAR 1

469

4

2

351

4

3

601

5

4

180

3

5

451

4

6

485

4

7

186

3

8

459

4

9

488

4

OUT 3670 35 10

549

5

11

169

3

12

476

4

13

550

5

14

434

4

15

190

3

16

436

4

17

359

4

18

564

5

IN

3754 37

TOTAL 7424 72

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#ODDC #MadeForGreatness

13

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LATE BLOOMER

Continued Canter EVER SINCE the European Tour made its comeback following the COVID-19 shutdown, players have reacted differently to the loneliness of the strict biobubble and the emptiness on the golf courses.

Stars such as Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey blamed the silence and the lack of energy from the lack of crowds for their struggles towards the later half of the 2020 season. But one person who completely embraced the ‘new normal’ and thrived is England’s Laurie Canter.

The 31-year-old from Bath was ranked 579th in the world when action resumed on with the UK Swing in the last week of July. In the six months since then, Canter has climbed to 131st in the world. In that period, he finished runner-up twice – in Portugal and Italy – and was in contention at the DP World Tour Championship before finishing tied fifth.

Canter once again hauled himself into the limelight at the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic, where a four-under par 68 in Saturday’s third round took

him to tied fourth place at 10-under par total.

So, what did Canter do differently during the shutdown that has helped him hit such a rich vein of form?

“I get asked that question a lot, but honestly, I don’t have a very good answer,” said Canter, who is making his debut in the ‘Major of the Middle East’ this week.

“It’s not like I practiced any differently, or changed something. I do a few things differently now, like spending less time on the range and playing the golf course more.

“Every player will have a different formula that they’d like to go back to but for me, it is investing a bit more time in learning the golf course and developing shots rather than improving my technique, which I was spending a lot of time on without much success.”

It was a masterclass from Canter for the first 11 holes as he seemed to have birdie chances in

44 percent, Canter’s driving accuracy rating so far this season.

He’s averaged 298.6 yards off the tee and a 68% Greens in Reg return.

each one of them but only managed convert on five occasions. He then made three bogeys coming in.

“It’s just that I don’t feel very comfortable on the back nine of this golf course. I struggle with my tee shots on the 12th, 13th and 14th holes (all severe dogleg left). I am more of a fade player.

“I also struggled with the pace of the greens.

But it was good to sign off with a birdie,” said Canter, who three-putted the 15th for a bogey after making a birdie on the 14th that would have gone 15-20 feet past the hole if it had not caught just enough of the cup to drop.

The Englishman said there was no frustration with all his near misses and hopes his time will come soon.

“I am not frustrated now. I guess you can only find out at the end of your career what that moment meant at that time. It really has all been very good learning and all this will hopefully, somewhere down the line, stand me in good stead.” –joy chakravarty

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“I always love short par-4s. I think they all have lots of personality.”

EAGLE LANDED SERGIO GARCIA’S love of drivable par-4s deepned late on Saturday at the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic.

An eagle on the Majlis’ always pivotal 359-yard, par-4 17th hole could yet prove critical if he is to kick on to a second Dallah trophy.

The Spaniard, champion here in 2017 before going on to win the Masters that year, managed

to narrow the gap with eventual leader Paul Casey to five shots with the eagle when he holed an exquisite flop wedge shot from 15 yards after smashing his drive into the left rough.

That helped him finish on five-under par 67 for the day and 10-under par after the third round, tying him for fourth place.

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under par, Garcia’s total when he won the 2017 OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic.

“I love hitting my driver on that hole. I hit a lovely one today, but just turned it a bit. I was left with a very tricky chip and the only thing that was helping me was that I was hitting it straight into the wind,” said the world No.45.

“I hit a flop and hoped it would land on the fringe and leave me no more than a six-seven feet putt for birdie. But it just took a couple of hops and went straight in. It was a bit of a bonus, really.

“I always love short par-4s. I think they all have lots of personality and the 17th here is no different.

You can play them in so many different ways – you can be super aggressive and go for the green, or you can be conservative and lay up to the yardage you feel comfortable. These are holes that make you think a little bit and that’s what we want in the game.”

Garcia said it was not his best ball-striking day, but he managed to limit the damage to just one bogey.

“There was a little bit of everything, I guess. I hit some good iron shots. I didn’t feel like I drove it badly, but it was a little bit windier, a little bit trickier. Wasn’t able to hit as many fairways. But obviously a couple of good birdies on the back nine and then obviously the chip-in on 17. Yeah… happy with the score, but there’s some things that we need to improve.” –joy chakravarty

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STAT ATTACK

Majlis Memories All the key OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic facts and figures to enhance your viewing pleasure.

MOST WINS

3

Ernie Els1994, 2002, 2005

CHAMPIONS 1989 - Mark James 277 (-11) 1990 - Eamonn Darcy 276 (-12) 1992 - Seve Ballesteros 272 (-16) 1993 - Wayne Westner 274 (-14) 1994 - Ernie Els 268 (-20) 1995 - Fred Couples 268 (-20) 1996 - Colin Montgomerie 270 (-18) 1997 - Richard Green 272 (-16) 1998 - José Maria Olazábal 269 (-19) 1999 - David Howell 275 (-13) 2000 - José Coceres 274 (-14) 2001 - Thomas Bjørn 266 (-22) 2002 - Ernie Els 272 (-16) 2003 - Robert-Jan Derksen 271 (-17) 2004 - Mark O’Meara 271 (-17) 2005 - Ernie Els 269 (-19)

2006 - Tiger Woods 269 (-19) 2007 - Henrik Stenson 269 (-19) 2008 - Tiger Woods 274 (-14) 2009 - Rory McIlroy 269 (-19) 2010 - Miguel Angel Jiménez 277 (-11) 2011 - Alvaro Quiros 277 (-11) 2012 - Rafa Cabrera Bello 270 (-18) 2013 - Stephen Gallacher 266 (-22) 2014 - Stephen Gallacher 272 (-16) 2015 - Rory McIlroy 266 (-22) 2016 - Danny Willett 269 (-19) 2017 - Sergio Garcia 269 (-19) 2018 - Li Haotong 265 (-23) 2019 - Bryson DeChambeau 264 (-24) 2020 - Lucas Herbert 279 (-9)

CONSECUTIVE WINS Stephen Gallacher 2013 and 2014

WIRETO-WIRE WINNERS

Eamonn Darcy, 1990 Seve Ballesteros, 1992 Ernie Els, 1994; José Coceres, 2000 Rory McIlroy, 2009 Sergio Garcia, 2017

17

PLAYOFFS

Lowest 18-hole score 61 (-11), Ernie Els, 1994

Lowest first 18-hole score

61 (-11), Ernie Els, 1994

Lowest first 36-hole score

195 (-21), Stephen Gallacher, 2013

Lowest 72-hole score

Miguel Angel Jiménez 4th Hole, Rnd 2, 1990 Chris Moody 11th Hole, Rnd 3, 1990

1989

Mark James beat Peter O’Malley

128 (-16), Tiger Woods, 2001

Lowest first 54-hole score

HOLESIN-ONE Mark McNulty 11th Hole, Rnd 3, 1990 José Coceres 7th Hole, Rnd 2, 1992

1992

Wayne Westner 7th Hole, Rnd 1, 1995

Seve Ballesteros beat Ronan Rafferty

264 (-24), Bryson DeChambeau, 2019

1997

Lowest under par winning score

Richard Green beat Greg Norman and Ian Woosnam

Lowest final round by a winner

Tiger Woods beat Ernie Els

264 (-24), Bryson DeChambeau, 2019

64 (-8), Bryson DeChambeau, 2019

139 149 LOW CUT (-5), 2018

José Coceres 4th Hole, Rnd 1, 1996

2006 2010

Miguel Angel Jiménez beat Lee Westwood

Roger Wessels 7th Hole, Rnd 2, 1996 Peter Hedblom 15th Hole, Rnd 2, 1996 Stuart Cage 8th Hole, Rnd 1, 1999

6 SHOTS

Biggest final round comeback by a winner: Lucas Herbert, 2020

2020

Henrik Bjornstad 7th Hole, Rnd 4, 2002 Brad Kennedy 4th Hole, Rnd 2, 2004 Yasin Ali 7th Hole, Rnd 1, 2005

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño 4th Hole, Rnd 2, 2007 Miguel Angel Jiménez 7th hole, Rnd 1, 2008 Louis Oosthuizen 11th hole, Rnd 2, 2009 David Howell 7th hole, Rnd 1, 2011 Keith Horne 4th hole, Rnd 2, 2011 Raphaël Jacquelin 7th hole, Rnd 3, 2011 Alvaro Quiros 11th hole, Rnd 4, 2011

YOUNGEST WINNER

Mark O’Meara, 47 years and 54 days, 2004

(Dubai Creek)

Stephen Gallacher 4th Hole, Rnd 4, 2005

(+5), 1989

OLDEST WINNER

Peter Downie 16th Hole, Rnd 1, 2000

Nobuhito Sato 15th Hole, Rnd 1, 2005

Lucas Herbert beat Christiaan Bezuidenhout

HIGH CUT

Rory McIlroy 19 years and 273 days, 2009

(Dubai Creek)

Stephen Gallacher 15th hole, Rnd 1, 2012 Martin Kaymer 7th hole, Rnd 2, 2012

LARGEST WINNING MARGIN 7 shots, Bryson DeChambeau, 2019

Alvaro Quiros 4th hole, Rnd 4, 2015 Grégory Bourdy 11th hole, Rnd 3, 2017 Matthew Southgate 7th hole, Rnd 2, 2018 Alexander Levy 5th hole, Rnd 3, 2018 Kristoffer Broberg 7th hole, Rnd 1, 2019 Nacho Elvira 11th hole, Rnd 1, 2021 *All at Emirates G.C. unless noted

18

Wily Old Westy

The reigning Race to Dubai champion eyes another Majlis top-10

F

or a good portion of Saturday, Lee Westwood looked as if he might be setting himself up for a shot at bettering his three runner-up finishes at the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic today. Sadly, a watery bogey on the last saw the world No.37 sign for a third round 72 to finish on seven-under, eight strokes adrift of English compatriot Paul Casey. Another top-10 is still very much on the cards though, especially given the former world No1’s intimate knowledge of Emirates Golf Club. We’ve crunched the impressive numbers for your viewing pleasure.

OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC

26th

Appearance

Best by Major Championship 2nd - 2010 U.S. Masters (also T2 2016) 2nd - 2010 Open Championship 3rd - 2010 U.S Open (also T3 2011) 3rd - 2009 U.S. PGA Championsip

5

Cuts missed

10

Top 10s including three runner-up finishes

93* Rounds

176* Under par

CAREER STATS

6,520* Combined shots

25

70.10

44

€1,010,303

European Tour wins

Victories worldwide

1993

Turned pro on a +4 handicap

37

The former world No.1’s current OWGR

Combined stroke average.

Thru 36 holes this week it is 69.66

Westwood’s prizemoney from his 20 previous paydays at Emirates Golf Club * These stats include Westwood’s three rounds thus far this week

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We would like to thank the following for their invaluable support of the 2021 OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic, held at Emirates Golf Club from January 28 - 31

European Tour

Dubai Health Authority

Dubai Police

Dubai Golf

Roads and Transport Authority

Dubai Civil Aviation Authority

Dubai Sports Council

Dubai Civil Defence

Dubai Tourism & Commerce Marketing

19

omegawatches.com

OM E GA D U BA I D E S E RT C L A SS I C 28–31 JANUARY For the 11th consecutive year, OMEGA proudly resumes its title sponsorship of the event known as the “Major of the Middle East”. Who will claim the trophy?

Time will tell, but one thing is for sure, the winner will be wearing an exceptional watch home: OMEGA’s Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M Co‑Axial Master Chronometer.

An elegant 41mm timepiece in 18K Sedna™ gold with a sun‑brushed blue dial in a horizontal “teak” pattern, inspired by the wooden decks of luxury sailboats.