Two-time Race to Dubai winner Lee Westwood will be joined by Major champions Martin Kaymer and Danny Willett as a strong international field gathers at the inaugural Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World.
The new event, to be played on the Fire Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates on December 2-5, forms part of a double-header with the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, where the latest European No1 will be crowned.
Westwood is aiming for more glory in the UAE after securing his 25th European Tour title at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship earlier this season.
The Englishman is currently fourth in the Race to Dubai Rankings, and a strong showing around the Fire Course could boost his chances of becoming European No1 for a third time, following his triumphs in 2000 and 2009.
Two-time Major winner and 2010 Race to Dubai champion Kaymer is aiming to continue the career renaissance he has enjoyed this season at the Dubai double-header.
The German Ryder Cup star has form in the Emirates, with three wins in Abu Dhabi amongst his 11 European Tour titles.
Bringing further star power to the Golf in Dubai Championship is 2016 Masters Tournament winner Danny Willett.
The Englishman has previously enjoyed success here, winning the DP World Tour Championship in 2018 and the Dubai Desert Classic in 2016, just two months before he slipped on the Green Jacket at Augusta National.
“It’s always a pleasure to play in Dubai so hats off to everyone involved in adding this new event to the schedule,” said Willett. “I’ve won a couple of times in Dubai so I jumped at the opportunity of playing another tournament there. The facilities are world class and second to none.
“We’re all very familiar with the Earth course as that hosts the DP World Tour Championship but the Fire course will bring a fresh challenge to us players and it’s a challenge I’m really looking forward to.”
Westwood and Willett will be joined in the field by fellow Rolex Series winners including Aaron Rai of England, Austrian Bernd Wiesberger and Spain’s Rafa Cabrera Bello, as well as a host of stars who are looking to add to previous wins in Dubai.
Australian Lucas Herbert made his European Tour breakthrough at the Dubai Desert Classic this season and he’ll tee it up at Jumeirah Golf Estates alongside 2018 winner Li Haotong of China and victorious 2018 Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn, who famously beat then world No1 Tiger Woods to the same title in 2001.
The field will also include a number of winners on the 2020 Race to Dubai, including rising Danish star Rasmus Højgaard, American John Catlin and young Englishman Sam Horsfield – all of whom have two titles to their name this season – Spanish pair Jorge Campillo and Adrian Otaegui, Finland’s Sami Välimäki, Italian Renato Paratore and 2019 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the year Robert MacIntyre.
