Ahead of the inaugural Golf in Dubai Championship which gets underway on Wednesday, we look at four players who could sparkle around Jumeirah Golf Estates.
DANNY WILLETT
The 33-year-old has enjoyed previous success at Jumeirah Golf Estates, winning the 2016 Dubai Desert Classic and 2018 DP World Tour Championship, the latter of which ended a 953-day winless drought. Closing his season off on a positive note will be his primary concern having struggled for much of this season. Eleven missed cuts from 21 starts doesn’t bode well for confidence, however, Willett should take encouragement from his respectable T25 finish at Augusta last month.
MARTIN KAYMER
Two-time major winner and 2010 Race to Dubai champion Kaymer is aiming to continue his sizzling form this campaign. The German, who has not tasted success since the 2014 US Open at Pinehurst, has shown flashes of brilliance around UAE courses over the years, winning three times in Abu Dhabi. Backed by promise this term, the 35-year-old placed second at the Andalucia Masters to add to his two top-5s and one top-10 at Wentworth in his last six starts. A career renaissance for the 11-time European Tour winner.
AARON RAI
The 25-year-old has been in glittering form this season, producing the finest finish of his career to date with a play-off victory over Tommy Fleetwood at the Scottish Open last month. During that sweet spell of flair, he claimed second at the Irish Open as well as third at the Scottish Championship. The Wolverhampton native will be hoping to improve on his recent displays in the Emirates, having recorded T40-MC-71 finishes in his last three starts between Dubai and Abu Dhabi tournaments.
RASMUS HOJGAARD
The Danish teenager continues to excel on the European Tour, clinching two titles this season, at the Mauritius Open and UK Championship. To add to his burgeoning reputation, he recorded a second-place finish, a third and a pair of T6s to climb inside the top-75 of the world rankings. The first European Tour winner born after 2000, Hojgaard has the class to shine around the sweeping greens at the Fire Course.
