abu dhabi golf european tour

Tournament Guide: Abu Dhabi Challenge

The European Challenge Tour returns to the UAE for the first time since 2018 when the Abu Dhabi Challenge takes place at Abu Dhabi Golf Club from April 27-30. Here’s everything you need to know for the week ahead.

Abu Dhabi Golf Club

Abu Dhabi Golf Club was designed by Peter Harradine in 1998 and opened its doors in May 2000. It boasts a 27 hole Championship course and an impressive clubhouse built in the shape of a falcon with wings outstretched. With its perfect fairways, strategically placed bunkers and generous greens, the club has developed a reputation as one of the very best courses in world golf and has hosted 18 consecutive editions of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

The club also takes pride in its exceptional leisure facilities. Since opening 23 years ago, the facilities have undergone a significant expansion and renovation in order to provide the very best experience for those that visit.

Strength of the field

This week’s Challenge Tour field in Abu Dhabi is one of the strongest in recent history. 19 former DP World Tour winners with a combined 46 top tier wins between them will tee it up at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

Spaniard Alvaro Quiros leads that list with seven DP World Tour wins, while Englishman David Howell is a five-time DP World Tour winner. 2023 Junior Ryder Cup Captain Stephen Gallacher returns to the Challenge Tour this week as a four-time DP World Tour winner alongside Matteo Manassero, the youngest winner in DP World Tour history. South African Brandon Stone and Sweden’s Mikael Lundberg will also tee it up in the Emirate and they both have three DP World Tour wins to their name.

Another former DP World Tour winner Gary Stal will return to a happy stomping ground this week. The Frenchman secured a stunning victory in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship at this venue in 2015, where he came from eight shots behind Martin Kaymer in the final round to snatch victory.

Challenge Tour returns to the UAE

The UAE returns as a host country on the Road to Mallorca schedule for the first time since it hosted the Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final at Al Hamra GC in 2018. Then, it was Spaniard Adri Arnaus that triumphed by one shot to make sure of a spot on the DP World Tour. He’s kept his card ever since and recently finished in a tie for sixth place at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in February this year, which also took place at Al Hamra GC.

In partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation

In 2022 the DP World Tour and the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) announced a long-term partnership aimed at developing golf in the United Arab Emirates for at least the next decade. As part of the announcement, there was a commitment to investing in a minimum of two Challenge Tour events in the country annually from 2023.

This year the Challenge Tour visits Abu Dhabi for the first time in its history with back-to-back events as the Abu Dhabi Challenge precedes the UAE Challenge. These events have been made possible due to the long-term partnership and the support of the host venues Abu Dhabi Golf Club and Saadiyat Beach Golf Club, along with sponsors ARENA, Phoenix Capital and Al Laith.

The partnership will also see 30 spots in each tournament allocated to the EGF, to help create playing opportunities and provide a pathway for Emirati golfers, meaning there will be plenty of local stars to follow for the next two weeks.

Those teeing it up this week include Emirati Number One Ahmad Skaik, who returned to competition in February following a long-term injury lay-off to win the UAE Presidents Cup.

Road to Mallorca Rankings begin to take shape

After a month-long hiatus, the Road to Mallorca returns for two weeks in the UAE. The first six events of the season took place across South Africa and India with the Road to Mallorca Rankings beginning to take shape.

Ugo Coussaud’s maiden Challenge Tour victory at The Challenge presented by KGA at the end of March catapulted the Frenchman to the summit of the Rankings on 662 points. South African JJ Senekal is 230 points behind in second while Swede Adam Blommé occupies third. South African duo Dylan Mostert and Jaco Prinsloo sit in fourth and fifth respectively.

Spaniard Manuel Elvira and Joel Girrbach of Switzerland shared second place at The Challenge presented by KGA to ascend the Road to Mallorca Rankings. Elvira climbed to eighth in the Rankings, with Girrbach moving up 35 places to 13th.

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The European Tour has itself a monster leader board for the final round of its 2021 opener

Rory McIlroy will start Sunday's final round at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship one stroke ahead of Tyrrell Hatton.

Andrew Redington

A leader board prominently featuring maybe three of the five top-20 players in the starting line-up— let’s say Rory McIlroy (World No. 6), Tyrrell Hatton (No. 9) and Tommy Fleetwood (No. 19)—would have been just about everyone’s dream scenario heading into the final round of the seventeenth Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. And that is exactly what the first European Tour event of 2021 is about to provide. With the exception of Justin Thomas and Matt Fitzpatrick, both of whom missed the halfway cut, the elite has risen to the top of the original 132-man field.

“A pretty cool group to be a part of,” was Hatton’s verdict on all of the above and yes, the details are mouth-watering. With 18 holes to play over the 7,642-yard Abu Dhabi Golf Club lay-out, McIlroy leads at 13-under-par 203, after a third-round 67 that included five birdies and an eagle. Hatton’s three-putt par on the 18th saw him finish with a disappointing 71 on Saturday that has him one stroke back and, in turn, one ahead of Fleetwood. The hirsute Englishman shot a 67 that included his first dropped shot in 41 holes at the short 15th.

Which is not to say the most prominent protagonists will necessarily have things all their own way come Sunday in the desert. Led by Scotsman Marc Warren and David Lipsky of the U.S. at 10 under, as many as 13 others are within six shots of the leader. Still, it would surely come as something of a surprise if the eventual champion was not a member of the most recent European Ryder Cup side.

The highlight—and biggest break—of McIlroy’s round came at the 582-yard par-5 10th. Maybe 90 yards short of the putting surface in two shots, the Northern Irishman holed out for an unlikely 3 that was worth maybe two shots. As he was quick to admit afterwards, had his ball missed the pin it actually struck at pace, a “tricky up-and-down to save par” would have ensued.

“Today was a little better than yesterday,” said McIlroy, who has seven previous top-three finishes in this event. “It was so blustery and a type of golf I’m not used to playing here in Abu Dhabi. It’s usually not as windy, so you feel like you have a chance on every hole. But this week there has been more scrambling involved and longer putts for birdie. I thought I did well today though. And yes, the big stroke of luck on 10 really helped. I was headed over the green there. Sometimes that is the sort of thing you need to be in contention at golf tournaments. Besides, apart from that, I played well and drove the ball much better. I’m really encouraged by that.”

MORE: This video of European Tour stars in anger management group therapy is hilarious

Less enthused was Hatton, who played 23 holes Saturday (also wrapping up a second round halted by Friday darkness) in a somewhat desultory level par.

“It was a difficult day,” he lamented. “Conditions were tough. But I’m pretty disappointed. Coming back this morning I didn’t finish off my second round too well. And nothing went my way in Round 3. I hit a couple of decent shots that ran into terrible lies in bunkers. And quite a few putts burned the edge or lipped out. I tried my best though. It was just one of those days where not much went my way. The good thing is I’m still in contention. A lot can happen in 18 holes, so hopefully things go my way tomorrow.”

A Saturday 67 from Tommy Fleetwood leaves him two shots off Rory McIlroy's lead with 18 holes to play.

Warren Little

McIlroy was just as philosophical. Having spurned so many genuine chances to win in the past, the four-time major champion is taking nothing for granted.

“I can’t go into tomorrow thinking it’s going to be my turn,” he said. “I want to make it my turn. I have to go out there and continue to hit the ball as I did on the back nine today. If I can do that, I’ll be in with a really good chance.”

MORE: Can Tyrrell Hatton prove his 2020 success was no fluke?

Still, for all that he is well down the aforementioned leader board (T-63) after a third-round 75, European Ryder Cup skipper Padraig Harrington will surely be a happy man should the leaders perform with anything like distinction in the final round. Although all three will almost certainly retain their places in the Old World side that will tee-up at Whistling Straits later this year, Harrington will want all three to qualify as of right. And as soon as possible. Last time out in France, McIlroy, Hatton and Fleetwood, 25 percent of the home team, contributed 40 percent of the points that beat the Americans. They really are rather good.

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2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship TV schedule: How to watch on Golf Channel

The 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is a big event on the 2022-2023 DP World Tour schedule , with Yas Links in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, hosting the event.

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship field is headed by Tommy Fleetwood , Shane Lowry , Luke Donald and more, with the world's best players taking on the latest European Tour event. After 36 holes, the field will be reduced from the 132-player starting field.

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship TV schedule is packed with hours of coverage, with Golf Channel airing the championship live for four days with golf action from Yas Links.

Live coverage is streamed on Peacock, the NBC Sports app and GolfChannel.com.

All of this coverage can be streamed online using the NBC Sports app. However, if you prefer to watch the 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on good, ole-fashioned TV, here are the 2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship TV times and schedule.

2023 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship TV schedule, times, channels

All times are Eastern

• Thursday, Jan. 19: 2-8 a.m. on Golf Channel
• Friday, Jan. 20: 2-8 a.m. on Golf Channel
• Saturday, Jan. 21: 2-8 a.m. on Golf Channel
• Sunday, Jan. 22: 2-8 a.m. on Golf Channel

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How Dubai and Abu Dhabi helped UAE become a global golf powerhouse

From sand courses in the 1970s to driving the 'new era', the uae's contribution to golf has been vital to the game's expansion.

Sergio Garcia tees-off on the eighth during Day 1 of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic on Thursday, January 28. Getty

The landmark news came last month, not far from the UAE’s milestone birthday, a further reinforcing of the country’s contribution to global golf. Its importance too.

“Today’s announcement is undoubtedly a momentous one in the proud history of our tour,” said Keith Pelley, chief executive of the European Tour, as the continent’s lead professional circuit signalled a significant rebrand.

The European Tour, established in 1972 and soon to celebrate its own 50th anniversary, would from the 2022 season be recalibrated as the DP World Tour . Made public at the DP World pavilion at Expo 2022, and with the Dubai-based company marking its half century next year also, it all felt rather fitting.

Pelley proclaimed the heralding of “a new era in global golf”, while Rory McIlroy, a four-time major champion with deep connections to Dubai - his first professional win arrived at the 2009 Desert Classic - labelled it as “great news for global golf”.

To be fair, the new-look DP World Tour guaranteed a sizeable increase in prize money; the total on offer through the campaign would for the first time break $200 million. The length of the new deal, or the total financial investment staked by DP World, was not detailed.

Yet its value should not be underestimated. And not just to Europe’s lead tour, either.

There would be major investment, the tour said, in the second-tier Challenge Tour - elevated prize funds, increased playing opportunities - and a commitment to grassroots golf, with the aim of promoting the game at all levels in the countries visited (a minimum 27 for the 2022 season). The UAE, given DP World’s HQ there, would benefit particularly in that aspect.

More broadly, the Emirates has for some time played a prominent role in the worldwide game. The Dubai Desert Classic welcomed the European Tour from way back in 1989, the circuit's first Gulf stop quickly adopting the “Major of the Middle East” moniker.

Emirates Golf Club had opened the previous year, commissioned in 1986 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, now Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to be sited on a piece of sand 25 kilometres from the emirate’s centre. Karl Litten was tasked with designing the Majlis Course, with the new development palpable proof of Dubai’s realisation that sport and tourism would drive a sustainable economy for the future.

More than three decades later, the Desert Classic’s roll of honour underlines its place in professional golf: Seve Ballesteros, Ernie Els, Fred Couples, Colin Montgomerie, Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson, Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia have all captured the renowned Coffee Pot trophy.

In 2004, when already one of the most recognisable figures in sport, Woods took time away from the tournament to launch into the Arabian Gulf golf balls from the helicopter pad of the Burj Al Arab. In the process, the game's undisputed No 1 sent images of Dubai across the world.

From there, the UAE’s footprint in pro golf only enhanced. The Abu Dhabi Golf Championship was inaugurated in 2006, and went on to reside as the European Tour’s first main event of the calendar year. Its champions include Paul Casey, Martin Kaymer, Rickie Fowler, Tommy Fleetwood and Lee Westwood. Housed until now at Abu Dhabi Golf Club and played on the National course, its Falcon clubhouse can claim to be one of the easily identifiable in the sport. From next January, the tournament relocates to Yas Links Abu Dhabi .

In 2009, Dubai became the central focus on the European game. The tour’s Order of Merit was rebranded the Race to Dubai, with the season-ending event, the Dubai World Championship (it was renamed the DP World Tour Championship in 2012) staged on the new Earth Course at the recently developed Jumeirah Golf Estates (JGE). The European Tour’s international office, and then Middle East office, was housed there.

Westwood, McIlroy, and Stenson have triumphed at JGE; so too current world No 1 Jon Rahm. Last week, world No 2 Collin Morikawa secured both the DP World Tour Championship and Race to Dubai there . The week before, the neighbouring Fire Course hosted a second successive European Tour event.

The present landscape seems a long way from the birth of golf in the country, when the game took place on sand courses in the 1970s and 1980s. Staged right across the Emirates, fairways were marked by posts, players hit from mats and the greens were replaced by “browns”.

In 2004, Al Ghazal Golf Club in Abu Dhabi even hosted the first World Sand Golf Championship. The tournament ran a second time, in 2005. Montgomerie, Padraig Harrington and Ian Poulter have competed at Al Ghazal.

Today, the UAE offers championship courses designed by Greg Norman, Colin Montgomerie, Ernie Els, Thomas Bjorn, Ian Baker-Finch, Nick Faldo and Gil Hanse. Woods was once to open his first eponymous track in Dubai; he could still, at the Trump World Golf Club Dubai, as his course-design website details. At present, there are 20 golf courses across the UAE.

Yet it hasn’t been simply the pinnacle of pro golf that has aligned itself to the Emirates. The Challenge Tour and the Asian Tour have staged their seasonal climaxes in the UAE, the former at Al Badia Golf Club in Dubai and Al Hamra Golf Club in RAK, the latter at the Els Club Dubai. In 2018, the Challenge Tour’s season-long rankings were renamed the Road to Ras Al Khaimah, although that has since changed.

Meanwhile, the developmental Mena Golf Tour took root in the UAE in 2011 and went on to provide valuable playing opportunities for amateurs and professionals. Some of the fast-rising local talent made their mark there, including wins by amateurs Rayhan Thomas and Josh Hill. Thomas was 16 at the time of his victory; Hill a year younger .

What's more, both the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the Dubai Desert Classic have in the past offered sponsor’s invites to up-and-coming UAE-based golfers. Some have grasped the opportunity with both hands; for instance, in 2017, Dubai resident Thomas made the cut at the Desert Classic , aged 17.

In 2022, three of the five premier Rolex Series tournaments will be held in the country: the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic and the DP World Tour Championship. For the first time, Ras Al Khaimah will host an event on Europe's head circuit, the Ras Al Khaimah Championship stretching the tour’s UAE Swing to three consecutive weeks.

So, the Emirates' position in golf’s upper echelons sustains. In fact, the launch of the DP World Tour only amplifies it.

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Five Golfers to Watch at Abu Dhabi

The field seems impressive, and Lee Westwood is back to defend his title.

By Michael Arkush

The European Tour will start its new season this week with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates. The tour will have 42 events in 24 countries, capped in November by the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.

The HSBC championship, which has been held at the same course every year since 2006, is one of four tournaments in the Rolex Series.

Here are five players to watch:

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy, 31, of Northern Ireland, is due. His last victory came at the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in Shanghai in the fall of 2019. It was the same year he captured the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup for the second time.

The Abu Dhabi course certainly appeals to McIlroy, who finished second in 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015. He hasn’t played in the event since 2018, when he tied for third.

Last year wasn’t one of McIlroy’s best. He recorded a number of very good rounds, but the problem was being able to put four of them together in the same week.

A good example was the Masters in November. Over the last three days, McIlroy shot 66, 67 and 69, one stroke lower in that span than the champion, Dustin Johnson. McIlroy, however, had started the tournament with a three-over 75. It was simply too much ground to make up.

McIlroy, who was ranked No. 1 in the world before the pandemic, hasn’t won a major since 2014. Currently No. 6 in the rankings, he can achieve the Grand Slam with a victory in April at the Masters.

Justin Thomas

Thomas, 27, ranked No. 3 in the world, will be playing for the first time in Abu Dhabi. He is one of the favorites every time he tees it up. He won three tournaments last season on the PGA Tour and now has 13 victories in his career.

About two weeks ago, at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in Hawaii, Thomas finished third, shooting a final-round 66. His most costly mistake came when he bogeyed No. 17, as he finished one shot out of the playoff between Harris English and Joaquin Niemann.

Thomas’s strong play at the tournament was overshadowed by his use of an anti-gay slur after missing a putt. He later apologized.

In his three previous European Tour starts, his best finish was a tie for eighth at the 2018 HNA Open de France.

Lee Westwood

Westwood, the defending champion and European Tour Golfer of the Year in 2020, is still quite capable at the age of 47.

In last year’s event at Abu Dhabi, he held off Matthew Fitzpatrick, Tommy Fleetwood and Victor Perez to win his 25th European Tour victory. The wins have come in four separate decades.

Westwood, the former No. 1 player in the world, will also have an opportunity this week to improve his chances of qualifying for the 2021 Ryder Cup, which will be held in Wisconsin.

He has been a member of the European team 10 times, starting in 1997, and only Nick Faldo has appeared in more matches.

A blemish in Westwood’s career is the lack of a major championship. He has come close with nine top-three finishes. In the 2019 British Open he finished in a tie for fourth.

Westwood has been an excellent ball striker for many years. His short game, however, has not been at the same level.

Tommy Fleetwood

Fleetwood, who turned 30 on Tuesday, has had a great deal of success at the Abu Dhabi course. He won the event in 2017 and 2018 and tied for second in 2020.

Fleetwood, No. 19 in the world rankings, is also still chasing his first major title. He has been in contention on several occasions. In the 2018 United States Open, he fired a final-round 63 to finish one shot back of the winner, Brooks Koepka.

In 2020, Fleetwood finished four times in the top three. Nonetheless, he knows the year could have been much better.

“There are areas of my game where I felt I struggled,” he said. “My long game wasn’t up to the standard I feel it has to be.”

Even so, making the Ryder Cup team is well within his sights.

The event, Fleetwood said, “is something you never want to miss again.” Fleetwood was 4-1 for the European team in 2018.

Another goal is making it to Tokyo.

“The Olympics is an occasion that I want to experience and represent my nation,” he said.

Matthew Fitzpatrick

Fitzpatrick ended the 2020 season with a striking victory at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai. Tied for the lead heading into the final round, he birdied five of the first seven holes, prevailing by a shot over Westwood. It was his sixth European Tour triumph and first since the 2018 Omega European Masters.

The win in Dubai couldn’t have come at a better time. In his prior 10 tournaments, he’d missed four cuts.

“It was definitely great to get another win under my belt after so many second-place finishes over the last two seasons,” Fitzpatrick said.

“I think any win or good result gives you some confidence, so hopefully I can carry the momentum into 2021. I’d say on the weeks leading up to the event I did some great swing work with my coach, Mike Walker, and that definitely showed.”

Over the years, Fitzpatrick, No. 17 in the world, has revised his view of the Abu Dhabi course.

“When I first came out on the European Tour, I kind of thought that it didn’t suit my game,” he said. “My perception of it was that it was a bomber’s paradise, but since then it’s kind of proved my theory wrong.”

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Golf-European Tour Latest Abu Dhabi Championship leaderboard

Jan 22 (Infostrada Sports) - Latest leaderboard in the second round from the European Tour Abu Dhabi Championship at the par-72 course on Friday in Abu Dhabi holes played rounds -10 Andy Sullivan (Britain) 18 67 67 -9 Bryson DeChambeau (U.S.) 9 64 -7 Joost Luiten (Netherlands) 18 69 68 Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spain) 18 70 67 Richard Bland (Britain) 11 67 Thomas Bjorn (Denmark) 11 68 -6 David Howell (Britain) 16 68 Peter Hanson (Sweden) 18 69 69 -5 Matthew Fitzpatrick (Britain) 18 68 71 Trevor Fisher (South Africa) 18 69 70 Rickie Fowler (U.S.) 13 70 Rory McIlroy (Britain) 13 66 Martin Kaymer (Germany) 12 69 An Byeong-Hun (Korea) 11 69 Matthew Baldwin (Britain) 18 69 70 Richie Ramsay (Britain) 18 73 66 Fabrizio Zanotti (Paraguay) 18 70 69 David Horsey (Britain) 18 71 68 Ian Poulter (Britain) 18 70 69 -4 Niclas Fasth (Sweden) 18 68 72 Robert Rock (Britain) 11 70 Henrik Stenson (Sweden) 12 65 Branden Grace (South Africa) 18 66 74 Johan Carlsson (Sweden) 18 69 71 Eddie Pepperell (Britain) 9 70 -3 Eduardo De La Riva (Spain) 18 72 69 Simon Dyson (Britain) 18 69 72 Thongchai Jaidee (Thailand) 18 71 70 Wu Ashun (China) 18 69 72 Wade Ormsby (Australia) 11 69 Tyrrell Hatton (Britain) 11 72 Jordan Spieth (U.S.) 13 68 Brett Rumford (Australia) 15 73 Marcel Siem (Germany) 14 72 George Coetzee (South Africa) 18 69 72 Michael Hoey (Britain) 18 72 69 -2 Brandon Stone (South Africa) 18 73 69 Thomas Pieters (Belgium) 18 69 73 Kristoffer Broberg (Sweden) 18 73 69 Michael Lorenzo-Vera (France) 18 70 72 Alejandro Canizares (Spain) 15 71 Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark) 13 69 Bradley Dredge (Britain) 14 72 Pablo Larrazabal (Spain) 11 70 James Morrison (Britain) 11 72 Renato Paratore (Italy) 10 69 Mikko Korhonen (Finland) 12 69 Ben Evans (Britain) 18 70 72 Prom Meesawat (Thailand) 10 72 Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand) 10 70 Roope Kakko (Finland) 9 72 Shiv Kapur (India) 9 74 Joakim Lagergren (Sweden) 8 70 Maximilian Kieffer (Germany) 18 71 71 Bernd Wiesberger (Austria) 18 72 70 -1 Daniel Brooks (Britain) 18 69 74 Ross Fisher (Britain) 18 70 73 Magnus Carlsson (Sweden) 18 71 72 Robert Dinwiddie (Britain) 8 73 Alexander Noren (Sweden) 10 72 Ricardo Gouveia (Portugal) 18 72 71 Russell Knox (Britain) 18 70 73 Scott Hend (Australia) 18 72 71 Danny Willett (Britain) 18 75 68 Benjamin Hebert (France) 18 71 72 Darren Clarke (Britain) 18 73 70 Mikko Ilonen (Finland) 11 71 Marcus Kinhult (Sweden) 13 71 Gregory Bourdy (France) 14 72 Andrew Johnston (Britain) 15 70 Scott Jamieson (Britain) 18 70 73 Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark) 18 71 72 0 Simon Khan (Britain) 18 73 71 Lucas Bjerregaard (Denmark) 18 75 69 Borja Virto (Spain) 8 72 Matt Ford (Britain) 10 73 David Lipsky (U.S.) 12 72 Morten Madsen (Denmark) 12 72 Rikard Karlberg (Sweden) 11 74 Oliver Fisher (Britain) 9 72 David Drysdale (Britain) 8 71 Nicolas Colsaerts (Belgium) 8 74 1 Marc Warren (Britain) 10 74 Alexander Levy (France) 18 70 75 Gary Stal (France) 12 73 Pelle Edberg (Sweden) 18 69 76 Hennie Otto (South Africa) 18 74 71 Peter Uihlein (U.S.) 18 72 73 Graeme Storm (Britain) 18 74 71 Felipe Aguilar (Chile) 18 72 73 Liang Wenchong (China) 18 71 74 John Parry (Britain) 18 72 73 2 Sebastien Gros (France) 18 72 74 Julien Quesne (France) 18 73 73 Haydn Porteous (South Africa) 18 73 73 Jorge Campillo (Spain) 18 73 73 Chris Wood (Britain) 11 76 Justin Walters (South Africa) 13 71 Alvaro Quiros (Spain) 11 75 Matteo Manassero (Italy) 10 72 Chris Paisley (Britain) 9 73 3 Andrew Dodt (Australia) 18 70 77 Victor Dubuisson (France) 18 70 77 Tommy Fleetwood (Britain) 14 72 Craig Lee (Britain) 18 74 73 Bjoern Akesson (Sweden) 18 72 75 4 Marcus Fraser (Australia) 12 74 Raphael Jacquelin (France) 16 77 Gregory Havret (France) 18 72 76 Paul Lawrie (Britain) 10 77 Trevor Immelman (South Africa) 9 74 Steve Webster (Britain) 10 75 5 Daniel Im (U.S.) 8 75 Ignacio Elvira (Spain) 18 72 77 Ernie Els (South Africa) 18 73 76 Lee Westwood (Britain) 18 73 76 Romain Wattel (France) 14 73 7 Oliver Wilson (Britain) 18 77 74 Edouard Espana (France) 18 79 72 8 Nathan Holman (Australia) 18 78 74 9 Robert Karlsson (Sweden) 11 78 Mike Weir (Canada) 9 80 10 Stephen Gallacher (Britain) 18 81 73 11 Lee Slattery (Britain) 18 72 83 12 Jeong Jin (Korea) 16 82 20 Ahmed Al Musharrekh (United Arab Emirates) 18 83 81

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Abu Dhabi to continue status as global sporting hub with Challenge Tour double-header

Golf in uae, golf in uae uae.

The pair of high-profile golf events will host some of the world’s rising stars in golf

Also in this package

• UAE's Grenville-Wood seeks another strong finish at Abu Dhabi Challenge
• UAE's star golfers set for Challenge Tour double header

The United Arab Emirates’ capital city is poised to extend its presence on the global sporting stage over the next two weeks, serving as the location for an exciting Challenge Tour double-header.

Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club makes its Challenge Tour debut as host venue of the Abu Dhabi Challenge from April 18-21 before Saadiyat Beach Golf Club provides the setting for the UAE Challenge from April 25-28.

This pair of high-profile golf events, supported by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, will witness some of the world’s rising stars compete against each other under the desert sun and mark another action-packed sporting month in the capital.

The tournaments help to further solidify Abu Dhabi's status as a global sporting hub, adding to the city’s prestigious lineup of events, including the Formula 1, the upcoming UFC 308 fight night as well as the eagerly-awaited Abu Dhabi Championship in November.

His Excellency Aref Al Awani, General Secretary of Abu Dhabi Sports Council, said:

“Abu Dhabi has become a standout destination for world class sport, which continues with upcoming back-to-back Challenge Tour events on two great golf courses.

“This pair of highly-anticipated events was a great success last year and I’m looking forward to seeing the golfing world's upcoming stars in action once more.

“These two tournaments, along with the high-profile Abu Dhabi Championship in November, play a key role in marketing Abu Dhabi as a golf tourism destination and adds significant local economic value with each year.

“They complement an ever-growing sporting calendar in the capital, which sees Abu Dhabi play host to several world-class sporting events including several prestigious golf tournaments.”

The two upcoming Challenge Tour events, which are also supported by Arena, Phoenix Capital and Al Laith, are also part of the European Tour group’s long-term partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF), which aims to develop golf in the UAE for at least the next decade.

Thirty spots in each upcoming tournament will be allocated to the EGF to help create playing opportunities and provide a pathway for UAE golfers, with both events part of the global 2024 Road to Mallorca schedule.

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UAE youngsters set to rub shoulders with stars of tomorrow at Abu Dhabi Challenge

D espite the UAE witnessing its heaviest rainfall on record this week, Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club has pulled out all the stops to ensure the second edition of the Abu Dhabi Challenge goes ahead as scheduled from April 18-21.

The game’s rising stars and DP World Tour winners will compete in the seventh event on the Challenge Tour’s 2024 Road to Mallorca schedule, including 2023 Ryder Cup Vice Captain Nicolas Colsaerts, five-time DP World Tour winner Alex Levy, UAE’s No.1 professional Joshua Grenville-Wood and Craig Howie, who is an ambassador for this week’s host venue and has been a regular at the course for over a decade.

The Scotsman’s association with Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club began during winter training camps with the University of Stirling, where Howie found the tranquillity of the course a particular positive.

“It’s great to get away from the hustle and bustle of cities like Dubai,” said Howie, who has made the cut in all six of his Challenge Tour starts this season.

“Al Ain is a little bit quieter, so it’s a perfect place to come and work away from distractions. The course is always in great condition, and the team do a great job of keeping it like that. The practice area is as good as you’ll get anywhere else.”

Howie and Co will be joined by several of the UAE’s homegrown talents thanks to the Emirates Golf Federation’s (EGF) long-term partnership with the European Tour group, which aims to develop golf in the UAE for at least the next decade.

As part of that agreement, the EGF has received 60 invitations across the Abu Dhabi Challenge and next week’s UAE Challenge at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club to help create playing opportunities and provide a pathway for UAE golfers.

Nine of those invitations have gone to UAE National Team players, including the country’s No.1 amateur golfer Ahmad Skaik, his brother Mohammad and Khalifa Al Masaood.

Rayan Ahmed will also be flying the flag for the UAE, one month after securing both the Individual Gold and Team Gold at last month’s GCC Golf Championship in Qatar.

“I am really stoked to be playing my first Challenge Tour event in the UAE,” said Ahmed.

“I can't wait to rub shoulders with the highest quality players on the Tour and represent the UAE. My first target is to make the cut, but at the same time, my focus will be on my planning and execution, and I will take it each shot at a time.

“I love this course. My first time playing I won the Junior Open shooting 65, and last week I played the JAGA International Series and played 9 under par over 3 days with a 63, so my game is up there and ready for the Challenge Tour.

“I know the course well, I’m aware it will be a very different setting and field of competition. I am extremely confident of my long game, and my putting is getting stronger just in time.”

As well as giving local amateurs a taste of elite-level tournaments, two club professionals in the UAE are also set to rub shoulders with the stars of tomorrow.

Dubai Hills PGA Professional Louis Gaughan, who made the cut at this event last season, secured an invite from the EGF after topping the Emirates PGA Order of Merit, while Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Thomas Ogilvie banked an invite after winning the Emirates PGA Play-Offs.

While the local players will be able to take advantage of prior course knowledge, the test this week will slightly differ to what they have come to know after the team at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club introduced ten new tee boxes to lengthen the course from 6,700 yards to 71,17.

With Thomas Love, Director of Agronomy, ensuring those changes to the course were made in plenty of time in the lead up to the club’s Challenge Tour debut, a new challenge was sent his way this week when the course was hit with a major storm that swept across the country.

The National Centre of Meteorology confirmed that the record rainfall that fell on the country was an exceptional event in the UAE's climate history since the start of recording climate data.

The Khatm Al Shakla area, just 36km away from this week’s host venue, saw the worst of the weather with 254mm of rainfall in less than 24 hours.

Despite the challenges that were sent Love’s way, he and his team have done everything in their power to ensure the course remains in tip top shape ahead of tomorrow’s first round.

“It's the biggest storm I've ever seen in my lifetime and something I wouldn't expect to see in the Middle East!” said Love.

“We knew rain was forecasted, so we were already semi-prepared for it. The agronomy team came in at 3am and I think the last storm was around 1.30am.

“Most turf areas were playable and allowed us to let the practice day go ahead. Bunkers however were all full, including cart paths and any roads around the facility.

“It was all hands-on deck this morning with multiple pumps and big 4500-gallon tankers working non-stop all day.

“The main goal is to get the bunkers back in play for the first round tomorrow. I'm still very confident we will have the course in fine shape for the event and be able to showcase our facility.”

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LIV rebel Stenson playing Abu Dhabi as European tour resumes

FILE - Sweden’s Henrik Stenson plays a shot on the 13th hole at the British Open golf championship on the Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland, Wednesday July 13, 2022. Stenson decided to join LIV Golf and was stripped of his job as European Ryder Cup captain. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison, File)

Shane Lowry of Ireland and The Great Britain and Ireland Team, reacts on 18th hole during the afternoon foursomes on Day Two of the Hero Cup at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Thomas Pieters of Belgium and The Continent of Europe Team, plays a bunker shot on the second hole during the morning foursomes on Day Two of the Hero Cup at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2023. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

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The European tour is weeks away from discovering whether it has the right to issue bans to those members who joined the Saudi-funded LIV Golf league in a development that rocked the world of golf last year.

While the legal dispute drags on, rebel players like Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Henrik Stenson are happy to take what they can from the tour — world ranking points, Ryder Cup qualification points — whether they are welcome on it or not.

The veteran trio will play at the Abu Dhabi Championship this week, with the presence of Stenson the most eye-catching.

It has been six months since the 46-year-old Swede chose the guaranteed money of LIV Golf over the Ryder Cup, a decision which cost him the captaincy of the European team for this year’s event in Rome and has, for some, sullied his legacy.

He hasn’t played on the European tour since — his last non-LIV appearance was at the British Open in July — so he might expect a frosty reception in the warm temperatures forecast at Yas Island Links.

Stenson might not have many more events on the tour that propelled his career.

A British arbitration judge is expected to give his verdict in February on the legal tussle between the European tour and its deserters to LIV Golf. The Desert Swing, which also comprises the Dubai Desert Classic next week, could be one last hurrah.

“It’s going to be an interesting few months,” Irish golfer Shane Lowry told the BBC.

“There’s a couple of key dates in the next few months with what’s going to happen in golf.”

Luke Donald, who replaced Stenson as European Ryder Cup captain, will also be teeing it up in Abu Dhabi for one of the signature Rolex Series events that have prize money of $9 million.

That would be seen as a huge prize pot if it wasn’t for Saudi-bankrolled LIV Golf offering much, much more — a fact that doesn’t escape Lowry.

“I think what’s happened in the last year or so, we’ve got side-tracked in thinking that 20 million or 100 million (dollars) is just normal and that’s what we should be playing for and that’s what we’re worth,” said Lowry, who — at No. 20 — is the highest-ranked player in the field in Abu Dhabi. “And that if we are playing for 2 or 3 million (dollars) on this tour, that is not enough.

“I still think that this tour has grown, I think with their alliance with the PGA Tour, with the prize money guaranteed to grow … over the next 13 years every year, I think that’s good for the tour. I think it’s sustainable, which is the big thing. I think having a sustainable product is something that you need to have, and I do think this tour has that.”

Lowry and many others in the field are coming off playing in last week’s Hero Cup at nearby Abu Dhabi Golf Club, where Continental Europe beat Britain & Ireland in an event used by Donald to assess his options eight months out from the Ryder Cup.

Lowry didn’t collect even a half-point, despite feeling he played “all right,” whereas players like Francesco Molinari, Guido Migliozzi, Nicolai Hojgaard and Victor Perez made the short trip to Yas Island Links on the back of playing starring roles for Continental European with 3½ points each from a possible 4.

Thomas Pieters, who won last year’s Abu Dhabi Championship, was also on the winning team despite not playing as well as he’d hoped.

“I took away that I wasn’t quite ready,” the Belgian player said. “I should have done maybe a couple more days of practice but it was tough with a new-born. I feel like I’m very ready right now.”

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Challenge Tour Live Blog: Can Wilco Nienaber Go Wire to Wire in Abu Dhabi?

04/20/2024 by Golf Post Editors

Get all live updates for the Challenge Tour’s Abu Dhabi Challenge here. The event is played at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club in Abu Dhabi.

Challenge Tour Abu Dhabi Challenge Live (Photo: Getty)

04/18 – 04/21/2024

Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club – Abu Dhabi

• Prize money: 300.000,00 €
• Defending champion: Ricardo Gouveia

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Show full Leaderboard of the Abu Dhabi Challenge 2024

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Abu Dhabi Challenge 2024 Live Scores

The Abu Dhabi Challenge in the season 2024 is being played in Abu Dhabi at the Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club. The tournament starts at the Thursday, 18th of April and ends at the Sunday, 21st of April 2024. The Abu Dhabi Challenge is part of the Challenge Tour in the season 2024. In 2024 all players competing for a total prize money of 300.000,00 €. The course for the tournament at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club plays at Par 70.

The Abu Dhabi Challenge is hosted at the Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club as part of the Challenge Tour. The event brings together a broad field, including former DP World Tour winners and new talents.

Challenge Tour live

The Challenge Tour is a professional golf tournament series that acts as the second tier below the DP World Tour . It serves as a development league and offers aspiring golfers the opportunity to develop their skills at a higher level, gain experience and qualify for the European Tour.

The Challenge Tour is internationally orientated, with tournaments held in various European countries and outside Europe. This offers players a varied experience on different golf courses and in different competitive conditions. The tour attracts golfers from all over the world who are interested in furthering their careers in professional golf.

As with the Korn Ferry Tour, the top players on the Challenge Tour qualify for the higher tour, in this case the European Tour, at the end of each season. This is usually based on the Challenge Tour ranking, with the best players receiving a Tour card. This promotion is a key goal for many players on the Challenge Tour, as it allows access to more prestigious tournaments, higher prize money and greater visibility in the world of golf.

Overall, the Challenge Tour is a crucial step for many golfers who want to make the leap to the highest level of European golf, the European Tour. It offers a mix of challenge and opportunity that is crucial for the career development of golfers.

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