DID YOU KNOW – OMEGA DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC
• The Omega Dubai Desert Classic was first played in 1989 and the roll of honour includes seven different Major Champions. They are: Seve Ballesteros (1992), Ernie Els (1994, 02, 05), Fred Couples (1995), José María Olazábal (1998), Mark O’Meara (2004), Tiger Woods (2006, 08) and Rory McIlroy (2009). Between them they have won 32 Major Championships.
• Should defending champion, Stephen Gallacher win for a third consecutive year, he would join a very exclusive club of players winning the same official European Tour event for three successive years. They are: Ian Woosnam (1990-92 Monte Carlo Open), Sir Nick Faldo (1991-93 Irish Open), Colin Montgomerie (1998-2000 PGA Championship), Tiger Woods (1999-01, 2005-07 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and 2005-07 WGC – Cadillac Championship) and Ernie Els (2002-04 Heineken Classic).
• On his way to victory in 2011, Alvaro Quiros made a hole-in-one at the 11th hole in the fourth round. He became only the third player in European Tour history to win a European Tour event and record an ace in the final round. He followed Thongchai Jaidee (2004 Malaysian Open) and Miguel Angel Jiménez (2008 BMW PGA Championship).
• The 2011 event witnessed four holes-in-one. All of them were in separate rounds. The only other time this occurred on The European Tour was the 1991 Fujitsu Mediterranean Open.
• Ernie Els has played 13 times in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic over the Emirates course. In that time he has recorded three victories and nine top threes. His first 11 appearances yielded 11 consecutive top eight finishes. Of his 48 rounds on the Emirates course he is a total of 169 under par, with a stroke average of 68.48. He set the current course record of 61 (-11) on the opening day in 1994, which contained a European Tour record of 12 birdies in a single round. He has broken par in 43 of his 48 rounds.
• Since 1989 the tournament has seen 21 different winners from 12 different nations. The tournament witnessed the first time a player had made a successful defence, 12 months ago, in Stephen Gallacher.
• Another player who enjoys the Emirates layout is Rory McIlroy. The 2009 winner has been placed in the top ten on each of his last five visits. The World Number One is 59 under for his last 20 rounds in the event, with 17 of those 20 being at par or better. McIlroy has not been outside the top two in his last six European Tour events, dating back to the 2014 Open Championship.
• The Majlis Course will be used for the 24th time out of the 26 Omega Dubai Desert Classics’ including this year. The only years it went away from this course was in 1999 and 200, when the Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club staged tournament.
• No fewer than 18 players in this year’s line-up have won European Tour events in the Middle East. Ernie Els and Henrik Stenson have won the most with four apiece.
