In the 32 previous editions of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, eight champions have claimed their first DP World Tour title at this historic championship.
From Ernie Els and David Howell to Rory McIlroy, Emirates Golf Club has marked the notable beginnings to an exciting range of careers.
Here, we take a look back at the eight men who got their winning starts in this event.
Wayne Westner – 1993
Earning the biggest title of his career here in 1993, South African Wayne Westner tasted his first piece of success at Emirates Golf Club.
A second-round 66 propelled him into a share of the lead, which he held on to over the weekend to beat out Retief Goosen by two strokes.
Three years later he triumphed twice: Once at the FNB Players Championship, and during the World Cup of Golf in 1996 alongside Ernie Els, before being forced to retire in 1998 through injury. He passed away in 2017.
Ernie Els – 1994
One of the most convincing victories in this championship came during Ernie Els’ first win in Dubai in 1994 – the first of 28 titles he would claim on the DP World Tour.
The South African led Greg Norman by eight strokes heading into the final round, and a one-under 71 would be enough to confirm a six-stroke win over the Australian. At 20-under-par, Els’ total was also four better than the previous best, set by Seve Ballesteros in 1992.
Els, the only three-time winner of this event, went on to win two more times in 2002 and 2005, and was the runner-up on three occasions: 2003, 2006 and 2007.
Richard Green - 1997
Richard Green became the first left-hander to win on the DP World Tour in more than 20 years when he won the 1997 Dubai Desert Classic, which was the first of three wins in his career.
He did it in style, finishing with a closing 68 to earn himself a spot in a play-off with Ian Woosnam and Greg Norman, before ultimately lifting the trophy.
Green would then wait 10 years for his next victory on the DP World Tour – another play-off – to best Jean Francois-Remesy to the BA-CA Golf Open title.
David Howell – 1999
David Howell showed himself to be a fearless front-runner when he captured his first DP World Tour title in 1999, which came just a few months after his first professional victory at the Australian PGA, which he won by seven shots.
A closing five under par 67 ensured that the title was another comfortable win for Howell, and he was permitted the luxury of bogeying the last hole to claim a four-shot win over Lee Westwood with a 13 under par total of 275.
It marked the first of six DP World Tour victories for Howell, whose most recent triumph came at the 2013 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Robert-Jan Derkson – 2003
A two-time winner on the DP World Tour, Robert-Jan Derksen was another player to earn their biggest Tour title in Dubai.
His came in 2003, when he came from three-behind with a spectacular seven under par 65 to complete a fairytale story, holding off the reigning Open Champion and World Number Two Ernie Els to win at the Emirates Golf Club.
Derksen had only just graduated from Qualifying School in November, and would go on to win one more title – the Madeira Island Open Caixa Geral de Depositos – in 2005.
Rory McIlroy – 2009
Before he became a four-time Major Champion, a teenage Rory McIlroy earned his first professional title at the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic.
The Northern Irishman had led by six shots with six holes to play, but three consecutive bogeys brought him back to within one of his playing partner Justin Rose. In the end, a two-under par 70 was enough for the 19 year old to win by one, and kick-start a career which now boasts 14 DP World Tour wins.
And it was not his only success at the Emirates Golf Club. McIlroy would become a two-time winner of this event with a three-shot victory over Alex Noren in 2015, and was the runner-up in 2018.
Bryson DeChambeau – 2019
One of the most impressive victories in the history of this tournament belongs to Bryson DeChambeau.
Already a five-time winner on the PGA Tour at the time, Bryson DeChambeau claimed his maiden DP World Tour title in style, producing a closing 64 to win the 30th anniversary edition of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic by seven shots.
DeChambeau had set himself the target of securing his first professional overseas win at Emirates Golf Club ahead of the event, and he duly delivered, carding an eagle, seven birdies and a single bogey on day four to finish the week on 24 under par and set a new tournament record. He added a second DP World Tour title with his U.S. Open victory a year later.
Lucas Herbert - 2020
One of the more dramatic finale’s that the Emirates Golf Club has seen happened during Lucas Herbert’s first Tour victory in 2020.
Having started the final day six shots behind, Herbert matched Christiaan Bezuidenhout’s final-round 66 to secure his place in a play-off against the South African as the rest of the field faltered in tough conditions.
Herbert was then forced to get up and down to save par and extend the play-off after finding the water with his second to the 18th, before two-putting for birdie and victory on the second play-off hole.
The Australian would go on to win a second DP World Tour title in 2021, at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
