The Road to Mallorca resumes this week in the first of two events to be held in the UAE, as the Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting and Golf Club plays host to the Abu Dhabi Challenge from April 18 - 21. Here’s everything you need to know for the week ahead.
Multi-sport venue
A first-time venue for the Challenge Tour, the Championship Course at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club promises to be a true test for this week’s field, with water coming in to play on a majority of the holes.
The course itself has been carved out of the desert landscape, with several holes around the turn also bordered by Al Ain’s horse racing track. The feature hole this week looks set to be the tenth, which measures a staggering 678 yards in length – the longest Par 5 in the Arabian Gulf. Once the players have navigated the winding fairway, they’ll approach a green flanked by a large bunker to the left and water short and right.
Originally opened in 2007 as a 9-hole course, Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club has since expanded with the introduction of its signature Championship Golf Course. While golf will be taking centre stage at Al Ain this week, the Championship Course is just one of its many offerings to members, alongside facilities for shooting, rugby, cricket, climbing, and equestrian sports.
The UAE Swing
The Challenge Tour returned to the UAE last year, when Germany’s Max Rottluff and Portugal’s Ricardo Gouveia tasted victory in the UAE Challenge and Abu Dhabi Challenge respectively.
The UAE’s return as a host country was confirmed in 2022 by the signing of a long-term partnership with the Emirates Golf Federation (EGF) aimed at developing golf in the nation. Included within the partnership are 30 places at each event for EGF golfers.
The Field
This week’s field includes several winners on the DP World Tour, headlined by 2012 Ryder Cup winner Nicolas Colsaerts, who last tasted victory in the 2019 Amundi French Open. Other DP World Tour winners teeing it up this week include seven-time winner Alvaro Quiros, Alexander Levy, and Chris Wood.
They will be joined in the field by Road to Mallorca Number Two Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who arrives fresh off his victory in last month’s Kolkata Challenge. He has experience of the course from his time with the Danish national team, who have used Al Ain as a winter training base. Also hoping to leverage their experience of Al Ain this week will be Craig Howie, who is an ambassador of the venue, and Emirati Joshua Grenville-Wood, who turned in a pair of top 20 finishes during the Challenge Tour’s UAE Swing last year.
