Following last week’s Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour, where controversy in the build-up surrounding Rory McIlroy and LIV Golf player Patrick Reed was followed by drama on the course as the two battled for the title, a more low-key affair is expected this week.
The Ras al Khaimah Championship at Al Hamra Golf Club, again in the United Arab Emirates, is a relatively new tournament on the circuit, having only been played once before, last year. Then, Dane Nicolai Hojgaard beat Jordan Smith by four shots to record his second DP World Tour victory. Hojgaard has yet to win another tournament, but considering his relative dominance in last year’s event, he’ll expect to finish towards the top of the leaderboard again.
Last week’s Dubai Desert Classic field was predictably bolstered by the appearance of several LIV Golf players as they went in search of Official World Golf Ranking points. The majority are elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula this week for the Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club. Still, there are some players in the field who have teed it up on the Saudi-funded circuit, including Spaniards Pablo Larrazabal and Adrian Otaegui.
The latter, in particular, created headlines on the DP World Tour last year with a dominant victory in the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama. His two 2023 appearances, both in the UAE at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and last week, have resulted in ties for 28th. He’ll be hoping to recapture his best form.
Other players to look out for include the highest-ranked player in the field, World No.30 Ryan Fox. The New Zealander triumphed in last year’s Ras al Khaimah Classic at the same course and will be confident of repeating that achievement this week. Spaniard Adri Arnaus is another to taste victory at Al Hamra Golf Club, having done so in the 2018 Ras al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final. The year before that, Swede Jens Dentorp also won there in the Ras al Khaimah Golf Challenge, and both play this week.
Several winners on the DP World Tour in the 2023 season are also present – Joburg Open champion Dan Bradbury, South African Open winner Thriston Lawrence, ISPS Handa Australian Open victor Adrian Meronk, Alfred Dunhill Championship winner Ockie Strydom and Victor Perez, who won his maiden Rolex Series tournament in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago. One of the other standout performances in that tournament came from Irish veteran Padraig Harrington, who finished fourth, and the three-time Major…
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