Dubai: Top-ranked players will set the tone when they feature in the 2015 Omega Dubai Desert Classic Challenge Match on Tuesday to tee-off tournament week at Emirates Golf Club.
The two-man scramble on the back nine of Majlis course will see defending champion Stephen Gallacher of Scotland team up with World No.2 Henrik Stenson as they tee off at 3pm along with the pairing of Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer.
World No.1 Rory McIlroy is paired with Sergio Garcia while Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood will complete the line-up as the two teams get their challenge under way at 3.10pm in what promises to be a fun-filled affair, offering fans a chance to watch their favourite players in a relaxed and informal atmosphere.
The Challenge Match has traditionally been a greensomes affair on the par-3 course at Emirates Golf Club, but after the success of the 2014 “Champions’ Challenge”, which saw every past champion compete for a share of the $600,000 purse (Dh2.2 million), the 2015 edition will once again take place on the premier golf course in the region, albeit only over the back-9.
Promoted and organised by Golf in Dubai, the 26th edition of the tournament itself wears a truly global look with players from 25 countries represented in one of the strongest 132-player fields ever assembled in Dubai.
Included in the field are seven Major winners who between them have won 15 of golf’s coveted titles. They are McIlroy (four), Ernie Els (four), Kaymer (two), Jose Maria Olazabal (two), McDowell, Clarke and Louis Oosthuizen.
Tickets for the week are available via www.dubaidesertclassic.com. Members of Golf Citizen, the online golf reservations website, have 10 per cent discount on tickets purchased through the tournament website. Children under-18 enter for free if they are accompanied by a paying adult.
