I can completely understand why Barry Lane has played the Omega Dubai Desert Classic every year since its inception.

There are a few tournaments, which — because of various reasons like the golf course, the conditions, the hospitality — you want to make sure are part of your schedule each year. I am sure the Masters at Augusta National is one such event for most players (although a very select few of us get the privilege of being there in the second week of April), but for me personally, this week in Dubai is one such tournament.

It’s the 25th anniversary of the Desert Classic and so far, what Mohammad Juma Bu Amim and his team, and hosts Emirates Golf Club have served up for the players and the fans, is nothing less than a treat.

We have been looked after extremely well, but hospitality is almost a gimme in Dubai. What I loved was the Champions Challenge that took place on Tuesday and featured all the past winners in an 18-hole battle, including Javier Ballesteros as the replacement for the late Seve. It was a good concept, which I thought was also well executed and greatly enjoyed by the fans.

More importantly, I think the golf course is in the best-ever shape I have seen it in all these years I have been coming here and playing. I have never had any complains about the fairways at Majlis, and as usual, they are immaculate again. But it is the condition of the greens that deserve special mention.

This is the fastest I have seen them play ever. And it’s not just that. It is also the first time that I have seen them so firm. For any professional golfer, that is the perfect combination. It surely will be a good test for our skills.

Having set a European Tour record here way back in 2002 of finishing the four rounds with just 94 putts, I am looking forward to these next four days and hoping my putter will become similarly hot again. My confidence was greatly boosted by my final round in Qatar last week, where I hit all 18 greens in regulation and closed with a solid four-under-par 68. I am sure I can carry the momentum on to this week too.

Obviously, world No. 1 Tiger Woods, European No.1 Henrik Stenson and Rory McIlroy are the top-three in the favourites’ list of most fans. They are the top-three ranked players in the field and have their personal reasons of doing well this week.

Tiger did not have the best start to the season, so he will be anxious to make amends and prove his detractors wrong. Rory had a great start, but paid a heavy price for a rules issue in Abu Dhabi, so he has got something to prove. And Henrik, I think, has shaken off the rust and is on the verge of getting red-hot again.

With the quality of the players we have and the condition that the golf course is in, I can assure you it will be four days of top-notch action.

(Jeev Milkha Singh is a four-time champion on the European Tour)