Dubai: Three of the oldest surviving winners of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic — Mark James, Eamonn Darcy and Wayne Westner — hope to hold their own in a 25th anniversary Champions’ Challenge match at Emirates Golf Club on Tuesday ahead of this weekend’s main event.

Of the 21 past champions who are playing in the $300,000 exhibition match — including Javier Ballesteros, who is representing his late father Seve — James, Darcy and Westner admit to being the most rusty, having long since quit competitive golf.

“Anything par or above will be good because I haven’t played for about four months,” said James, 60, who won the first Desert Classic back in 1989 but has opted not to play in the 25th anniversary edition due to his poor form. “It’s impossible to hit the ball so I’m not exactly in the groove. I’ll just be attempting not to show my frustration.”

Like James, 61-year-old Darcy, who won here in 1990, has also passed up the offer to play the full event, citing injury and lack of practice. Of the Champions’ Challenge, he said: “I’ll be out there and I won’t want to be making a show of myself, that’s for sure. I’ll be trying to be competitive.

“I definitely made the right choice not to play the main event. These guys have just come off three weeks in a row and they are sharp. For me to come here now, I’ll be doing well just to qualify.”

Westner, 52, who won the classic in 1993, will play both the challenge and the main event and sounded more positive, despite the fact he now only plays informally with friends.

“It will be interesting to be out there with all the youngsters,” he said. “I certainly don’t hit it as far as I used to. If I play as well as I know I can I certainly think I can be here for the weekend and I could very well shave the challenge match, even though the course is long and there’s no run on the ball.

“I’ve just come off the driving range and appeared to be hitting it as far as the others so I should be okay and, if I make it for the weekend, I’ll be happy.”

The Champions’ Challenge, which is in 18-hole strokeplay format, begins at 11am on Tuesday.