‘Seven days to go until the big tee off at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and I can’t wait’

It is now just a week until the 2022 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship begins at Yas Links.

My daily routine now involves practising five to six hours every day after my early morning gym session and then in the afternoon I focus on my college work, studies and tutoring.

Golf-wise I am concentrating on two main areas of my game — driving and putting, but certainly not ignoring all other aspects of my golf.

I am in the gym every morning for 5am and have a routine of working on my legs one day, then the upper body the next day and then speed training the next and then this continues throughout the week on a rotation basis.

I am planning to stay in Abu Dhabi all next week but this is dependent on the Covid policy for the tournament as to where we stay.

I am not playing another practice round at Yas Links until I arrive there on Monday. I am comfortable with my last visit.

This week I am going into my own bubble with my good friend, Jake Wiltshire, who will train with me at the gym and play and practise at Trump International Golf Club. None of us can take our health for granted and I do not want to miss this opportunity of playing in such a significant event in world golf. Again, I must thank Casper Schonfeldt, Phil Waine and the whole team at Trump International for all their support over the years, but especially in the build up to next week’s DP World Tour event.

I played in the Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club’s Men’s Open over the weekend, as I felt I needed a final competitive outing with a scorecard in my hand before next week. It was also nice to team up with Pete Hartley, an experienced DP World Tour caddie, and to work out how best to team up together moving forward. It’s always nice to go back to Dubai Creek, as that is where it all started with me and golf, and everyone is always very welcoming and it was good to see some familiar and friendly faces. I did not win and had to settle for second place, but I am now able to assess my game under tournament conditions and plan my practice schedule for the week.

Finally, I see that entries are now closed and the full list has been published by the DP World Tour.

It is an exceptional field for this Rolex Series event and congratulations to Abu Dhabi Sports Council, HSBC and the DP World Tour for assembling such a quality field. There are so many top players that I am looking forward to be around.

One of my favourite golfers is world No. 2 Collin Morikawa. In 2020, when I also played in this event, I played a few holes with Brookes Koepka at Abu Dhabi Golf Club and really enjoyed it.

I am hoping I can say hi to Collin and maybe chat with him and perhaps play a few holes together. Seven days to go!

Josh Hill is a 17 year old golfer, born and bred in Dubai who is a member at Trump International Golf Club, Dubai and boasts a +5.8 Emirates Golf Federation handicap and has represented England at Junior and Full International Levels.