Rafa Cabrera Bello: Plenty to smile about at Ras Al Khaimah Classic

That was a nice day in Ras Al Khaimah. I shot 69, three-under par to lie in tied 30th.

In the first round of the $2 million RAK Classic at Al Hamra Golf Club, I started on hole 10 and birdied my first, as well as 16. I made the turn in 34, two-under the card.

On my back nine, I again birdied the opening hole, but took an ugly bogey six on the third. There are not many worse feelings on a golf course for a Tour player, than carding a six, when a four is mentally what you are looking for. I picked up a bonus birdie on my 17th.

My playing partners were Scottish star Robert MacIntyre, No. 66 in the rankings, and last week’s winner of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship again here in Al Hamra Village, Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark. They shot 66 (six-under) and 71 (one-under) respectively.

Scoring was good, a nine-under score by leader Ryan Fox, including 10 birdies, is very special. I enjoyed the course, and the greens were very fair with a stimpmeter reading of 10ft 10 ins. I am excited about playing my second round and hopefully improving on my first-round score.

I also heard that I have been awarded a Dubai Golden Visa along with my family. I want to thank all the government of Dubai authorities, especially the Immigration Department, for this honour. I have been a resident of Dubai for six years and call it my home with my family. You should see more news on this in the next few days, so you really did hear it here first in my Gulf News diary.

I am staying in RAK this week with the family, which will be fun and I can have a more relaxing evening than usual on the DP World Tour.

Rafa is a 37-year-old Spaniard, Dubai resident and JA Hotels and Resorts Global Ambassador. He has four DP World Tour titles to his name including the 2012 Omega Dubai Desert Classic. He made his Ryder Cup debut in 2016 and lies in fourth place in the DP World Tour Rankings