Jimenez to come under the spotlight today

The spotlight during today's second edition of the Al Ghazal Golf Club's Abu Dhabi World Sand Golf Championship will surely be on Miguel Angel Jimenez.

The Spaniard, who led for most part of the four-rounds in the Dubai Desert Classic, succumbed to a brilliant eagle by Ernie Els to lose by one shot on the final hole.

But Jimenez will be back in action today for his first experience of the 'browns' on a sand gold course.

Apart from Jimenez, Paul McGinley who came here to the capital after a similar loss to Mark O'Meara last year and the great Colin Montgomerie will be part of World Sand Golf Championship, which was a big hit last year.

Apart from this famed trio of former Ryder Cup winners, over 25 other European Tour pro's will be part of this Pro-Am event.

While the 32 professionals will battle it out to join last year's champion Greg Owen on the winner's list, together with the three amateurs in their respective teams the pros will also have a shot at the team honours.

While Jimenez will be looking to 'browns' to make-up for yesterday's narrow title-loss, Montgomerie, who finished fourth yesterday, will be making his debut here in the capital as he bids to climb up on the tour rankings.

The Al Ghazal Golf Course, one of the world's leading desert courses, was well received last year with Owen shattering the course record with a superb 64 on the par 71, 6,600-yard course.

With 'browns' instead of greens and helped by a small astro-turf mat to play from, one of the main challenges for the pros will be to control the shot while being aggressive.

The key will be to keep the shot on the fairways but once it lands outside, the sand surface can be very tricky and challenging.

An additional challenge for all players will be the unusual Off-Road hole named after the famous Road Hole at St Andrews.

McGinley, who shot a round of 68 last year and was very impressed with sand golf, had said: "That was a terrific experience out there.

"Once you get used to the hitting of the astro-turf mat and the pace of the browns you can really get a good score going," said the star, who will be back in action again today.

Scotland's Sandy Lyle, winner of 18 European Tour titles, South Africa's Charles Schwartzel, winner of 2005 Dunhill championship, Austria's Markus Brier, Scotland's Scott Drummond, Argentina's Ricardo Gonzalez, Thailand's Thongchai Jaidee, England's Barry Lane, British Masters champion in 2004 are some of the other leading contenders.

Frenchman Jean-Francois Remesy, Australia's Brett Rumford, Italy's Diana Luna, Tenerife Ladies Open Champion 2004, India's No 1 professional golfer Arjun Atwal, England's John Bickerton and David Carter, Dutchman Robert-Jan Derksen, Dubai Desert Classic winner in 2003, Bradley Dredge of Wales, Finland's top golfer Mikko Ilonen, Zimbabwe's Tony Johnstone, England's Malcolm MacKenzie, Sweden's Patrick Sjoland and Lian-Wei Zhang, who won the 2003 Caltex Masters Winner to become the first Chinese to win on the European Tour, are all expected to play today.

The championship is being organised by Abu Dhabi Duty Free (ADDF) in a partnership with "ADNOC" - the main sponsor of the event.

Great test
How to play Sand golf?

• There are a few differences between sand golf and grass golf, and the sand game can be a great test.
• After teeing off as normal, the next shot depends on the lie of the ball.
• If the ball has landed on the fairway, then the golfer can pick up his ball and place it on an Astroturf mat which he carries with him.
• The correct way to do this is to place the mat on the ground behind the ball, then lift the ball and place it on to the mat at least two inches from the edge of the mat.
• Should the ball land in the rough then it must be played as it lies.
• Spectators are not allowed to line the fairways as their footprints in the sand might affect the lie of the course, therefore groups of spectators can follow the golfers around the course.
• This offers a unique opportunity to observe some of the world's top golfers at close quarters, and perhaps even overhear some of their playing tips!