Photos: Meet the ‘UAE’ contenders at The Open at Royal St George’s

The final men’s major of the season is upon us with the world’s best convening at Royal St George’s for the 149th Open. We may not have any UAE-born players competing for the Claret Jug, but there’s still plenty of interest in players with a connection back to the country as we detail below.

Rafa Cabrera Bello: The Dubai resident will be playing in his ninth Open when he tees it up at Royal St George’s with his best result coming four years ago when he finished in a share of fourth at Royal Birkdale. Has struggled with his form this year and is without a top-20 finish anywhere since taking fourth in Abu Dhabi in January. Decided to give the Olympic Games a miss to focus on the FedEx Cup and retaining his PGA Tour card which will be aided with a big finish here.

Jazz Janewattananond: The Thai star is coached by world-renowned Peter Cowen and is a regular to his academy at Jumeirah Golf Estates. Played in both the DP World Championship and the Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World at the end of last year and employed local coach Stephen Deane as his caddie for the latter. Has missed the cut on his two previous outings here but does have a taste of contending for a major having been in the final group at the 2019 PGA Championship.

Paul Casey: The Englishman picked up his 15th European Tour victory earlier this year with a wonderful display of shot-making at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. Casey is playing some of the best golf of his career and has become one of the most consistent performers at this level and looks as capable as any of the top players of winning one of the big ones.

Lee Westwood: Won the inaugural DP World Tour Championship in 2009 and 11 years later was crowned Race to Dubai champion for the third time. A firm favourite among the expat community here in the UAE, Westwood is one of the greatest players to have never won a major but The Open could give him his best opportunity to finally get over the line as he looks to build on his fourth-place finish in 2019.

Tyrrell Hatton: Underlined his world-class credentials with a win at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship earlier this year where he overturned Rory McIlroy’s overnight lead to win by four shots. Boasts two top sixes in eight Open starts and has the precision and touch to become an Open champion, with the test at Royal St George’s so much more suitable than a US Open at Torrey Pines.

Matt Fitzpatrick: The Sheffield-born star is another name that UAE golf fans are fond of after victories at the DP World Tour Championship in 2016 and 2020. Was the Low Amateur here in 2013 with his best result since then coming in 2019 when he finished in a share of 20th. Game is trending nicely so don’t be surprised to see him among the leading names come Sunday afternoon.

The others: No. 1 coach Peter Cowen, who has academies at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Emirates Golf Club and Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, has a plethora of his world-class stable in play at The Open with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Brooks Koepka and Gary Woodland all taking on the expansive links at Royal St George’s. The coach has let it be known that he is not the biggest fan of the course but was the man behind Darren Clarke’s victory here in 2011 so don’t rule out another Cowen-coached player lifting the Claret Jug.