Dubai: Abu Dhabi Golf Club is all set to welcome the world’s best golfers this week for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, with the course in prime condition despite heavy rain and high winds over the past few days.
While many parts of the UAE suffered flooding and wind damage, the Championship Course looks impeccable thanks to a team of round-the-clock greenkeepers and a state-of-the-art drainage system across the fairways.
As some of the top athletes in the game arrive in the UAE capital, they would be forgiven for thinking the storm was a piece of fiction as the sun was beating down on the course on Monday.
Peter German, the Executive Tournament Director, was quick to praise the Abu Dhabi Golf Club staff course for being able to handle the situation.
“We are pleased to confirm the adverse weather has had no substantial effect on preparations for the Championship and we are all set to host the 2020 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship presented by EGA starting on Thursday,” he told Gulf News.
“The golf course recovered extremely quickly from the heavy rainfall which is a tribute to the preparatory planning and the hard work put in by the excellent greenkeepers here at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club. With the strong field, including Brooks Koepka, the World No. 1, and with an enhanced Championship village, we are confident the weather won’t stop the 15th Championship from providing the best spectator experience to date.
“The only real effect of the weather was that we had to switch the Sunday Qualifying Tournament from Yas Links to Saadiyat Beach Golf Club at the last minute which was remarkably seamless and demonstrated both the excellent array of golf courses on offer and the fantastic support the Championship enjoys from the entire golfing community in Abu Dhabi.”
Alongside Koepka, a host of names will be competing for the Falcon Trophy, including world No. 6 Patrick Cantlay, 2018 Race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood, 2019 Omega Dubai Desert Classic winner Bryson DeChambeau, Ireland’s 2019 Open champion Shane Lowry and South Africa’s 2010 Open winner Louis Oosthuizen.
There is some unsettled weather forecast for Tuesday and Wednesday, but the skies are predicted to be clear for the duration of the competition form Thursday to Sunday.
Entry list - Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Brooks KOEPKA, USA
Patrick CANTLAY, USA
Tommy FLEETWOOD, England
Bryson DECHAMBEAU, USA
Shane LOWRY, Ireland
Louis OOSTHUIZEN, South Africa
Bernd WIESBERGER, Austria
Matthew FITZPATRICK, England
Danny WILLETT, England
Matt WALLACE, England
Sergio GARCIA, Spain
Rafa CABRERA BELLO, Spain
Ian POULTER, England
Victor PEREZ, France
Erik VAN ROOYEN, South Africa
Eddie PEPPERELL, England
Tom LEWIS, England
Shaun NORRIS, South Africa
Lee WESTWOOD, England
Joshua HILL, England
Ahmed SKAIK, UAE
Roope KAKKO, Finland
Marcus ARMITAGE, England
Martin KAYMER, Germany
Brandon STONE, South Africa
Branden GRACE, South Africa
Chris WOOD, England
Pablo LARRAZABAL, Spain
Steven BROWN, England
Nicolasa COLSAERTS, Belgium
Sebastian SODERBERG, Sweden
Christiaan BEZUIDENHOUT, South Africa
Andrea PAVAN, Italy
Marcus KINHULT, Sweden
Mikko KORHONEN, Finland
Jorge CAMPILLO, Spain
Stephen GALLACHER, Scotland
Scott HEND, Australia
Justin HARDING, South Africa
Kurt KITAYAMA, USA
David LIPSKY, USA
Aaron RAI, England
Asahun WU, China
Paul WARING, England
Richard MCEVOY, England
Alex BJÖRK, Sweden
Alexander LEVY, France
Joost LUITEN, Netherlands
Shubhankar SHARMA, India
Haotong LI, China
Wade ORMSBY, Australia
Rasmus HOJGAARD, Denmark
Thomas PIETERS, Belgium
Guido MIGLIOZZI, Italy
Ryan FOX, New Zealand
David LAW, Scotland
Graeme STORM, England
Padrain HARRINGTON, Ireland
Thomas BJORN, Denmark
Robert KARLSSON, Sweden
Paul LAWRIE, Scotland
Viktor HOVLAND, Norway
Zach MURRAY, New Zealand
Yuxin LIN, China
Robert MACINTYRE, Scotland
BEn HEBERT, France
Matthais SCHWAB, Austria
Mike LORENZO-VERA, France
Romain LANGASQUE, France
Jason SCRIVENER, Australia
Richard STERNE, South Africa
Adri ARNAUS, Spain
Thomas DETRY, Belgium
Andy SULLIVAN, England
Matthew SOUTHGATE, England
Joachim B HANSEN, Denmark
Jordan SMITH, England
Masahiro KAWAMURA, Japan
Richie RAMSAY, Scotland
Zander LOMBARD, South Africa
George COETZEE, South Africa
Kalle SAMOOJA, Finland
Andrew JOHNSTON, England
Nacho ELVIRA, Spain
Oliver WILSON, England
Gavin GREEN, Malaysia
Scott JAMIESON, Scotland
Kiradech APHIBARNRAT, Thailand
Chris PAISLEY, England
Alvaro QUIROS, Spain
Joakim LAGERGREN, Sweden
Nino BERTASIO, Italy
Fabrizio ZANOTTI, Paraguay
Eduardo MOLINARI, Italy
Sean CROCKER, USA
Justin WALTERS, South Africa
Ross FISHER, England
Sam HORSFIELD, England
Adrian OTAEGUI, Spain
David DRYSDALE, Scotland
Renato PARATORE, Italy
Jeff WINTHER, Denmark
Ashley CHESTERS, England
Grant FORREST, Scotland
Soren KJELDSEN, Denmark
Max KIEFFER, GErmany
David HORSEY, England
Callum SHINKWIN, England
Dean BURMESTER, South Africa
Tapio PULKKANEN, Finald
Jeunghun WANG, South Korea
Lorenzo GAGLI, Italy
Mattheiu PAVON, France
Oliver FISHER, England
Lucas HERBERT, Australia
Robert ROCK, England
Jack SINGH BRAR, England
Victor DUBUISSON, France
Hadyn PORTEOUS, South Africa
James MORRISON, England
Gaganjeet BHULLAR, India
Julien GUERRIER, France
Charl SCHWARTZEL, South Africa
Thomas AIKEN, South Africa
David HOWELL, England
Thongchai JAIDEE, Thailand
Raphael JACQUELIN, France
Jamie DONALDSON, Wales
Francesco LAPORTA, Italy
Callum HILL, Scotland
Richard BLAND, England
Sebastian HEISELE, Germany
