The Yas Links Abu Dhabi is hosting a Rolex Series for the first time: the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. This historic tournament of the DP World Tour promises, as every year, a strong field of players like Rory McIlroy or Collin Morikawa, as well as an endowment of 8.000.000 dollars.

Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship for the first time at Yas Links – via Twitter @DPWorldTour

The first of five Rolex Series is an event not to be missed on the DP World Tour and an opportunity to score big points from the start of the season.

The focus will be partly on world number 2 Collin Morikawa. Winner of the DP World Tour Championship and the Race To Dubai last year, the double major winner is in a race against time: to become world number 1 before the age of 25. He would thus join a very closed circle made up of Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.

“It's great to be back on the DP World Tour. You know, it's been a few months since I was named Champion Golfer of the Year, I want to start these first two weeks on a great note and hopefully win some trophies. »

“It's a very good golf course. Coming from Kapalua where the fairways are a hundred meters wide, it seems quite narrow. I think the conditions are going to be difficult. We are going to have a lot of wind this week,” said Collin Morikawa.

For his first participation in the tournament, Collin Morikawa will be tied with his pairs since for the first time since 2006, the Abu Dhabi Golf Club will not be hosting the tournament. The first Rolex Series DP World Tour will be played on the Yas Links, a young course created in 2010 of 6790 meters.

Other stars will be there such as Rory McIlroy, Tyrell Hatton (defending champion) and Tommy Fleetwood. The double winner of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship also gave a few words on his current form: “There are a lot of great players playing. I've been saying it for a while, no matter where you play now, the level of golf is now so high, the margin of error is so small, and no matter where you are, you're not going to get away with playing mediocre . But it's great. It's great for the sport and it's great for this event to have so many great players here, and I'm always happy to come back. I love playing here, I love golf here, I love how popular it is. I had success here, so there are a lot of good things for me and for this week, and I'm just excited to start. »

Our blues present in Abu Dhabi:

Nine French will be present this week in Abu Dhabi: Alexander Levy, Antoine Rozner, Frédéric Lacroix, Julien Brun, Julien Guerrier, Matthieu Pavon, Romain Langasque and Victor Dubuisson. The two former residents of the Challenge Tour Julien Brun and Frederic Lacroix were able to benefit from a right to play at the last moment, thanks to packages. 

This tournament has smiled on a Frenchman only once in its history. In 2015, while Rory McIlroy and Martin Kaymer were at the forefront, it was finally Gary Stal who managed to win after an exceptional end to the tournament. Victor Perez took second place on the podium in 2020 and we hope to have the chance to see a Frenchman lift the trophy on Sunday.

 

A known and recognized player on the European circuit will unfortunately miss this first big meeting of the year. Englishman Andrew Johnston alias Beef finally had to withdraw due to injury. The former winner of the Spanish Open announced it on his social networks, we hope to see him again soon on the fairways of the DP World Tour.

To find all the games of the first two rounds: click here.

By Baptiste Laurensou.