Rory McIlroy vows to land the Dubai Desert Classic title this week amid a tough field
Ulsterman Rory McIlroy is all charged up about his seventh appearance in Dubai this week and is hoping to land the title for the second time in his career.
Already a brand ambassador of Jumeirah Hotel in Dubai, McIlroy has fond memories of making his debut on the Middle Eastern turf in 2006, at the tender age of 16.
He missed the cut back then but came back winning the title in 2009.
McIlroy said, “I remember what I shot (in 2006) - I shot two 72's and missed the cut by one. I've spent a good bit of time here in the past, and after playing Abu Dhabi, spent the week here practising, working on my game and looking forward to this week”.
Poised at number two on the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR), McIlroy will be one of the serious contenders in the event.
An early breakthrough in the year will have him more solidly pitched for the top of the OWGR, which he has yet to summit.
McIlroy will be playing amongst some of the grizzled veterans of the sport, including the number three Lee Westwood and number four Martin Kaymer, as well as the defending champion Alvaro Quiros.
Tiger Woods is not featured in this year’s event in Dubai but the young Northern Irishman still recalls his rendezvous with the former world number one during his debut visit.
He added, “I remember I played on Thursday morning, and then on Thursday afternoon Tiger was playing. I came out in the afternoon and took one of the photographer's cameras off of him and was able to follow inside the ropes, which was pretty cool”.
Woods is returning to Pebble Beach Pro-Am after a lapse of ten years and will be opening up his PGA Tour season from one of his favourite hunting ground.
McIlroy started this season with a strong runner-up finish at Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, finishing behind the leader Robert Rock.
However, he admits that he was not able to fully translate his form on the course during the four-day event.
The US Open champion lauded the Champion Course at Emirates Golf Club and the facilities provided to the players and the spectators.
He considered those services one of the reasons why many of the top-ranked players love to return to participate in the event.
The 22-year-old Irishman has won five events in his short professional career, which does not span more than five years.
He landed the coveted US Open title last year to surge to the second place on the OWGR and has constantly been challenging world number one Luke Donald for the top slot.
He won the Dubai Desert Classic in 2009 when he took over Englishman Justin Rose by one stroke.
He was appointed as the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the new year, 2012, for his dedicated services to the sport.
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