European Ryder Cup Captain Pádraig Harrington has confirmed his participation in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the first Rolex Series event of the 2021 Race to Dubai season, when international golf returns to Abu Dhabi Golf Club from January 21-24.
It’s Manic Monday, so here is a very quick round up of all the results and stories from the weekend on the, PGA Tour, European Tour, LPGA and Women’s European Tour.
English prodigy Josh Hill warmed up for his European Tour debut in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Thursday by taking on world No 1 Brooks Koepka in a friendly match – a match the youngster won!
Look out Claude Harmon you could soon be out of a job. A six-year-old hilariously analysed Brooks Koepka’s swing during last week’s the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Apparently, Brooks dips a bit during his swing and he should know which way the wind is blowing!
GolfPunk Hall of Shame inductee Sergio Garcia has been chucking clubs again. This time he has jettisoned all his Callaway clubs and replaced them with a selection of PINGs along with TaylorMade fairway woods. Garcia announced ahead of this week's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship that he has ended his two-year relationship with Callaway golf clubs and ball.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has announced it will be offering free golf bag luggage on its flights to Abu Dhabi with immediate effect.
Bryson DeChambeau has been making much of his new physique ahead of this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Apparently, he has better Abs than Brooks Koepka and he will be playing even faster now as he will be bombing the drives. He may be right about the speed of play this weekend though as he missed the cut!
Encouraging signs from the first event with the European Tour’s new regime on slow play. The toughened up four-point plan did not result in any penalties but the general consensus was that the pace of play was better. Even Bryson DeChambeau seemed to have responded positively – might the penny be finally dropping?
Four-time Major Champion Rory McIlroy hopes to continue his strong run of form at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship as he starts his 2021 season at the first Rolex Series event of the year.
The European Tour has a real headache on its hands following Iran’s recent threats to "destroy" parts of the United Arab Emirates if there is retaliation after the attacks they launched on Iraq in reprisal for the US killing of Qassem Soleimani.
Two-time Race to Dubai winner Lee Westwood will be joined by Major champions Martin Kaymer and Danny Willett as a strong international field gathers at the inaugural Golf in Dubai Championship presented by DP World. and on the European Tour’s social media channels.
Matthew Fitzpatrick claimed a second victory at the DP World Tour Championship, Dubai with Lee Westwood winning the Harry Vardon Trophy for the third time as the 2020 Race to Dubai culminated in a dramatic afternoon at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
