Rory McIlroy says he is happy to be making a “gentler” start to the DP World Tour season as he gets ready to tee it up at the first Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek on Thursday.
The world No 2 will play alongside Ryan Fox at 9.14am in the opening round, with two amateur players also part of their group.
The tournament is a fresh addition to the Tour schedule. It includes 60 pros playing alongside 60 amateurs for three of the four rounds. The final round will consist of professionals only.
It is the first of seven tournaments to be played in the region this year. It will be followed by the Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club next weekend.
There are then tournaments in Ras Al Khaimah, Bahrain and Qatar, while the Tour season reaches its climax in Abu Dhabi then Dubai in consecutive weeks in November.
The Creek has staged Tour golf before. Back in 1999 and 2000, the Desert Classic was played there.
McIlroy thinks the event will provide a friendly start to the campaign, as he gets ready to defend his Classic title a week later.
“I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks,” said McIlroy, who won his fifth Race to Dubai title in November at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
“This is a different way to start the season than previous ones. Abu Dhabi is now at the end of the year, which is exciting, because another big tournament at the end of the season could decide the season-long race.
“This is a nice, maybe gentler introduction back into golf with this pro-am format this week at the Creek, and then obviously looking ahead to the Dubai Desert Classic next week also.”
McIlroy says he is happy to be meeting up with familiar faces this week, and not just among the pro ranks.
“I have a lot of friends in Dubai, and I know a lot of the amateurs coming to play,” McIlroy said.
“I thought it would be a gentle way to start the season and treat it more as a bit of a practice week and see where my game is.
“[I want to] see if I need to make any adjustments going into next week, and obviously the bulk of the season, starting off in the States in California in a few weeks’ time.
“I just thought it was a good opportunity to get on the golf course, get a card in my hand but in a more relaxed setting, so I'm excited for the week.”
Abdullah Al Naboodah, the host of the tournament, has been a pivotal figure in the development of the sport in the UAE in the past 20 years.
Tommy Fleetwood, the world No 15 who is a resident of Dubai, says the strength of the field is a credit to Al Naboodah.
“Abdullah has put so much effort into this and brought another event into the Middle East and the Creek, which we've not played a tournament here for a very long time,” Fleetwood said.
“I've never played a tournament here, that's for sure. I think everybody loves starting the year in Dubai. Abu Dhabi has moved to the back end of the year, so adding another event to take that place for the one just before the Desert Classic I think is great.”
