Rory McIlroy will make it a busy winter in the UAE, as organisers officially announced his addition to the Dubai Desert Classic Field on Sunday.
World No 1 McIlroy is already slated to play the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, which starts Thursday.
Two weeks after that tournament ends McIlroy will be back in action down the road in Dubai as part of the European Tour’s “Desert Swing”, a series of high-profile tournaments that run through the Arabian Gulf region this time of year.
“I’ve got great memories of Dubai and it will be fun to get back to a golf course where I have enjoyed success over the years,” the 25-year-old Northern Irishman said in a press release.
McIlroy made his first cut in a European Tour event at the age of 17 at the 2007 Dubai tournament, and won his first European Tour even at 19 at the 2009 Dubai Desert Classic.
“It was nice to get my first professional win in Dubai,” McIlroy said in the release. “That win was a real stepping stone for the success that followed.”
McIlroy has risen in the last year to the summit of golf as Tiger Woods has waned, winning the British Open and US PGA Championship in 2014.
He joins a crowded field that includes Henrik Stenson, 2014 champion and European Ryder Cup team member Stephen Gallacher, Martin Kaymer, Sergio Garcia, Graeme McDowell and Lee Westwood.
“They obviously have an oustanding field all the time, and the golf course (Majlis) is really in great shape,” said McIlroy. “Obviously, I will be looking to win the event again.”
The Dubai Desert Classic runs from January 29-February 1 at Emirates Golf Club.
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