And here we are, on the final leg of the Desert Swing

And here we are, on the final leg of the Desert Swing; it was only a few weeks ago that we had the golfing giants returning to Abu Dhabi with great expectations from Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.

But events unfolded very differently to the script and both Tiger and Rory failed to make the cut, however it was certainly not without intrigue and mystery; whilst everyone thought that Tiger had made it through on Friday, the men with the rulebooks were again out in force and a resigned Tiger accepted their decision to penalize him for a transgression on hole 5 and humbly bowed out of the tournament. With Rory, it looked like he hadn’t quite adjusted to his new clubs. However let it not be said, that their first two rounds weren’t without brilliant shots. Whilst they may have been wayward off the tee, their attempts to recover from out of the rough was at times absolutely brilliant and unbelievable. The large crowds that followed them on both days were rewarded for their support and were certainly entertained, the enthusiastic clapping  and cheering took a different meaning depending on who it was directed at, for Martin Kaymer  the third member of the flight  the crowd were willing him on, to go for his fourth title and the equally enthusiastic appreciation directed towards Tiger was more like  we want you back at your best again, to wow the crowds again with your brilliance… I suppose we can wait and hope!

Will The Dubai Desert Classic live up to the intrigue, drama and excitement of the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship… I am sure it will, even without Tiger and Rory, there is an exciting field jostling for an opportunity to lift the coveted Jug, last year Rafael Cabrera-Bello emerged as the leading player after a long apprenticeship. He cannot be excluded as a possible candidate to lift the Jug again, however I am sure he is going to have a strong challenge on his hands from former long term Dubai resident Henrik Stenson and Lee Westwood looking to improve from his runner-up position; but who knows there may be yet another outsider who will outsprint everyone on the last day, after all, Robert Jan Derksen did it ten years ago in 2003, why not in 2013!  On current form and with a top ten finish in Abu Dhabi, David Howell, a Dubai resident may join Ernie Els and Tiger Woods as the third player to twice win the oldest professional tournament in the Middle East, having won his first in 1999.

It certainly is going to be a thrilling finale to the Desert Swing, maybe Rock Star Alice Cooper will burst out a favorite rendition on the 18th hole to entertain the crowds after the final putt on Sunday!

Sana Tufail