World No.1 Johnson headlines ‘Magnificent Seven’ for 13th Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship

By Kent Gray`
The National’s four par 5s ganged up on Dustin Johnson last January and this time it will be a gaggle of six global golf heavyweights hoping to do the same during the 13th edition of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

The world No.1 has been confirmed to headline another glittering cast for the $3 million European Tour event at Abu Dhabi G.C. from Jan. 18-21.

Making up what promoters have dubbed the “Magnificent Seven” are defending champion and newly crowned race to Dubai champion Tommy Fleetwood, former European No.1s Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose, two-time Falcon Trophy winner Paul Casey and Johnson’s U.S. Ryder Cup team-mate Matt Kuchar who is set to make his debut in the Middle East.

The line-up means all three medailists from golf’s return to the Olympic Games at Rio in 2016 – Rose, Stenson and Kuchar – and seven players in the world’s top 20 will tee it up in the first leg of what is now a split Desert Swing; the Omega Dubai Desert Classic follows the week after Abu Dhabi before the new NBO Oman Golf Classic (Feb. 15-18) and the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters (Feb.22-25).

Johnson shared second with Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal in his Abu Dhabi debut last January, a shot adrift of Fleetwood who sparked his unforgettable 2017 with an -18 victory in the UAE capital.

Strangely, one of the world’s most powerful players was only able to negotiate The National’s eminently birdieable par 5s in a collective five under par and that included two eagles, the second of them on the 72nd hole. Johnson bizarrely failed to gain a shot on either the reachable 2nd and 10th holes all week which left the 33-year-old South Carolinian with a feeling of unfinished business.

“Abu Dhabi is great, it’s a fun course to play and I felt I played really well during my first appearance there, aside from my first day troubles with the putter of course,” Johnson said.

“I am sure this year I’ll put myself in a good position to compete and hopefully I can go one better than 2017. Aside from the majors, 2017 has been a really good year for me winning a multitude of titles and hopefully Abu Dhabi can act as the perfect springboard for me in 2018.”

Stuart Franklin/Getty Images

McIlroy is scheduled to make his 2018 bow in Abu Dhabi as he eyes the U.S. Masters and another shot at a career grand slam sealing Green Jacket after an injury-interrupted 2017.

“I am looking for a strong start in 2018 and Abu Dhabi is the perfect place to open my season’s campaign. Having come really close here on more than one occasion, I will be completely focused on trying to win the coveted Falcon Trophy and getting myself back into the winners’ circle – that would be a real confidence boost to start the New Year,” McIlroy told the organisers.

Stenson, who also missed last week’s DP World Tour Championship, has played every Abu Dhabi event and it’s the only traditional Desert Swing event that has eluded him.

“I am hoping 2018 will finally be my year. I know the UAE well having lived there for almost 10 years and think the course is magnificent, particularly the 18th hole, par 5, where the green is surrounded by the grandstand. Having played every year, the inaugural championship will always live long in the memory having come so close to winning the title [when the Swede finished a shot shy of American Chris DiMaro].”

Casey, the 2007 and 2009 champion and current world No.14, will have course knowledge on his side and the prospect of retuning to Ryder Cup action in September as a spur to perform.

“Abu Dhabi is an incredibly special place for me, having won the championship twice,” said Casey who finished 6th at The Masters and enjoyed a strong finish to the PGA Tour season to finish 11th in the FedEx Cup standings.

After a strong start to the season so far, I’m confident heading into the Championship and know what it takes to get the job done. It would be great if I could equal Martin’s [Kaymer’s’] record there.”

Kuchar is sure to be quizzed on his near miss to Jordan Spieth at The Open at Royal Birkdale in July is his inevitable pre-Abu Dhabi press conference.

is has posted a strong 2017 season, almost going all the way on a couple of occasions. Undoubtedly his best performance was his second place at the Open Championship, followed by a tied fourth place at the Masters. He’ll be hoping to go one better at the 2018 championship.

“I have heard so many good things about the Championship from my friends on the tour. I am very excited to finally be playing in Abu Dhabi and experience everything it has to offer,” said Kuchar who also T-4 at The Masters last April. “Despite there being a lot of emerging talent coming up through the ranks, I am confident that if I can keep up my rich vein form from 2017 I’ll be well-placed come Abu Dhabi in January.”

Like so many of his European Tour peers, Rose is looking forward to starting 2018 in Abu Dhabi. The event is this year supported by EGA.

“I’ve had a strong end to 2017 and I’ll be hoping to carry on that momentum as I arrive in the capital once again,’ said Rose who came within a shot of eclipsing Fleetwood for the Race to Dubai title at the DP World Tour Championship after back-to-back WGC and European Tour wins in China and Turkey

“It’s a really enjoyable yet testing course which gives us players a challenge each round, and I’m sure I’m not the only one looking to take the Falcon Trophy off Tommy this year.”

Meanwhile, the tournament committee has re-introduced an 18 hole qualifying tournament in conjunction with the UAE PGA. The top professional, leading amateur (with a handicap of scratch or better as of 1st November 2017), and the highest placed UAE national at the December 11 qualifier at Saadiyat Beach G.C. will earn starts in European Tour event.

DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES – NOVEMBER 18: Tommy Fleetwood of England acknowledges the crowd on the 18th hole during the third round of the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 18, 2017 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)