By Kent Gray
The 33rd edition of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic will feature three of the world’s current top-10 with Viktor Hovland (pictured) confirmed to join already announced No.2 Collin Morikawa and No.9 Rory McIlroy at Emirates Golf Club later this month.

Hovland, currently 6th in the OWGR and 6th in the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup rankings, was unveiled Friday for the newly upgraded $8 million Rolex Series event alongside a host of already confirmed names including fan favourite Tommy Fleetwood, former Masters champions Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia and defending champion Paul Casey.

Hovland, who won his last two events of 2021 – the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba and Tiger Wood’s unofficial Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas – is the first Norwegian to win on both the DP World Tour and the PGA TOUR, and to represent his country in the Ryder Cup.

Fresh from a T30 finish at last week’s Sentry Tournament of Champions on the PGA Tour, Hovland will be chasing a sixth win inside a stellar two year period on the Majlis from January 27-30. He finished T-23 in his only other Desert Classic appearance after rounds of 71-70-71-74 during the 2020 edition on the Majlis course.

“This year’s Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic has attracted some of the world’s best golfers, and we look forward to welcoming a world-class international field for a truly memorable edition of the event,” said Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic Executive Tournament Director Simon Corkill.

“With free entry for spectators this year, a first for the tournament, there is sure to be an incredible atmosphere befitting the elevated status of a Rolex Series event on the DP World Tour.”     

The Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic 2022 will be the second of back-to-back Rolex Series events in the Middle East in January, with the tournaments in Abu Dhabi and Dubai also part of the European Tour’s traditional ‘Desert Swing’ which annually attract the sport’s leading players.