Last year’s Luckiest Ball on Earth champion Ghazi Aurangzeb (far left) was partnered with Frenchman Mike Lorenzo-Vera in last year’s DPWTC Pro-Am.

By Kent Gray
What do Marcus Fraser, Thorbjorn Olesen, Danny Willett, James Morrison, Bradley Dredge and Mike Lorenzo-Vera all have in common?

Spoiler alert: It’s not wins on the European Tour. Lorenzo-Vera is the odd man out there, the Frenchman’s sole victory under the auspices of the world’s most global tour coming at the 2007 Apulia San Domenico Grand Final, a Challenge Tour event.

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No, the link between the six players with 17 European Tour wins between them – sorry Mike, we’re sure you’ll join the list soon now you’re under the tutelage of Dubai’s Justin Parsons – is with one of the Middle East’s leading amateur events.

All six have led Pro-Am teams including winners of the DP World Tour Championship’s Luckiest Ball on Earth competition which returns for its seventh season on Saturday.

Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club gets the ball rolling on Saturday with separate men’s and women’s qualifiers, beginning a stretch of 21 qualifying events at as many clubs ahead of Luckiest Ball on Earth Grand Final on the Fire course at Jumeirah Golf Estates on November 4.

RELATED: Ladies feeling lucky as DPWTC Pro-Am spots go on the line again

The male and female champions will then join the ‘Luckiest Ball on Earth’ team, alongside a junior winner (also a new initiative in 2018 along with separate women’s qualifiers), in the DPWTC Pro-Am on Tuesday, Nov. 13.

“We can’t wait for the biggest Luckiest Ball on Earth competition to date to kick-off,” said Nick Tarratt, Director European Tour International, Dubai Office.

“We encourage golfers across the UAE to get involved in this one of a kind initiative which allows amateur golfers to have a chance to play alongside their golfing idols at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. With women and juniors having separate events for the first time, we are expecting to see our biggest turnout yet, which can only be good news for the game in the region.”

If you haven’t already registered, here’s the list of qualifying tournaments:

The DP World Tour Championship sees the top 60 players on the European Tour’s season-long Race to Dubai competing for a prize fund of US$8 million, plus a bonus pool of $5 million split between the top-10 finishers on the Race to Dubai points list following the conclusion of the JGE decider.