– Ken Weyand has made four rounds of 87-82-82-86 (337 strokes) for a total of +53 and has finished in the last position at the Dubai Invitational. Therefore, he has pocketed a cheque of 7,288.72 euros. Who is Weyand? He is 54 years old, was born in the United States, has never played a tournament valid for the world ranking until this week and is the club professional at Grove XXIII, south of Florida, owned by Michael Jordan.
And what was this gentleman doing playing a tournament of the DP World Tour, without cut and with a reduced field of players? The answer is that he received one of the two invitations that the tournament sponsor had (the other one was for Thomas Bjorn). Next question: Why was he given an invitation with this player profile? Because initially Jordan committed to Abdullah Naboodah, the promoter of the tournament, to play as an amateur this week, and for this he demanded to play with Weyand as a partner. Finally, Air 23 did not come to Dubai due to other commitments, but the invitation to Weyand was already issued and was maintained.
Needless to say, his presence has been the subject of numerous criticisms. In a way, Jordan has gifted him a cheque of 7,288.72 euros and has curiously taken away from another Jordan (Matthew), the possibility of adding a good cheque and a good amount of points. Matthew Jordan was left out of the tournament as the first reserve. Be that as it may, invitations are, as their name suggests, invitations, at the discretion of the sponsor, who is the one who puts the money so that the tournament can be held. There is nothing to object to, although it really does not seem the most serious.
– Jordan Smith continues to add. At his pace. Slow, step by step, but growing. Always growing. He is 31 years old and it seems that the best is yet to come in this English player’s career. Today he has finished fourth and is currently (pending what happens at the Sony Open), in 69th place in the world ranking, matching his best position ever. He was one of the four players who have handed in four cards below 70 strokes. The other three are Fleetwood, Ferguson and Lombard. Smith has two victories in his career and it seems little for his level. Let’s not lose sight of him, let’s see if this year is going to be the one of the definitive step forward, the one of his emergence.
– There were ten players among the top hundred in the world ranking at the Dubai Invitational. Well, all of them have finished among the top 25 in the tournament and six of them, more than half, have finished among the top ten. A show of strength from the world ranking.
– If Rory McIlroy were an amateur, one of those with whom you, dear reader, cross paths, play and even have beers at your club, at the end of today’s round in Dubai he would say: “I missed the tee shot on the 18th because I went to smash it”. That’s how Rory has explained it, more or less. He planned the shot he had to hit on that tee, but at the last minute he pressed a little more to pass the bunker on the right of the flight… and the ball closed on him. Water. The only thing the Northern Irishman regrets this week are the small concentration errors he has had, like the one mentioned on the 18th, the tee shot on the 6th, also in the water, or the three putts on the 14th. “These are mistakes I hope to make in the first week I compete after a long time. The problem is that they have occurred at the least opportune moment”. Be that as it may, he assures that he arrives very well at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. “If I learn from these mistakes I think I will feel good next week”.
– Tommy Fleetwood is the only player from the Dubai Invitational who had already played in 2024. Whether it’s a coincidence or not, the Englishman came rolling after participating last week in the The Sentry of the PGA Tour. He didn’t have a particularly good performance. He finished back, in 47th place, but it did help him to break the ice after a period of inactivity. It is true that he also had a tough trip between Hawaii and Dubai, although in this case it seems that it has weighed more for good than for bad. Regarding his victory, Tommy assures that “it is always good to win, and especially when you are head to head against great players like McIlroy, it gives a lot of confidence, but I was calm because I have built a lot of consistency in recent months and I was clear that good things were going to come”, he explained.