– This week marks the fourth edition of the Ras Al Khaimah Championship in another of the United Arab Emirates, sharing the same name as the tournament, Ras Al Khaimah (the United Arab Emirates consist of seven emirates, and three of them host DP World Tour tournaments: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras Al Khaimah).
– A clarification: In 2022, the year of the first edition, the Ras Al Khaimah Classic was also played on the same course, the Al Hamra Golf Club. So, a total of four European Tour tournaments have already been held in the emirate.
– So far, no Spanish player has managed to win in Ras Al Khaimah, the only emirate where the Armada has yet to claim victory. Perhaps, who knows, Spanish golf might complete the set in the UAE this very week. Up to twelve Spanish players will attempt it. On one hand, those who were already in Dubai last week: Ángel Hidalgo, Nacho Elvira, Manu Elvira, Pablo Larrazábal, Jorge Campillo, Alex del Rey, Iván Cantero, and Alfredo García Heredia. Additionally, this week sees the inclusion of David Puig, who plays with an invitation, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Ángel Ayora, and Joel Moscatel. Among them, Puig, Del Rey, García Heredia, Cantero, Manu Elvira, Ayora, and Moscatel will seek their first victory on the DP World Tour.
– At the Al Hamra Golf Club, one needs to be very inspired on the greens because it is not one of the most demanding courses of the year from tee to green. Of the four top-level tournaments already played there, in three of them, the winning score was clearly above -20. If the wind doesn’t blow much, and the forecasts currently do not indicate it will with much intensity, one should aim for around 67 strokes on average per round to have any chance of victory. Interestingly, it is blowing much more in the days leading up to the tournament than it will during the event, although in the emirates there is always at least a breeze that slightly affects play.
– It might be an anecdotal detail or mere coincidence, but it is a fact that Danish golf has mastered the tournament. Nicolai Hojgaard and Thorbjorn Olesen have won two of the three previous editions, and in the one won by an Englishman, Daniel Gavins, Olesen and the Hojgaard brothers, Nicolai and Rasmus, also had chances of victory in the final round… Indeed, Ryan Fox won the Ras Al Khaimah Classic in 2022, a tournament in which no Dane was close to victory. Olesen and Rasmus Hojgaard are present this week. Watch out for them. Because they are Danes, yes, but more importantly, they arrive in good form and have already shown they feel comfortable on this course…
– Another curiosity, whether coincidental or not. Of the four tournaments played at Al Hamra, in three of them, the winner secured victory with a comfortable and decisive margin. Nicolai won by four strokes over the second; Olesen by six, and Fox by five. It seems to be a ‘stage’ conducive to breakaways, if you’ll pardon the jest.
– In all editions of the tournament held so far, holes 12 and 10, in that order, have been the two most challenging on the course. The 12th is the longest par 4 on the course (nearly 450 metres) and is defended by water along its entire right flank, while the 10th, slightly shorter, is also defended by water along one flank, in this case, the left.
