Surely more than one of the readers who have kindly taken a few minutes of their life to read this text have heard the following expression: ‘not even the oldest in the place’. In sports jargon, it is often used to refer to something surprising that, after a long time, happens again. For example, “not even the oldest in the place remember a header goal by Lamine Yamal”. One, of course, imagines those ‘oldest in the place’ as gentlemen who have been there all their lives. Well, the ‘oldest’ in Abu Dhabi is Rafa Cabrera Bello. Yes, the Canary Islander has been there practically all his life.
The fact is definitive and conclusive. None of the 72 participants in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship starting this Thursday have played this tournament more times than Rafa Cabrera Bello. The Canary Islander is going to play it for the 16th time. Considering this is the twentieth edition, it turns out he has only missed it on four occasions. The next are Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, and Joost Luiten, who are going to play it for the 14th time. No one has seen more things there, previously at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club and now at Yas Links, than Rafa.
It must be said, moreover, that the tournament has not gone badly for the golfer from Maspalomas. He played it for the first time in 2009 and already finished in 15th position. A good introduction. He did not miss the event again until last year when he did not qualify. In the previous 15 editions, he has only missed the cut once, which will not happen this week because, as you know, there isn’t one. Additionally, he has finished in the top ten five times and has eleven top 25 finishes. A serious matter.
Rafa’s relationship with Abu Dhabi goes beyond the course. The venue changed in 2022, and things went just as smoothly. That year he finished in seventh position, and in 2023 he was second. Be careful. However, it will be the first time he plays it at this time of year. Remember, it debuted in November last year when it went from being one of the first tournaments of the DP World Tour year to becoming a playoff.
Rafa will tee off in the first match of the tournament this Thursday, starting at 4:17 in the morning in Spain. We don’t know if it’s a special courtesy to the ‘oldest’ in the place, but he deserves it. The starting groups are organised in this tournament for Thursday and Friday by their order in the Race to Dubai, but not their times.
We have seven Spaniards in Abu Dhabi, each pursuing their particular goal. Cabrera Bello, for example, needs to finish in the top 6 to get into the Dubai Final. The players assure that the course is firm. The fairways and greens are hard, and there is more rough than in previous years. If so, if they keep the surfaces really firm, rule out anyone taking the 90,000 euros allocated to those who match the course record. The 61 that Paul Waring made last year seems unattainable. We’ll see if later the enlightened one of the moment doesn’t prove us wrong.
