Els and Woods tee it up for Dubai Desert curtain raiser

BY iseekgolf.com | European PGA Tour | 2004 Dubai Desert Classic | General | 01 Mar 2004

World number three Ernie Els and Northern Ireland’s Darren Clarke will once again join their considerable forces as they bid to retain their title in the six-man Jebel Ali Golf Resort & Spa Challenge Match on March 2, the popular curtain raiser for the Dubai Desert Classic.

But the South African superstar, winner of the 2003 European Tour Order Of Merit and the Irishman who finished just behind Els as European number two last year, will be up against two other pairings brimming with both sublime talent and experience.

Also teeing up at the Jebel Ali Golf Resort and Spa’s Resort Course will be world number one Tiger Woods who will partner fellow American and former Masters and Open champion Mark O’Meara, while 2001 Dubai Desert Classic Champion and last year’s Open runner-up Thomas Bjorn of Denmark will be paired with fellow European Ryder Cup star Padraig Harrington of Ireland.

For world number one Woods it will be his second appearance in the event after striking his first-ever competitive golf ball in the Middle East from the first tee of the Resort Course back in 2001.

The Challenge Match is now considered the traditional curtain raiser for the Dubai Desert Classic, which will be held at the Emirates Golf Club Majlis Course from March 4-7.

For the Challenge Match, the six players are paired into teams with each golfer allowed to drive from the tee. The players then subsequently play the ball considered to be in the best position and alternate shots are played until the hole is complete.

The team selections mean that best friends O’Meara and Woods will aim to rekindle their World Cup-winning magic of 1999, while the hugely popular figures of Els and Clarke will try to recapture the form that saw them dominate the event just 12 months ago.

During the nine-hole event, if any of the players achieves a hole-in-one the charities will share 40% of the winnings with the six players having two chances to win the Hole-in-One Challenge.

The first opportunity will be on the second hole and will carry a prize of US$500,000. If none of the players makes a hole-in-one there, they get a second chance on the eighth where the prize doubles to a staggering US$1 million.

Source – Dubai Desert Classic