Abdullah Al Musharrekh, the UAE national champion, will be rubbing shoulder with the Italian Ryder Cup winner Edoardo Molinari today as the finest golfers on the European Tour get a chance to size up the challenge of the 7,675-yard Greg Norman-designed Earth Course ahead of this week's Dubai World Championship (DWC) at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Before the last lap of this year's Race to Dubai begins on Thursday, the final week of the Tour season gets underway with the Rolex Pro-Am in which some of the biggest names in golf join forces with sponsors and guests.
Among the other UAE players taking part in the 36-team competition alongside Al Musharrekh and Molinari are Khalid Al Halyan, who will team with the Italian teenager, Matteo Manassero, Abdullah Saeed Al Naboodah, who has the Dubai Desert Classic champion Alvaro Quiros in his side, and Tariq and Ahmed Al Sowaidi, who are paired with another Italian Ryder Cup star, Francesco Molinari, Edoardo's brother.
Wednesday, the top 60 players in the Race to Dubai will have their final chance to practice before the tournament, which offers US$7.5 million (Dh27.525m) in prize money and a further $7.5m bonus pool, gets underway.
And history could be made in Dubai as the world's two best players battle for supremacy.
England's Luke Donald is seeking to become the first golfer to win the money titles on both the US PGA and European Tours in the same year.
But he faces a major obstacle in Rory McIlroy, who could snatch the Race to Dubai if he wins the championship and the world No 1 finishes outside the top nine.
They will be joined in a field including Lee Westwood, the world No 3 and 2009 DWC and Race to Dubai winner, as well as the world No 4 Martin Kaymer, last year's Race to Dubai champion.
