‘He’s so exciting’: Dustin Johnson’s debut among Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship director’s things to watch

Dustin Johnson makes his Middle East debut this weekend at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Sam Greenwood / Getty Images

The 12th edition of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship takes place in the capital this week, as it returns with another star-studded line-up. We spoke to tournament director Peter German on Sunday about the week ahead.

Major firepower

The event, which tees off this Thursday at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, has attracted three of the world’s top four: No 2 Rory McIlroy and No 4 Henrik Stenson return, while world No 3 Dustin Johnson makes his Middle East debut. McIlroy, a four-time major winner, heads the field, although Johnson, Stenson and Danny Willett are all reigning major champions. Rickie Fowler, the world No 13, defends the Falcon Trophy.

On changes to the National Course

The greens on the 7th and 9th have been extended to allow for tougher pin positions, while the contours on the par-3 4th have been altered slightly to bring the water more into play. “No major changes,” German said. “We’ve done things that can be best described as refinements. They’re changes that will increase the degree of difficulty of the golf course, but in a fair way. They’re in line with what we try to do every year, which is improve the course year-on-year. When you’ve got golfers of this quality playing you need to have a testing golf course.”

On what debutant Johnson brings

“Anybody new coming to the UAE and the tournament for the first time is a huge fillip for the tournament,” German said. “And Johnson is such a popular player — I think everybody was so relieved he won the US Open last summer. He’s played fantastically well and has such a big following, so I’m sure people will come out and really get behind him. He’s so exciting, he hits the ball so far. I think this golf course will be ideally suited to him.”

On continually showcasing new talent

“Part of our objective, and that’s also HSBC and the Abu Dhabi Sports Council, is to make the tournament better and make it different every year,” German said. “So we try to get better players — newer players — each time and often the player that’s achieved the most the previous year. That’s why last year we had Jordan Spieth and this year we have Dustin Johnson. It’s all part of the objective to provide the best, not only in the quality of the presentation of the tournament, but also the best in quality of players.”

On the tournament’s growing popularity Stateside

“Word of mouth is very strong and once the players get here and see how good it is, and how well they’re looked after and all the facilities that are provided by the Sports Council and HSBC, they go back to America and tell people,” German said. “When the guys hear from Rickie Fowler last year about how good the tournament is and how good the golf course is — that’s one of the reasons why Dustin agreed to come over. This is viewed as such a bigger deal.”

On personal highlights of the week

“This is my 12th tournament — I’ve been here since the get-go back in 2006, so every year I find it very exciting, seeing how the tournament has improved and grown and become such a big event worldwide,” German said. “Everything excites me about it. At the end of the day, all I want is to have a successful tournament with a great winner, who will go on promoting Abu Dhabi as a great golfing destination and a fantastic place.”

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