Tiger Woods made a winning start to his 2011 campaign in Dubai, pairing up with partner Mark O’Meara to win the 9-hole Omega Dubai Desert Classic Challenge Match at the Emirates Golf Club.
The pair birdied the last hole to post four-under-par 23 on the short 9-hole, par-27 course. They finished two shots ahead of the pairing of Lee Westwood and Miguel Angel Jimenez, while Jeev Milkha Singh and partner Seung Yul Noh finished a further shot back, taking third.
The six marquee players played the nine-hole tournament in the greensomes format in which both players hit their tee shots and then select the best-positioned ball. Thereafter, they hit alternate shots with the same ball until the hole is completed. The par-27 course measures 1,239 yards from blue tees; with the longest hole (the third) measuring 194-yards while the shortest hole (the fourth) measures 96 yards.
(Editor’s note: those of you following the Presidents Cup / Australian Open / IMG drama unfolding in Australia, take note of this tournament, as there is every likelihood that the rumoured “rebel” tournament in November could very easily play out like this one.)
A four-time winner of the Australian Golf Media Awards, including Best Photojournalism, Best Opinion, Best Column and Best Photographic Presentation, Inside Golf Group Editor Richard Fellner is the quintessential Golf Tragic, having played the game for over 50 years (but has never gotten any better!) He has played and reviewed courses all over the world, and has interviewed many of the great players of the game (including Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson and Greg Norman). Richard is a member of both the Australian Golf Media Association and the Golf Society of Australia, and has been a featured guest on many Australian "sports talk" radio shows and networks, including ABC Grandstand, SEN 1116, Melbourne Talk Radio 1377, 2GB and others.
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