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Stephen Gallacher has played 16 times at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship since the inaugural tournament in 2006.
bay today, Journalist
Two-time Heroes Dubai Desert Classic winner Stephen Gallagher applauded the strength of this week’s Abu Dhabi Challenge, where 19 former DP World Tour winners compete at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club from April 27-30 46 top-level victories.
This impressive team of champions is led by Alvaro Quiros, who has won seven DP World Tour titles, including the 2011 Hero Dubai Desert Classic and the 2011 Dubai DP World Tour Championship.
David Howell, who also lifted the Dara Trophy in 1999, is a five-time DP World Tour winner, while Matteo Manassero is the youngest winner in DP World Tour history, joining Gallagher won four times.
Also teeing off in the capital are Brandon Stone and Mikael Lundberg, who each have three DP World Tour titles.
“I was looking at the roster the other day and I was amazed at how good the standard was this week,” said Gallagher, who will captain the European Youth Ryder Cup team in Rome later this year.
“It’s getting harder now, we’re all getting older and the youngsters are improving, so it’s a really good area.”
After 26 consecutive seasons on the DP World Tour with more than 600 appearances, Gallagher failed to finish in the top 117 of the Race to Dubai rankings with Rolex and lost all his racing privileges last season.
During that impressive period, the Scot enjoyed great success in the UAE, becoming the first and only person to win back-to-back Dubai Hero Desert Classic titles between 2013 and 2014, while also playing regularly HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship, Rolex Series.
Gallagher has played 16 times at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship since the inaugural tournament in 2006, 15 of which were played at the host venue this week.
“It’s a completely different atmosphere here this week than what I’m used to at the DP World Tour,” said Gallagher, who finished eighth in the 2015 edition.
“I’m so excited to be hosting this event here because I did some TV work for the first time at the Heroes Cup at the beginning of the year. I walked the pitch and was able to see how different it was without the stands – it was on the eyes completely different.
“It’s going to be a great tournament on a great golf course and I’ve really enjoyed playing it over the years. It’s one of those places where the wind picks up and it can be a little tricky, but I think it suits the way I play the game, This is good.”
The Abu Dhabi Challenge will be held at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club ahead of the UAE Challenge (May 4-7).
The two events are part of a long-term partnership between the European Tour Group and the EGF, which aims to develop golf in the UAE for at least the next decade.
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