On the schedule since 2006, the Abu Dhabi event received a huge boost in 2019 when it became a Rolex Series tournament.

The increase in prize funds and prestige (as well as healthy dose of appearance money) has helped attract some of the game’s biggest names the past three years and another quality field tees up this week.

The tournament has moved to a new venue this year for the first time in its 16-year history and there is much interest in how the Yas Links will play.

DEFENDING CHAMPION: Tyrrell Hatton won the tournament but Rory McIlroy was the story in 2021 as a decade long hoodoo at the Abu Dhabi Championship continued.

McIlroy’s record at the tournament is stunning; 11 appearances, one missed cut, one T11, one T5, four times third and four times runner-up.

Taking a one stroke lead into the final round it looked like McIlroy was finally set to break the curse but golf doesn’t always work that way.

RIGHT: England's Tyrrell Hatton took home the trophy last year as Rory McIlroy faltered on the final day. PHOTO: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

Paired with eventual winner Hatton, McIlroy started well but lost his way around the turn and eventually signed for a pedestrian even par 72.

Hatton’s 66 was good enough to vault him to the top of the leaderboard, one stroke ahead of Australia’s Jason Scrivener who played the final nine holes in just 29 strokes.

COURSE: The tournament this week switches venue for the first time since its inception in 2006, moving to the Kyle Phillips designed Yas Links adjoining the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix circuit on Yas Island.

The course has received almost universal rave reviews since opening in 2010 with the highly respected Phillips given credit for the rare feat of achieving a links like feel in a desert landscape.

While well inland from the Persian Gulf, the creation of the island as a multibillion dollar property and entertainment hub saw several small waterways created and Yas Links sits hard up against one of these.

Budget specifics are unknown but given the course took three years to build it would be fair to assume it was significant.

Since it opened more than a decade ago many have rated Yas Links the best course in the region but this is the first time it will be tested by a professional field.

At 6,790 metres it has enough length for a field of this strength but it will likely be the strategy required that will separate the field.

Phillips is best known for his design of Kingsbarns, near St. Andrews, and counts Alister MacKenzie, Harry Colt and Tom Simpson among his main design influences.

Given that, it will be interesting to see what features are in play this week on a course that will be an unknown quantity to players and spectators alike.

RELATED: So-called expert golf tips for this week

PRIZEMONEY: €8,000,000
 

PLAYERS TO WATCH: It’s a top-heavy field with three of the world’s top 10 in attendance.

World No.2 Collin Morikawa has the chance to ascend to the top spot with a win this week (depending on Jon Rahm’s result in the U.S., of course) while Viktor Hovland (7) and Rory McIlroy (8) are also teeing up.

As noted above, this tournament has tormented McIlroy since his early days as a professional and he will likely be one player more than pleased with this year’s venue change.

Adam Scott is making a rare trip to the desert this week, sporting a new look as well. PHOTO: Francois Nel/Getty Images.

The Northern Irishman had a strong finish to his 2021 with a win at the limited field CJ Cup and a sixth placing in the DP World Tour Championship and usually starts his season well in the Middle East.

All that, plus a new course, might be just the tonic to undo a decade of torment and claim his first Abu Dhabi Championship.

Hovland will be the other main player of interest after a fabulous 2021 which saw him win three times, including back-to-back victories in his last two starts of the year.

While not at his best in Hawaii a fortnight ago Hovland is a player capable of easily shrugging off poor play and producing terrific from the following week.

Outside the big three there will be no shortage of contenders, not the least of them Australia’s own Min Woo Lee.

A solid performance at Royal Queensland in last week’s Australian PGA bodes well for Lee on a course that, from the outside, should suit his style of play.

While never quite at his best in Brisbane he finished in a share of fourth and will be better for the competitive return.

Adam Scott also makes an appearance this week, his first time at the tournament since 2008.

72-HOLE RECORD: 264, (-24, Martin Kaymer, 2011).

PREVIOUS AUSSIE WINNERS: No Australian has won the event.

AUSTRALIANS IN THE FIELD: Min Woo Lee, Adam Scott, Scott Hend, Jason Scrivener, Wade Ormsby and Maverick Antcliff.

TV TIMES*
Round 1: Thursday (Fox Sports 503 2.30pam –7.30pm, 10pm – 12am)
Round 2: Friday (Fox Sports 503 8pm – 12am)
Round 3: Saturday (Fox Sports 503 7pm – 12am)
Round 4: Sunday (Fox Sports 503 6pm – 12am)
*AEDT, check local guides