Martin Dempster on Hero Dubai Desert Classic build up

Transcript

00:00Hello, it's Martin Dempster, the Scotsman Golf Correspondent here, coming to you from

00:07Emirates Golf Club, venue for this week's Hero Dubai Desert Classic, and providing one

00:14of the most stunning backdrops in the game of golf. This week's event has a star-studded

00:20field, headed by Rory McIlroy, who has bidden to land the title for the third year in a

00:28row and fifth time in total. There's no doubt he's the man to beat on the Majlis course,

00:36but on this occasion he's up against John Ram, the Spaniard, who now plays on Live Golf

00:44League, of course, is making his debut here. Ram's had success here in Dubai in the DP

00:52World Tour Championship. This is a different test than the earth course at Jumeirah Golf

01:01Estates, but it'll certainly be interesting if we could see Ram and McIlroy coming down

01:08the stretch here on Sunday. Seven Scots are in the field on this occasion. They're being

01:14led by Bob McIntyre, a two-time winner on the 2024 PGA Tour, including, of course, the

01:23Genesis Scottish Open. Bob has made a long journey from Hawaii, where he played in two

01:30events at the start of his year on the PGA Tour. He's just arrived, looked a bit tired,

01:39which is no surprise given the journey he's made, but given a little bit of time to recover,

01:46he's here to try and get in contention. He's the world number 14, played well here in the

01:51past, and he'll be aiming to get in the mix come the weekend. To keep up to date with

01:57everything about the hero Dubai Desert Classic and everything in the golf world, log on to

02:03Scotsman.com or buy the Scotsman.