World No. 2 Rory McIlroy will be looking to maintain a proud record when he competes in the $2.65 million Dubai Desert Classic in February. The four-time major champion won the event in 2009 and 2015 and has finished in the top 10 in each of his seven previous visits to the Emirates Golf Club. "I have great memories of this tournament," McIlroy said in a news release Monday. "I made the cut here for the first time in a European Tour event as a 17-year-old amateur in 2007 and it was here I secured my first professional win two years later. "I will always cherish those important moments in the early part of my career. That first win was a real stepping-stone for me, helping my confidence and leading to the successes that followed," said the Northern Irishman. British Open champion and world No. 4 Henrik Stenson and US Masters winner Danny Willett, who lifted the Dubai Classic trophy last year, are also in the field for the Feb. 2-5 tournament. The 2016 European Tour Player of the Year and Olympic silver medalist Stenson, who had been a long-time Dubai resident before moving full-time to the United States in 2012, will be a compelling storyline, certain to provide a grueling challenge to the field. "It feels nice to get back to a golf course where you have played a number of times. Playing well in front of family, friends and supporters always gives you that extra bit of satisfaction," said 40-year-old, who became the first Swede to win a Major, a feat he achieved at the 2016 Open Championship at Royal Troon and dedicated it to his friend Mike Gerbich, "one of the real good guys back in Dubai." Defending champion Willett will also be hoping to tap into good vibes and emulate Stephen Gallacher, the only back-to-back winner of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. With virtually who's who on the European Tour in the field, potential winners are aplenty who will be itching to step up to the plate and challenge the top draws for supremacy, promising first-class entertainment for the fans. The Dubai Classic is the last in the tour›s three-event Middle East swing that also includes the Abu Dhabi Championship from Jan. 19-22 and the Qatar Masters from Jan. 26-29.
