European Golf Tour Golf Top Story News Leaderboard Player Bios Schedule Statistics Results Recap Field Tee Times Preview Money Leaders PGA European - Omega Dubai Desert Classic Preview From The Sports Network DATES: Thursday, January 31st through Sunday, February 3rd SITE: Emirates Golf Club (Majlis course), Dubai, United Arab Emirates COURSE ARCHITECT: Karl Litten (1988) PAR: 72 YARDAGE: 7,316 Hole-By-Hole: 1 - Par 4 458 Yds 10 - Par 5 549 Yds 2 - Par 4 351 Yds 11 - Par 3 169 Yds 3 - Par 5 568 Yds 12 - Par 4 467 Yds 4 - Par 3 188 Yds 13 - Par 5 550 Yds 5 - Par 4 451 Yds 14 - Par 4 434 Yds 6 - Par 4 485 Yds 15 - Par 3 190 Yds 7 - Par 3 186 Yds 16 - Par 4 425 Yds 8 - Par 4 459 Yds 17 - Par 4 359 Yds 9 - Par 4 463 Yds 18 - Par 5 564 Yds ------------- ------------- 35 3,609 Yds 37 3,707 Yds Annual:  24th Television:  Golf Channel - Thursday/Friday -- 4:30-8:30 a.m. (et),   - Saturday/Sunday -- 4-8 a.m. (et) Defending Champion:  Rafa Cabrera-Bello Runner-Up:  Stephen Gallacher, Lee Westwood Tournament Record:  266 (Thomas Bjorn, 2001) 54-Hole Record:  196 (Tiger Woods, 2001) 36-Hole Record:  128 (Tiger Woods, 2001) Course Record:  61 (Ernie Els, 1994) Total Purse:  $2,500,000 Share:  1st Place - $415,865; 2nd Place - $277,239; 3rd Place - $156,200 2012 Finish Player Score Player Score Rafa Cabrera-Bello 270 Rory McIlroy 274 Stephen Gallacher 271 George Coetzee 274 Lee Westwood 271 Scott Jamieson 274 Marcel Siem 273 Three players at 275 Soren Kjeldsen 274 Past Omega Dubai Desert Classic Winners Year Winner (Score) -- Runners-Up 2012 Rafa Cabrera-Bello (270) -- Stephen Gallacher, Lee Westwood 2011 Alvaro Quiros (277) -- Anders Hansen, James Kingston 2010 *Miguel Angel Jimenez (277) -- Lee Westwood 2009 Rory McIlroy (269) -- Justin Rose 2008 Tiger Woods (274) -- Martin Kaymer 2007 Henrik Stenson (269) -- Ernie Els 2006 *Tiger Woods (269) -- Ernie Els 2005 Ernie Els (269) -- Miguel Angel Jimenez, Stephen Dodd 2004 Mark O'Meara (271) -- Paul McGinley 2003 Robert-Jan Derksen (271) -- Ernie Els 2002 Ernie Els (272) -- Niclas Fasth 2001 Thomas Bjorn (266) -- Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington 2000 Jose Coceres (274) -- Patrik Sjoland, Paul McGinley 1999 David Howell (275) -- Lee Westwood 1998 Jose Maria Olazabal (269) -- Stephen Allan 1997 *Richard Green (272) -- Greg Norman, Ian Woosnam 1996 Colin Montgomerie (270) -- Miguel Angel Jimenez 1995 Fred Couples (268) -- Colin Montgomerie 1994 Ernie Els (268) -- Greg Norman 1993 Wayne Westner (274) -- Retief Goosen 1992 *Seve Ballesteros (272) -- Ronan Rafferty 1991 Not Held 1990 Eamonn Darcy (276) -- David Feherty 1989 *Mark James (277) -- Peter O'Malley * - Won in Playoff Note:Formerly called Karl Litten Classic (1989), Emirates Airline Classic (1990), Dubai Desert Classic (1992-2009). Top Contenders in the Field Player 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Rafa Cabrera-Bello --- --- --- --- --- --- --- mc T-20 Won Stephen Gallacher T-38 T-34 T-51 T-22 T-44 T-44 mc T-31 T-10 T-2 Lee Westwood T-38 T-12 T-6 T-28 T-25 T-10 T-39 2nd T-15 T-2 Thomas Bjorn T-6 mc T-22 T-47 T-10 T-44 mc T-15 mc T-9 Jamie Donaldson T-13 mc T-11 T-35 --- --- mc mc T-48 T-16 Chris Wood --- --- --- --- --- --- mc T-20 T-10 T-20 Henrik Stenson T-71 T-45 T-22 T-7 Won T-6 3rd T-8 mc T-20 Simon Dyson mc T-20 T-51 T-19 T-7 T-25 T-32 T-56 T-28 T-33 Thongchai Jaidee T-9 T-5 T-72 T-22 T-18 T-19 T-47 3rd mc T-42 Matteo Manassero --- --- --- --- --- --- --- T-31 mc T-42 Thorbjorn Olesen --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- mc T-42 Richie Ramsay --- --- --- --- --- --- --- mc T-31 T-51 Mark O'Meara T-52 Won mc T-63 mc T-39 mc mc mc T-61 Robert-Jan Derksen Won mc T-63 T-47 T-20 T-54 T-20 T-51 T-55 mc Sergio Garcia --- --- --- --- mc T-19 T-11 --- T-20 --- Sports Network Selections Pick to Win - Sergio Garcia Darkhorse - Thongchai Jaidee   Last Week's Pick to Win (Justin Rose) - Finished tied for 16th Last Week's Darkhorse (David Howell) - Finished tied for 22nd   NOTES: The European Tour wraps up its "Gulf Swing" this week with the last of three consecutive tournaments in the Middle East, the Omega Dubai Desert Classic. Three of the top-30 players in the world are competing - Lee Westwood (8), Sergio Garcia (14) and Jamie Donaldson (30). Westwood is making his season debut this week. He has made 14 straight cuts in Dubai, finishing second in 1999, 2010 and 2012. Garcia finished tied for second behind Chris Wood last week at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in his first time out this year. Donaldson is playing for the first time since winning the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship two weeks ago. This is the 13th straight year and 22nd overall that Emirates Golf Club is hosting the tournament. Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club played host to the event in 1999-2000. Last year, Rafa Cabrera-Bello shot rounds of 63-69-70-68 for a 1-stroke win over Stephen Gallacher and Westwood. Cabrera-Bello finished at 18-under-par 270. It was the second European Tour victory for Cabrera-Bello, who won the Austrian Golf Open in 2009. In 2011, Alvaro Quiros carded three straight rounds of 68 following an opening-round 73 to win. He finished his fifth European Tour title at 11-under-par 277 for a 1-stroke win over Anders Hansen and James Kingston. Quiros aced the par-3 11th hole in the final round en route to victory. He became the third player in European Tour history to win and record a hole-in-one in the final round. The others are Thongchai Jaidee (2004 Malaysian Open) and Miguel Angel Jimenez (2008 BMW PGA Championship). In 2009, Rory McIlroy won his first European Tour event. He led wire-to-wire after firing rounds of 64-68-67-70 to finish at 19-under-par 269. McIlroy ended with a 1-stroke victory over Justin Rose and became the fifth player to win in wire-to-wire fashion, joining Eamonn Darcy (1990), Seve Ballesteros (1992), Ernie Els (1994) and Jose Coceres (2000). Tiger Woods fired a 7-under 65 in the final round of 2008 to win for the second time in three years, posting six birdies on the back nine to overcome a 4-stroke deficit. Woods beat Germany's Martin Kaymer by just one stroke at 14- under 274. Woods passed Colin Montgomerie for solo third place on the European Tour's all-time wins list while No. 32. Els, a three-time champion, finished in the top three for the seventh consecutive year. In 2005, Els eagled the 72nd hole to rally from a shot behind to defeat Stephen Dodd and Jimenez for the title. With the eagle, Els polished off a final-round, 4-under 68 to finish at 19-under-par 269. Els became the first three-time winner in Dubai (he also titled here in 1994 and 2002). When Mark O'Meara won in 2004, he ended a victory drought that spanned six years. O'Meara, the first American to win since Fred Couples in 1995, had not won since capturing the 1998 Cisco World Match Play Championship. With the victory, O'Meara became the oldest champion in tournament history at 47 years old. The European Tour international schedule moves to South Africa next week for the Joburg Open in Johannesburg, where Branden Grace will defend the title in his home country. 01/29 16:53:49 ET As of January 29, 2013, at 04:53 PM ET