DUBAI, Dec 26 (Reuters) - World number two 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-times 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 on 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.