Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship 2022: Form stats for this week's Rolex Series event

After almost two months of inactivity, the re-branded European Tour returns to our television screens with this week's big money event in the Gulf States.

Joining the schedule in 2006, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship will be the first of five Rolex Series events to be staged on Tour this year.

This week's venue, Yas Links, will be making its debut at this level, as the event moves 11 miles north-east from the tournament's previous home at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.

With $8m up for grabs, three of the world's top 10 golfers will be in attendance, including reigning Open champion Collin Morikawa and four-time major winner Rory McIlroy.

World No 7 and young Norwegian Viktor Hovland is also taking part, as the DP World Tour begins 2022 in style.

Course characteristics

Yas Links, which opened in March 2010, was designed by leading golf course architect Kyle Phillips and has been described as the 'first true links course in the Middle East.'

Approximately 1.8 million cubic metres of material was dredged and contoured to create this rolling links venue.

And the course will not be totally unfamiliar to this week's field, as some have tasted it previously when teeing-up in the Abu Dhabi Invitational.

This was a fun team event, held on a number of occasions, involving golfers and high-profile celebrities from the world of entertainment, business and sport.

The course is laid out on Yas Island, which is the state's premier leisure and retail hub.

Yas Links is located close to the motor racing circuit which has hosted Formula One's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix for the past 13 years.

Check out latest betting for this week`s event at Yas Links

Lowest 10 Average Positions

In Middle East Events (since 1.1.2018)
Average....(Events)
14.00: Tommy Fleetwood (14)
22.64: Tyrrell Hatton (11)
24.09: Antoine Rozner (11)
25.71: Thomas Pieters (21)
27.45: Shane Lowry (11)
31.47: Robert MacIntyre (15)
35.71: Thomas Detry (24)
36.56: Jason Scrivener (16)
37.07: Rafael Cabrera-Bello (14)
37.69: Victor Perez (16)
Min. No. of Events = 10
Only those entered this week are included in table

Lowest 10 Strokes Averages

In Middle East Events (since 1.1.2018)
Average....(Rounds)
68.46: Rory McIlroy (24)
69.00: Tommy Fleetwood (56)
69.48: Tyrrell Hatton (42)
69.55: Antoine Rozner (44)
69.57: Matthew Jordan (23)
69.57: Thorbjorn Olesen (30)
69.75: Thomas Pieters (80)
69.83: Shane Lowry (40)
70.07: Francesco Laporta (30)
70.12: Robert MacIntyre (58)
Min. No. of Rounds = 20
Only those entered this week are included in table

Four to Watch

Tommy Fleetwood: Without a Tour victory in over two years but does tend to perform well in the Middle East where he has twice tasted success. Coupled with his love of rolling links venues, this could be the week he returns to the winners' enclosure.

Min Woo Lee: The world No 44 arrives in Abu Dhabi on the back of a tied-fourth at the Australian PGA Championship on Sunday. At the start of July last year he was ranked 240 in the world, but has since risen 196 spots. Played well in Dubai during November, and won last year's Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick.

Rory McIlroy: One of the select few to have played Yas Links before, having teed-up in the Abu Dhabi Invitational - a celebrity team event - in 2016. Since the start of 2014, he has contested 15 European Tour events in the region, 12 of which have yielded top-six finishes. The 32-year-old will be desperate to make up for last November's final round collapse at the DP World Tour Championship, so find out more about Rory's form in the Middle East

Antoine Rozner: A two-time winner in the region, and was fourth in last November's AVIV Dubai Championship. Is a strong each-way possibility.

Check out latest betting ahead of April's Masters Tournament

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Note: List Contains Leading Reserves

Key For 2021 Events Table:
Jum E: DP World Tour Ch`ship
Jum F: Aviv Dubai Ch`ship
Qat: Qatar Masters
Sau: Saudi International
Emir: Dubai Desert Classis
Abu D: Abu Dhabi C`ship