“I still believe my best golf is ahead of me”

JUSTIN ROSE WILL MAKE HIS FIRST APPEARANCE AT EMIRATES GOLF CLUB SINCE 2009 HAPPILY SUBSCRIBING TO THE THEORY THAT LIFE BEGINS AT 40

- Kent Gray

I thought 2020 sounded like a fun and cool year. I was turning 40 and I had a few birthday plans in the summer and everything got cancelled and rearranged because the pandemic was progressing. The layers of complication around logistics were also one of the biggest things for us as we had to make sure we have the correct documentations to travel, quarantining upon arrival, all of these things made the situation much more complicated to handle. But from the health point of view I realised that we are very fortunate.

I do feel very lucky that none of my family has any health challenges and scares with Covid-19, although some of us have tested positive. My mom is the one we are trying to protect, she is in her 70s, she is the matriarch of the family and I think all of that behaviour is aligned to keeping her safe. Watching her have to bear the brunt of it, to be isolated, to be more vulnerable, has been very difficult to watch this year.

I am excited to return to the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic for the first time since 2009. It is a great run of events, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Saudi Arabia. Dubai has always been a place where I love playing in, I have always enjoyed the season ending event, the DP World Tour Championship, but to have the opportunity to play the OMEGA Dubai Desert Classic fits really well in that three-week run is really fun.