The South African legend — winner of the Desert Classic in 1994 and 2002 — remarkably remains the only man to have lifted the trophy on more than one occasion and the news that he has his sights set on title number three has been warmly welcomed by event organisers.

“Dubai has become one of the most popular sporting venues in the world with many star names lining up to play here, “ said Mohammed Ali Alabbar, Chairman of the Dubai Desert Classic Executive Committee, organisers and promoters of the event.

“But as sports fans ourselves we always get a thrill when the real superstars of the game agree to play in Dubai and there are few bigger names in golf than Ernie Els. I’m delighted he has again agreed to join us as he is a great friend of the Desert Classic as well as one of the best players in the world.”

The confirmed appearance of Els means the Dubai Aluminium (Dubal)-sponsored tournament will again mean high demand from the public when tickets go on sale from January 1, 2005.

A hugely popular player with the galleries, Els will head to Dubai after one of the most consistent seasons in his career saw him go painfully close to adding to his three Majors.

The ‘Big Easy’ certainly had a chance to win all four big titles. Only a birdie putt on the 18th by Phil Mickelson at Augusta, stopped him from winning the coveted green jacket, while at the US Open he went into the final round poised to make amends for his Masters heartbreak only to see fellow countryman Retief Goosen collect his second US Open title.

Els was looking at ‘third time lucky’ when he arrived in Britain for the Open and when he went into a playoff against the unheralded American Todd Hamilton, Els appeared poised to lift the Claret Jug for a second time. But the American edged him, leaving a frustrated Els wondering what he had to do to win another major.

In the PGA championship at Whistling Straits, Els missed the three-man playoff by a single stroke as Vijay went on to defeat Justin Leonard and Chris DiMarco.

Despite narrowly missing out on the big prizes, Els will have been pleased with his consistency to play well in the Majors and he still ended the season with a record sixth HSBC World Matchplay title and a convincing number one position on the European Tour Order of Merit.

“There’s certainly a lot for me to play for in my career the next five, six years,” said the 35-year-old father of two. “I want to give it a good go.”

The holder of the Majlis Course record of 61, Els is certainly no stranger to Dubai. In addition to his love for the Emirates Golf Club, he is also putting his distinctive design style on the emirate’s golfing landscape with ‘The Dunes’ course located in the prestigious Victory Heights golf residential development, which is a part of Dubai Sports City.