Dubai Desert Classic: The Majlis course where eagles land!

It’s just the end of the third round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, and we have already witnessed 45 eagles. That’s just two less than the all-time record of 47 made in 2001, when Thomas Bjorn hunted down Tiger Woods, who was making his Dubai debut.

The only other year when more than 40 eagles were made at Emirates Golf Club (the DP World Tour has records since 2001), was in 2005 when players went two-under for a hole 41 times.

So far, there hasn’t been a hole-in-one in the tournament (which is technically an eagle), but there have been 11 eagles on the par-5 13th and 14 on the par-5 18th.

The chances of a player making a hole-in-one, according to the National Hole-in-One Registry in the US, is 12,500 to 1. It’s slightly better for eagles, because it includes par-5s, many of which can be reached in two shots.

A unique aspect of eagles at the Majlis Course is how many of them happen on par-4 holes. The course has two drivable par-4s – the dogleg 359-yard 17th, which becomes a carry of around 300 yards as the crow flies, and the 351-yard second hole.

You thus have chances of making eagles on all four par-5 holes (only the third is over 600 yards), the par-3s and at least a couple of par-4s on the Majlis course.

Karl Litten’s design is a classic risk-and-reward layout, and the fact that players can make a lot of birdies and eagles is a major charm of watching golf at Emirates Golf Club.

Obviously, the scoring has been abetted by softer conditions and preferred lie rules in play. But it is still remarkable that some of these 45 eagles this year have come on holes that have proved unrelenting in the past.

Here are three such rare eagles…

Rory McIlroy, on 8th hole, 1st round:

This was part of the world No1’s sensational finish to his first round when he came back to the golf course on Friday and made a birdie on the seventh, an eagle on the 8th and a birdie on the ninth.

The last time someone made an eagle on the iconic 459-yard hole, was way back in 2009 – the year McIlroy won his first professional title – when Gary Murphy holed his second shot during the second round.

McIlroy made his with a choked-down 54-degree wedge second shot from 116 yards in the right desert.

Louis de Jager, on the 1st hole, 1st round:

The South African was tearing apart the golf course when he made an eagle two on the difficult par-4 first hole. De Jager reached seven-under par for 10 holes with that mesmerising eight-iron shot from 177 yards.

“The wind was off the right and the shot just pitched it about five feet left of the flag and actually got a nice bounce to the right. So, it was actually quite a lucky bounce,” said de Jager.

An eagle on the first is extremely rare, but in 2020, two players holed their second shots – England’s Jordan Smith on day two and China’s Wu Ashun on day three.

Shaun Norris, on 12th hole, 2nd round:

The big South African got his eagle on the long and difficult par-4 12th hole, where making a birdie seems like a task. And quite remarkably, just like compatriot de Jager, Norris also had a 177 yards second shot, and he used a nine-iron for his eagle.

“It actually was one of the better shots I’ve hit over the last year and a half. I hit it exactly where I wanted it, and it had a good flight. I didn’t see it go in, but I knew immediately it was a nice shot,” said Norris.

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