Callum Nicoll relishes dream Dubai test

The 28-year-old from Irvine, who relocated to Dubai in October of 2009, came through the 18-hole qualifying round a fortnight ago to earn a place in a stellar field that includes Lee Westwood and Tiger Woods as well as a host of Scottish European Tour regulars.

As the golf operations manager of the Els Club at Dubai Sports City, Nicoll usually has little time to prepare for his rare competitive outings on the local PGA circuit but his build-up to this week's championship has been more meticulous.

"This is different from a normal event," said the former Scottish Young Professionals' champion. "Due to work commitments, it's not realistic to prepare like this for every event but over the past 10 days I've managed to spend a lot of time on all aspects of my game.

"It's a course for challenging all parts of the game and the yardage is longer than anything we play our regular events on. My short game will have to be sharp and I've been focusing a lot on my putting, especially from 10 feet and in as the guys that score well will always hole from that range.

"I've played in the European Tour's qualifying school, a Challenge Tour event and Open qualifying but this is the biggest event I've been involved in. I'm keeping my aims realistic and, hopefully when it comes I can focus on my game and enjoy it."

Nicoll forms part of an 11-strong Scottish contingent in Dubai and will be joined in the line-up by the likes of Colin Montgomerie, Stephen Gallacher and Paul Lawrie as well as Marc Warren, who has been handed another late invitation from the sponsors.

Meanwhile, Westwood has joined an elite group of golfers by being awarded honorary life membership of the European Tour. "I have always loved the Tour and the people surrounding it - it has played a huge part in my life and I will cherish this honour for the rest of my life," said the World No 1.