The field for the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic includes players from the United States, New Zealand, plus most places in between. And yet the halfway lead is held by a player who can see the course from his apartment.
Ewen Ferguson lives on the 51st floor of a tower block in Dubai Marina. For the tee-shot on the spectacular eighth hole at the Majlis Course, the target line is basically his bedroom.
A bit of local knowledge is serving him well at present. After two rounds, the Scotsman is on 12-under, giving him a one-stroke lead.
That was brought about by an eagle at the last hole of his second round that was unconventional, unless you know the intricacies of the Emirates.
Club members who have played the Classic in the past have suggested the hospitality areas that horseshoe around the shared ninth/18th green are one of the few things that make tournament week more manageable than the rest of the year.
Over the rest of the layout, the rough is up, the pins are moodily placed, but the pop up stands at the last at least provide a back board for shots that go long.
That is precisely what happened with Ferguson’s approach into the storied par-5. It flew the green, whacked into the boards, and rolled back to less than five feet.
If that was a slice of fortune, it was well earned. For the previous 35 holes, he had yet to drop a shot. His immaculate second round 7-under 65 followed a neat 67 on Day 1.
“On 18 I had a little bit of luck but I felt as though I would have made birdie anyway. To make eagle was even better,” Ferguson said.
“I have a 7-wood and a 3-wood. A 7-wood goes so high and it was a bit into the wind. It was later in the day, cooling down, and I thought, I’m not finishing like that after how well I’ve played.
“I thought if I just go over the green and if I go into the drop zone I can splash out to 15 feet. I felt like I would have made birdie anyway.
“It was a little bit of luck but the game kicks you enough so we will take it.”
When he wakes up on Friday morning, Ferguson will not just be looking down on Emirates Golf Club from his high-rise apartment. From his perch at the top of the leaderboard, he will be looking down on some of the most gilded names in his sport, too.
Daniel Hillier is closest to him, on 11-under. Beyond that, Tyrrell Hatton has a share of third place on 8-under, Patrick Reed and Tommy Fleetwood are in a group on 5-under, while Rory McIlroy is tied for 33rd on 3-under. European Ryder Cup stars Jon Rahm and Viktor Hovland, meanwhile, did not make it to the weekend.
“It is my first event of 2025 so I can’t complain too much,” Ferguson said. “I have worked hard on a lot of things off the course, trying to stay as healthy as possible, and stay as happy as possible.
“There is way more to life than playing golf. I have not really had that mindset in the past three or four years, but I am just trying to enjoy it, realise how good I can be when I’m good, and make the most of that.
“I’m going to go and try and win, as I have three times before. You need a little bit of luck to win, but ultimately the goal will be to stay in the mix going into Sunday.
“If I can do that, it would be incredible. That is all you can do and if not I will come back next year and try and do the same.”
Tickets for the weekend are now sold out, and the biggest crowd favourite – McIlroy – has his work cut out if he has to retain his title.
After his 1-under-par 71 on Friday he is nine shots back. A recovery from there might seem fanciful were it not for the fact it’s McIlroy, and he did similar last year.
Halfway through that event he was 10 shots back, only to tear up the Majlis on the Saturday on his way to the title. He has not given up hope of doing similar this time around.
“I’d say the winning score isn't going to be much above what the leader is right now, especially the way the course is going to play over the weekend, and the especially [given the way] this golf course has played over the weekend the last couple years,” McIlroy said.
“The greens will continue to get a little bit firmer. It will put such a premium on putting it in the fairway and hitting a lot of greens. If I can focus on that over the weekend, get a couple of putts to drop, I think I've still got a decent chance.”
