GOLF – Yannik Paul is ready to kickstart his season at the Bahrain Championship presented by Bapco Energies after posting two top ten finishes in his first three starts of 2024.
The German, who won the 2022 Mallorca Golf Open, showed supreme consistency on the 2023 Race to Dubai, missing just four cuts from 26 appearances and posting seven top tens in the process.
After taking time out after the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, he has started 2024 with top tens either side of a missed cut at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, and he is hoping to use his hot finish in Ras Al Khaimah, where he posted two birdies and an eagle in his last five holes, to charge towards more honours on the DP World Tour.
“I was really happy last week,” said Paul. “Had a good finish on the back nine to make it a good week. I haven’t played really well there before so it was nice to get a good finish. Especially because I played well in the first event but struggled in the second, so it was nice to keep the momentum going and get a good second top ten to get the season started.
“I putted pretty nicely. The driving was good on the first day and then the second to the fourth day, my iron game, which is usually my strongest part, was getting better and I was hitting it solid all week. You need to make quite a few birdies there and I was able to make some of them so it was a good week overall.”
This week’s event at Royal Golf Club sees the DP World Tour return to Bahrain for the first time in 13 years, with Denmark’s Thomas Bjørn one of only 11 players teeing it up this week who competed in 2011.
The 15-time DP World Tour winner and 2018 Ryder Cup winning captain was announced as the captain of the Denmark Olympic Golf Team for this year’s Games at Le Golf National.
“The course is good, very good,” said Bjørn. ‘I think it builds on the first three weeks really. Conditions have been amazing this year and we’ve got people working very hard to produce some great venues and this is another one that sets up nicely. Most of the guys in the field weren’t here when we played here last time so it will be a new experience for them, but it’s a nice week, a nice place and we enjoy golf courses like this. It’s a bit different. The first three weeks have been flat greens, a lot of small greens, and this week they’re big, undulating and they ask a lot of questions, different questions to the first three weeks.
“I think it is important for golf in our country that it is an Olympic sport and that we try with the talent that we have to see if we can win some medals because in a country like Denmark it can change the view of a sport and it can be part of a national movement which the Olympics always is for a small country. To try and win a medal is a big goal of ours and with the talent we have I see no reason why we couldn’t.”
One player who will hoping to represent Denmark in Paris is Rasmus Højgaard, who arrives in Bahrain having finished second at last week’s Ras Al Khaimah Championship behind countryman Thorbjørn Olesen.
Local representation comes from Fahad Mubarak, Ahmed AlZayed, Khalifa AlMaraisi. Mubarak and AlMaraisi will tee off at 8am from the first and 10th tees respectively while AlZayed gets his tournament underway at 12.40pm from the 10th.
Soud Al Shareef of Saudi is also in the field, teeing off at 8.10am from the 10th while the UAE’s Joshua Grenville-Wood, who posted an impressive tied ninth place finish at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship last week will be in action from the first at 11am.
General admission to the Bahrain Championship is free of charge for spectators while there are also a host of premium experiences available.
All tickets will include access to the tournament’s Village Square, which will boast a wealth of activities for the whole family to enjoy. Little ones will be entertained in the Kids Zone with face painting, glitter stations and roaming entertainers while Seef properties are providing 100 Play Vouchers. There will also be live music after play every day from local bands, free golf lessons, food trucks and an activation dedicated to Bahraini culture will ensure fans enjoy the off-course action just as much as the thrilling golf on offer at Royal Golf Club.
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