Grace eyes fast start to new year at Abu Dhabi

Branden Grace is looking to hit the ground running in 2017 when he tees it up in the HSBC Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

The South African ace will line up in a strong field for the first leg of European Tour’s desert swing on January 19 in a area of the world where he has enjoyed success.

The 28-year-old has won the last two editions of the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters, with a two-shot victory over Rafael Cabrera-Bello and Thorbjorn Olesen 12 months ago.

He has yet to win in Abu Dhabi but did manage to secure a share of fifth place in January 2016 and is keen to better that result this time around.

“I should be well and truly warmed up and ready,” he said after revealing he will spend two weeks playing in Hawaii prior to the event. “I?m sure everyone wants to start the year on a high and I?m no different. I would love to win the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

“It is a really strong field so obviously coming out on top would give me huge confidence going into the rest of the year.”

Grace currently sits at 17th in the world rankings and could be a serious contender in the majors, having claimed top-five finishes in both the US Open and US PGA Championship last year.

Tagged Branden Grace