I headed up to the course early on Tuesday morning to play a practice round and was greeted by the Emirates course in great condition, the rough didn't seem as thick as previous years and the greens were so smooth and true. I hit it nicely in my practice round and after a bit of work on Wednesday I was looking forward to the week ahead. When you return to the same courses year after year you use the practice round more to get a feel of the course as you already have a pretty good idea of your strategy. I didn't play great on Thursday and really struggled at times but the second round was much better and with a better day on the greens could have been in the mid 60's, 5 weeks in a row is a lot of golf and this really showed. I managed to change my flight and headed home on Saturday morning with not much to show for the five-week trip and yet another appalling desert swing... next year, maybe next year, things will be different!!!

I have a few weeks off now till my next event and am planning a heavy four weeks of practice and the gym, anyone who doesn't know I have lost 60lbs over the last few months and feel like the next step to get stronger and fitter.