Lee left snowy Worksop and flew to Dubai on Friday, to enable him to get in four day's practice ready for the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, which takes place at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates. Lee played in this event for the first time in 2008, when he finished in T2nd place.
Over the New Year break, Lee holidayed in Barbados, "I did manage to play Sandy Lane four times while I was there. You know, I was just playing, I wasn't practising, and I wasn't particularly thinking about it, either. But at least I was going through the motions", he said.
"Obviously it does suit a long hitter", he commented about the course, "but being in the rough all the time, that advantage is going to be taken away.
So long, straight driving is going to be a big advantage as it is on most courses, but it's an even larger premium on it here I think, especially with the greens being firm. Obviously if you can go into the greens and out of the fairway with a short club, you'll have a massive advantage.
He joined Paul Casey and Geoff Ogilvy for the first two rounds. With a 7.40 (GMT+4hrs) tee-time from the 10th on Thursday, he put in a solid performance, and with a five-birdie, two-bogey 69, Lee lies in T25th place, four shots behind the leaders. He had a 12.05 start from the 1st on Friday, but tumbled down the leaderboard when he bogeyed six of the first eleven holes. A 6-over 78 saw him miss the weekend.
