Rory McIlroy, Justin Thomas Will Play In Abu Dhabi

Rory McIlroy is on extended vacation and Justin Thomas just won the PNC Championship with his father, Mike.

The two stars announced last week that they will both play in the season opener for the European Tour — the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Thomas is expected to start his season at the PGA Tour’s Tournament of Champions in Hawaii while the Abu Dhabi event will be McIlroy’s first 2021 appearance.

This season-opener for the European Tour is a big one — one of four Rolex Series events that carry an overall purse of $8 million.

The desert event will be staged January 21-24, opposite the PGA Tour’s American Express Championship in LaQuinta.  Thomas will be making just his four-ever European start.  He has previously played at the Alfred Dunhill Links in 2013, the French Open in 2018 and the 2019 Scottish Open.  McIlroy has been a familiar face in Abu Dhabi where he’s finished runner-up four times but hasn’t won.

“It’s always a great event for the players and it’s the perfect place for me to start the 2021 season,” McIlroy said.

“I’m excited to play for the first time in Abu Dhabi,” Thomas said. “I’ve heard really great things about the course, and with it being the first Rolex Series tournament of the year, I’m sure it is going to deliver a strong field.”

Another reason to travel there is the big appearance fees that European Tour events are allowed to pay to attract the world’s top players.

Danielle Kang Wins Vare Trophy For LPGA Tour:

Danielle Kang didn’t have the greatest of finishes over the months of the LPGA Tour’s 2020 season but she did earn a big honor after Sunday’s final round at the CME Group  Tour Championship.

Kang shot rounds of 71-75-70-69 and finished tied for 30th at three-under par.  More importantly, she finished the year with a scoring average of 70.082 and won the Vare Trophy for low scoring average on tour.

“At the end of the round, I looked at my caddie and said, ‘We won the Vare.’ That is an accomplishment in all cases,” Kang said.  She hit 13 of 14 fairways today and 14 greens in regulation over the final 18 holes on Sunday at Tiburon.   “This one feels like a really good mark in my career, that I was able to do it and accomplished it. I can look back on the 2020 season and at the Vare Trophy, and that’s part of it.

“To be part of the legends (past Vare winners), I just want to make them proud moving forward as well, because they left this game for us and they left this stage for us, and I wish that I can do that for the future.”