The Peter Cowen Diary: Players will be looking to get their season off to a flier in Dubai

Is it really Wednesday already? The weeks go by so much quicker or so it seems.

The second Pro-Am is today with a two-tee morning start.

These Pro-Ams are always a highlight for sponsors and supporters – for some sponsors, it is perhaps the highlight – engaging the top players with their key customers and so much more.

The non-Pro-Am pros get to play in the afternoon to practice on the Majlis Course.

Just an update on my three players I am looking after this week

Padraig Harrington (Ire) hit some balls on the range and is up with his speed again although he has not played golf for over one month following his pneumonia.

Some of the players are match-fit and tournament-sharp – whereas others are still, in many cases, playing only their first tournament of the year. Each player comes into the new year with a different mindset – after all, it is a very long year.

Chile’s Joaquin Niemann is an excellent player. Just 25 years old and one of my LIV Golf Tour players he can surely go a long way in the game. He has been as high as 15 in the OWGR and has collected two PGA Tour wins as well.

Italy’s Guido Migliozzi, who is a Dubai resident and played nicely last week at the Creek was up practising and playing yesterday.

I walked 17,500 steps with Guido around the golf course. My knees are not great and I am not sure this is what I needed.

Looking for likely winners this week – it is difficult to ignore last week’s 1-2, Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy.

Adrian Meronk (Pol), has plenty of local knowledge and congratulations to him on winning the Seve Ballesteros Award that he received yesterday on the range – very well deserved.

Adrian, with all his local support, can do well on this course. So can so many others, in this quality field.

This week is so important to so many.