My weekend with Tiger and Ernie...

ITS fair to say I had an eventful week in Dubai at the start of February.

Two opening 65s and rounds alongside Ernie Els and Tiger Woods is pretty exciting stuff. Of course, the icing on the cake would have been coming home with the title and what a maiden European Tour victory that would have been.

It didnt quite work out that way but it was still a magnificent week in the desert and one I am very proud of.

In some ways the best aspect of my success at the Dubai Desert Classic was the fact I arrived there on the back of a disappointing week at Abu Dhabi a fortnight previous.

You might recall in my column just before the Desert Swing I was very happy with how I was playing after a nice break over Christmas.

Unfortunately I never got going and missed the cut, which was disappointing.

I could have stayed around and waited for Dubai 10 days later (I wasnt playing in Qatar) but I decided I needed to work with my coach Kristian.

I sent him a text on Friday to say I was on my way home and that I wanted to work on my game thoroughly during the next week.

That started with a round at Wentworth on the Monday where he walked with me and filmed my swing on a few holes. The following day we analysed it alongside video of me from periods when I was playing very well.

Small but discernable differences were apparent, particularly with my posture and a little with my takeaway. We worked on that and got to grips with it.

Later in the week I went up to Urban Golf in London and played Bay Hill on the simulator and I also fitted in a round at St Georges Hill.

So, having left Abu Dhabi in poor spirits, several rounds and lots of coaching saw me leave Wentworth for Dubai with great expectations.

I had a useful practice round before I went to work on my short game. Here I concentrated on shots from around 100 yards a distance which I knew was going to be crucial for me during the week.

Right from the start I felt comfortable on the course. It suited my eye and I felt I could score well out there.

Adam and I had a frank chat about what went wrong in Abu Dhabi and we went out on the Thursday morning feeling very positive.
An opening 65 was exactly what we had hoped for, and as Adam said to me afterwards, it was like watching a different player from the one he had two weeks previous.

Often the player who scorches round on Thursday struggles to find the same form the following day, but thankfully that wasnt the case with me. In fact, I played even better than the first round and a second successive 65 seemed to come very easily
It sent me into the weekend leading the tournament and whats more, lining up alongside Els in the final grouping.

Theres no denying there were a few butterflies as I teed it up alongside the three-times Major champion but I coped pretty well with the whole experience. The spotlight was on and, all things considered, I felt fairly comfortable, which was very pleasing.

Nevertheless, I wasnt leading going into the final round but in many ways the heat was turned up even more. That tends to happen when one of your playing partners is T Woods.

The Els experience stood me in good stead though and I actually felt more comfortable as I prepared for the circus that follows Tiger.

Just as with Els, I concentrated on my own game and tried to ignore what went on around me. And, although I didnt win the tournament, it was a superb experience.

Beforehand, I probably expected Tiger to be totally absorbed in his own game, after all he was trying to win as much as I was, but in fact we had several long conversations as the round wore on.

He was a real gentleman and took a genuine interest in what I was saying. I was determined not to be in awe of him because I was trying to win, but it was nice that the world No 1, arguably the games best ever player and one of sports superstars was chatting away so pleasantly on the Sunday afternoon of a tournament he was trying to defend.

Of course, as much as I wanted to focus on my own game, I couldn't help but keep half an eye on what Tiger and Henrik Stenson were doing.

And, I was pleased to see that they are human like the rest of us and they play pretty much the same game! It was noticeable with Tiger, though, that at any green he misses he fancies holing the chip. Hes that confident in his short game.

Clearly he wasnt playing his best, but suddenly, out of nowhere, he produced a fabulous chip on 15, nearly made birdie at 16 and then picked up another shot at the last.

I had finished then and as I watched him line up his putt I thought to myself: This is going in. He didnt disappoint and got the birdie that took him one stroke ahead of me.

Needless to say, the weekend in Dubai has whetted my appetite for this kind of action. Its where I want to be and I am happy in my own mind I can get there.

I had a very memorable moment walking up the par-five 18th when Tiger asked me what club I'd hit for my second shot.

He said: Good shot, what did you hit, three iron? I showed him the club it was a five!

He told me: "You're young and strong, just keep plugging away. You can take a great deal from your performance this week and learn a lot from the experience".

I cant begin to tell you how much that meant coming from him.