Defending champion Martin Kaymer admits returning to the Abu Dhabi Golf Championships this week will bring back some fond memories.
The 24-year-old clinched his maiden European Tour victory there a year ago, and then went on to enjoy a superb season, winning the BMW International and ending up eighth on the Order of Merit.
"That was my first win on the European Tour so that's always very special," said Kaymer, who narrowly missed out on a place in Nick Faldo's Ryder Cup team.
"It was a big event and I won the first tournament of the year so that gave me a lot of motivation for the rest of the season.
"The win over here was very important to me, especially early in my career. It showed that I could win a tournament.
"It was very special when I came to the golf club yesterday. It was nice to walk down the 18th yesterday. It was a very special moment for me last year."
Englishman Paul Casey will also be among a strong field at the United Arab Emirates tournament and is feeling confident and refreshed after a month's break.
"I'm very much looking forward to 2009," said the 31-year-old.
"I feel like I have prepared well. I had some nice time off after the HSBC Champions, and then played Tiger's event (the Chevron World Challenge last month) and used that to review aspects I needed to knuckle down hard on and worked very hard for the last two weeks before coming here.
"I feel good about the game and I'm looking forward to having a good 2009."
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