England's David Horsey is hoping to kickstart his season by successfully defending his title at the Trophée Hassan II, set for March 22 - 25.
The event is held at the impressive Golf du Palais Royal, located inside the walls of the Royal Palace of Agadir in Morocco, a course normally exclusively reserved for His Majesty King Mohammed VI and his guests.
Players praised the Robert Trent Jones Snr. layout last year, and Horsey, who edged out South African Jaco van Zyl and Welshman Rhys Davies in a play-off to take the title, was no different.
"It's an awesome course so I'm looking forward to getting back there," the 26-year-old told europeantour.com. "It's always in mint condition because nobody ever plays it, and to play in a king's back garden is always something special. It's a great privilege.
"I haven't had the best start to the season (his best finish so far this year is 16th at the Volvo Golf Champions) but my game feels like it's slowly getting there, so I'll be looking forward to kick-starting the year in Morocco and I'll be giving it a good go to successfully defend my title.
"It's a course I've played very well on before, and if I can hole a few putts like last year there's no reason why I can't. There will be the added pressure of being defending champion, of course, but I've got to try and blank that out and just tackle the golf course as a fresh week."
Horsey still remember's last year's dramatic final well, when he and Davies both missed straightforward putts on the 18th hole to send them into a play-off with van Zyl.
"I had a putt from about four feet for bogey on the last to win it and missed, then Rhys had one from about three feet to win it and missed," he recalled. "And Jaco Van Zyl made par so it went to a three-way play-off. Jaco must have been shocked to be in a play-off.
"I missed the green right on the first extra hole but managed to get up and down. I had a bit of fortune because I hit the flag with my third shot, and if it hadn't have done so it was probably going off the green. I holed out from about eight feet, then at the second extra hole I hit a great shot to about four feet and made birdie to win it.
"That round was a bit of a rollercoaster because I started birdie-eagle, with a hole-in-one on the second, then I birdied the 17th to take a one shot lead down the last, but made double-bogey at the 18th. I did well to put that out of my mind and win the play-off."
This year also brings a change to the tournament format. The event was a pro-am in 2011, with two professionals and two amateurs per team for the first two rounds, played alternately over Golf du Palais Royal and the neighbouring Golf de L'Océan, but there will be no amateurs involved this year and Golf du Palais Royal will be the only course used.
"The other course was good too, but to play all four rounds on the Golf du Palais Royal is fantastic," added Horsey.
golf365.com