It will be a special return to Abu Dhabi when he tees up in next week’s 10th anniversary Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

Ten years ago Di Marco, accompanied by his caddying wife Amy, won the inaugural Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and thus joining a very select few to have won a regular European Tour event in their first appearance.

Di Marco was then aged 36 and ranked 11th on the World Rankings.

The Orlando-born golfer had won three times on the PGA Tour with his third and still his final win on the Tour being his one stroke victory in the 2002 Phoenix Open.

However Di Marco had captured the golfing world’s attention some nine months earlier before traveling to the UAE capital in finishing runner-up to then World No. 1 Tiger Woods at the 2005 Masters.

In just his fifth Augusta National appearance Di Marco burst up the leader board to head the opening round by a shot with a round of 67 and then by four following the second day’s play after signing for a second straight 67.

The Duke of York looks on as Chris Di Marco is handed the newest trophy in golf – the Abu Dhabi Championship.

However Di Marco struggled on day three opening the door to three-time Masters winner Tiger Woods after posting a 74 and fall three behind Woods.

The final round of the 2005 Masters was a real thriller coming down to a duel between Woods and Di. Marco.  DiMarco narrowed the three shot lead to one by the 11th with a second birdie in three holes after Woods had dropped a shot at the 10th. The lead stretched back to two when DiMarco bogeyed the 12th at the heart of Amen Corner, but a stunning approach on 14 set up a birdie for DiMarco and cut the gap back to one.

Both players birdied 15 and set up a dramatic and memorable 16th hole.

Woods pulled his tee shot just off the green and then in one of the most dramatic chip shots in the history of the game, and what proved a priceless piece of advertising for sports giant Nike, Woods made a sensational chip, aiming 20 feet (6 m) to the left of the hole and using the sloping green to run the ball towards the hole. The ball crept towards the cup and appeared to stop on the lip of the hole before toppling in for a dramatic birdie.

DiMarco missed his birdie putt and the lead grew back to two with just two to play. Woods pushed his drive on 17 leading to a bogey, cutting the lead to one as they went to the 72nd hole.

Woods approach on 18 ended up in the greenside bunker while DiMarco ended up just short of the green. DiMarco’s chip for birdie hits the pin rebounds ten feet away when it could easily have jammed in the hole. Woods hit his chip to 14 feet (4 m), but missed his par putt to win.

DiMarco stepped forward to calmly sink his 10-foot (3 m) putt to force a playoff.

The previous six sudden-death playoffs (since 1979) at Augusta had began at the 10th hole; this was the first to start at the 18th hole, where both put their drives in the fairway. Woods knocked his approach to 15-feet (4.6 m) but DiMarco ended up just short of the green, the same spot he was at the end of regulation.

DiMarco knocked his chip to five feet (1.6 m), but Woods buried his birdie putt to win his fourth green jacket and ninth Major.

It was the second straight Major that DiMarco lost in a playoff after he had finished the bridesmaid to to Vijay Singh in the 2004 PGA Championship.

Abu Dhabi sponsors jumped at Di. Marco’s popularity and affording him an invitation to join those in January 2006 competing in Abu Dhabi for a first occasion.

It was Di Marco’s first appearance in a regular Tour event and with wife Amy on the bag, it was very much like a holiday for the Florida couple.  He signed for a first round 71 to by lying in a share of 22nd place before a day two 67 pushed his up to a tie for fifth.

Chris Di Marco captures the very first Abu Dhabi Championship with his wife Amy on the bag.

However things got a little more serious for the Di Marco’s when they teamed to shoot a new National Course record of 63 that put Di Marco into second place and just a shot behind Sweden’s Henrik Stenson.

DiMarco then stormed to success in posting a final round 67 for a 20 under par total of 268 and a one shot victory over Stenson, who pushed the American all the way to the final green. The Swede began the day with a one shot lead but his closing 69 saw him finish one shot behind the American with a 19 under par total of 269.

There at the presentation ceremony to see Di Maro handed the newest trophy in professional golf was the Duke of York.

“It is four years to the month since I have been in the winner’s circle,” said Di Marco at the time.

“Like I said on Wednesday, a win, anywhere is great and this was an unbelievable field this week.  I think we had four guys in the top 11 in the world here, so we had a very good field.  Henrik played great and obviously Sergio played real good today.

“I just played good, solid golf all week.  The first day was really, really difficult, the wind, and then it was a little bit less.  And then I got off to a great start today, which really helped obviously calm everything down.

“It put me up in front where I didn’t have to feel like I had to make birdies and I could put it in the middle of the green.  That’s the key in the wind is just giving yourself opportunities and just trying to take advantage of some when you have a chance.”

Di Marco returned to the European Tour five months later and for a second occasion in his career he finished runner-up to Woods in a Major and this time two shots behind in the 2006 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Di Marco competed in one other regular European Tour event and that was the 2008 Ballantines Championship ending in a share of 18th place.

He continued to ply his trade on the PGA Tour but failed to repeat the efforts of 2006 and in fact since then has yet to record a top-three finish.

In fact, the present No. 1189th world ranked golfer, contested just seven events last year whereas he entered two of the 2014/15 PGA Tour wraparound events but missing the cut in both.

Nowadays Di Marco is seen more on the Golf Channel where he works as an analyst.

But there is one thing that you can’t take away from Chris Di Marco and that’s his name of one of the most stunning trophies in all of golf – the gleaming ‘Silver Falcon’ presented each year to the winner of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

And for that reason it will be a very welcome return to Abu Dhabi and that National course for the events first winner.