McIlroy commits to Abu Dhabi as Play-Offs stay in the UAE

Rory McIlroy has confirmed he will play the Abu Dhabi Championship, 5–8 November at Yas Links and the first of the tour’s two Play-Off events, as the tournament announced a new title partner. The DP World Tour’s season finale looks set to stay in the Gulf.

A week ago the question was whether the Play-Offs would happen in the UAE at all. As we reported on 26 September, some players, Matt Fitzpatrick among them, had said they were uneasy about travelling to the region, and reports suggested the tour had looked at Sotogrande in Spain as a back-up.

The DP World Tour said Abu Dhabi developer Aldar, which owns Yas Links and was already an official partner of the event, will become title partner. The tournament will be known as the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship. The format is unchanged: the field is the top 70 available players on the Race to Dubai Rankings, and the top 50 after Abu Dhabi go on to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, at Jumeirah Golf Estates, on 12–15 November. England’s Aaron Rai is the defending champion in Abu Dhabi.

McIlroy said in the tour’s announcement that he enjoys ending his season in the UAE. He has finished runner-up in Abu Dhabi four times without winning it, and has previously said he trusts local authorities not to put visitors at risk.

According to Golf Monthly, Patrick Reed leads the Race to Dubai on 3,423.62 points, with McIlroy second on 3,115.86, a gap of 307.76. Reed withdrew from the BMW PGA Championship and skipped this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links with a wrist injury, as we reported, but Golf Monthly reports he has been confirmed for the finale in Dubai. An eighth Race to Dubai title for McIlroy would draw him level with Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight European Order of Merit and Race to Dubai wins. We think Reed against McIlroy is the best two-man race the tour could have hoped for in 2026.

The tour has not formally dropped its contingency plans. Fitzpatrick, who won the Open de France last month and is playing the Dunhill Links this week, has said that as things stand he would not be comfortable travelling.

Sources

• DP World Tour: Aldar named title partner of the Abu Dhabi Championship as Rory McIlroy confirms UAE return
• Golfmagic: Rory McIlroy makes expected Abu Dhabi announcement with Race to Dubai title in sight
• Golf Monthly: Rory McIlroy confirmed for Abu Dhabi as DP World Tour Play-Offs continue as planned
• Gulf News: Rory McIlroy confirms Abu Dhabi Championship return at Yas Links
• Sky Sports: Guy Kinnings confirms plan to stage Play-Offs in Middle East