Rory McIlroy returns to Yas Links with his sights set on finally capturing the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and taking a commanding step toward winning the Race to Dubai for an unprecedented seventh time, as the DP World Tour Playoffs tee off this week.
The Northern Irishman’s record in Abu Dhabi is stellar yet bittersweet, with four runner-up and five third-place finishes in 13 appearances, but never the elusive Falcon Trophy. A win this week would give McIlroy his fifth Rolex Series title, tying the record. It would mark the perfect end to a career-defining season highlighted by his Masters triumph, completing the Career Grand Slam, an emotional Irish Open victory, and a Ryder Cup win in New York.
Two of McIlroy’s Ryder Cup teammates, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton, arrive in Abu Dhabi in excellent form and with strong personal connections to the event.
Fleetwood, fresh from winning the FedExCup and the inaugural DP World India Championship, first lifted the Falcon Trophy in 2017 en route to being named European Number One, and again a year later. “This event will always hold a special place in my career,” he said, recalling how his 2017 win marked a turning point after a difficult 2016 season. “It would be great to finish the year strong.”
Hatton, ranked third in the Race to Dubai, is also chasing momentum after his runner-up finish at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. The Englishman, who began 2025 with a win at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, now hopes to end the year with another UAE triumph. “It’s one of the iconic events on Tour,” said Hatton. “The wind and tricky greens make it a proper test, but it always feels special coming back here.”
Despite McIlroy’s current lead, the Race to Dubai remains wide open. With 3500 points available across the final two events and Marco Penge trailing by fewer than 500 points, even a win in Abu Dhabi may not seal the title just yet. “I’ll need to play well these next couple of weeks,” McIlroy admitted. “I’ve got good records here and at the Earth Course, so if I perform the way I know I can, everything should fall into place.”
As the desert sun rises over Yas Links, the stage is set for three Ryder Cup stars, one legendary prize, and the promise of a thrilling run to Dubai.
About the DP World Tour
The DP World Tour is the main men’s professional golf tour of the European Tour group.
As golf’s global tour, we showcase global talent in global destinations and use our platform to build, entertain and connect our global community.
GLOBAL TALENT: We provide pathways and a platform for the leading international talent, bringing together golfing icons, national heroes and emerging stars from around the world.
GLOBAL DESTINATIONS: We stage tournaments in iconic cities and locations around the world and each week we celebrate and showcase the rich diversity of the courses, cities and cultures we visit.
GLOBAL COMMUNITY: We build, entertain and connect communities through our commitment to innovation, creative content and having a positive social and environmental impact.
Our 2025 Global Schedule features 42 tournaments in 26 different countries and comprises three distinct phases: five ‘Global Swings’, the ‘Back 9’ and the ‘DP World Tour Play-Offs’. It features five Rolex Series events – the premium category of events on the DP World Tour – and four Major Championships, all of which count towards the Race to Dubai Rankings, the Tour’s season-long competition which concludes at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
DP World, the leading provider of global smart end-to-end supply chain and logistics solutions, has been the title partner of the DP World Tour since the start of the 2022 season, the Tour’s 50th season following its formation in 1972.
We also enjoy the support of many of the world’s leading business brands with DP World, Rolex, Aldar, BMW, Buffalo Trace Distillery, Emirates, Fortinet and Vestas as Official Partners.
About the European Tour group
The European Tour group administers the DP World Tour, the HotelPlanner Tour, the Legends Tour and the G4D Tour and, as the Managing Partner of Ryder Cup Europe LLP, stages golf’s greatest team contest, the Ryder Cup, in partnership with the PGA of America.
The European Tour group has Strategic Partnerships with the PGA TOUR, the Sunshine Tour, the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, the China Golf Association (CGA), the Japan Golf Tour Organization (JGTO), the Korea Professional Golfers’ Association (KPGA), and the TATA Steel Professional Golf Tour of India. These partnerships provide global pathways for players from across the world to compete internationally on the DP World Tour, the main men’s professional golf Tour of the European Tour group which was established in 1972, as well as the HotelPlanner Tour.
About the Rolex Series
The Rolex Series is the premium category of events on the DP World Tour, comprising five tournaments in 2025, staged in a variety of world-class golfing locations around the globe, each with a minimum prize fund of US$9 million.
Showcasing innovation, enriched media, content and broadcast coverage, and a superior event experience for both fans and for the world’s top players, the list of Rolex Series Champions includes some of golf’s most distinguished names.
The Rolex Series was launched in 2017, coinciding with the 20th anniversary of Rolex’s enduring partnership with the European Tour group.
In 2025, the Rolex Series comprises: the Hero Dubai Desert Classic (January 16-19), the Genesis Scottish Open (July 10-13) the BMW PGA Championship (September 11-14), the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship (November 6-9) and the DP World Tour Championship (November 13-16). The latter two events comprise the DP World Tour Play-Offs and feature the leading 70 and 50 players from the Race to Dubai respectively.
About Abu Dhabi Sports Council
Abu Dhabi Sports Council (ADSC) was established in 2006 by His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the president of United Arab Emirates.
ADSC is aligned to the emirate’s leadership vision to develop sport and youth activities. The Council promotes an effective, emirate-wide sports calendar that stimulates the desire to participate in quality sports among all Abu Dhabi residents and helps the talented and motivated reach their sporting potential.
ADSC believes that global and community sporting events provide many positive opportunities, most notably the encouragement of all segments and groups of society to practice sports activities.
Vision – Abu Dhabi: An international capital for sport practice, competitiveness, & international events.
Mission – To establish an environment that contributes towards promoting the importance of sport practice and sport programs for all segments of the community, and to implement the best and latest international systems that promote competing at local, regional, and international levels.
A global destination for sport – Abu Dhabi Sports Council supports the organization and hosting of many international sporting events in Abu Dhabi.
