The stage is set for a blockbuster start to the DP World Tour Play-Offs as England’s Marco Penge prepares to tee it up alongside Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton in the opening rounds of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links.
After a sensational 2025 season that has seen him claim three titles, the Hainan Classic, Danish Golf Championship, and Open de España presented by Madrid Penge now sits second in the Race to Dubai Rankings, trailing only World No. 2 McIlroy by 441 points. With just two Rolex Series events remaining, the 25-year-old has a genuine shot at capturing the Harry Vardon Trophy, crowning what has been a breakout year.
“It’s surreal, really,” said Penge. “I’ve always believed in my ability, but I’m still in disbelief at how quickly everything has happened. To now play alongside one of the best in the world, someone I’ve looked up to for years, is special. I know the adrenaline will be there, but that’s when I usually play my best golf.”
Penge’s journey has been marked by resilience. From early stints on the EuroPro Tour to overcoming injury setbacks, his progression to Europe’s elite stage has been rapid and well-earned. “Every tour I’ve played, I’ve improved in my second year,” he added. “It might look like I came out of nowhere, but this has been years in the making.”
Meanwhile, Robert MacIntyre, World No. 7, returns to action after a much-needed four-week break following a dream stretch in late September and early October, when he helped Europe reclaim the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black and then became the first Scot in two decades to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
“It’s been a long season,” said MacIntyre. “That time off helped me mentally and physically. I’ve been training, getting stronger, and I feel ready. The goal this week is simple: give myself a chance to win on Sunday and stay in the hunt for the Race to Dubai.”
The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is the penultimate Rolex Series event of the 2025 season, preceding the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. Both tournaments form the Tour’s Play-Offs, featuring the leading 70 and 50 players from the Race to Dubai, respectively.
As golf’s global tour, the DP World Tour continues to showcase world-class talent across 42 tournaments in 26 countries, celebrating diversity, culture, and competition at the highest level. The Rolex Series, with marquee events in Dubai, Scotland, England, and the UAE, remains the pinnacle of its calendar, offering elevated prize funds, elite fields, and global prestige.
With McIlroy eyeing another season crown, Penge chasing his idol, and MacIntyre looking to continue his fairytale run, Yas Links promises an electrifying start to the final stretch of the 2025 DP World Tour season.
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 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 Duba,i 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 the United Arab Emirates.
ADSC is aligned with 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 sports 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.
