The DP World Tour season gets back under way in 2026 with the return of the Dubai Invitational - the first event of the International Swing. Here are your five things to know.
Fleetwood defends
Tommy Fleetwood will be looking to bring his momentum from 2025 into the new season as he defends the title he won two years ago at Dubai Creek Resort. The Englishman - up to a career-high third in the Official World Golf Ranking - has finished first, second and third in his last three starts and is on the hunt for DP World Tour win number nine. In 2024, he entered the final day one shot clear of McIlroy but he was one back stood on the 18th tee before the Northern Irishman found the water and made a bogey, with Fleetwood holing from 16 feet for a 67, a 19 under total and the inaugural title. "I'm very happy," said Dubai resident Fleetwood. "It was amazing winning. Like almost everybody else in the world of golf, I don't win anywhere near as much as I would like to but just that winning feeling is great. This is obviously where I live and have a lot of support. It's great to kick off the year with a great result and push on from here."
Dubai Invitational returns
Two years on from its first staging, the Dubai Invitational returns to the DP World Tour global schedule this week. The event sees a 72-hole strokeplay tournament played concurrently with a three-day Pro-Am team event, with Sunday featuring professionals only. Dubai Creek Resort, a European Tour Destinations venue, welcomes a field of 60 professional DP World Tour golfers and 60 amateur golfers with no cut and US$2.75million and 3,500 Race to Dubai points on offer. This week is the first of three events in Dubai and four in the UAE on the 2026 schedule.
McIlroy headlines stellar field
While many fans may be hoping for a repeat of the 2024 showdown between World Numbers Two and Three McIlroy and Fleetwood on Sunday, the duo will need to keep a high-class field at bay for that to happen. Thriston Lawrence finished second alongside McIlroy two years ago and he tees it up along with fellow South African and Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World leader Jayden Schaper. There is also plenty of Major muscle on display with McIlroy joined by fellow Masters champions Patrick Reed and Danny Willett and Open winners Francesco Molinari, Pádraig Harrington and Shane Lowry. Out of the 60 players in the field only three do not have a DP World Tour victory but impressive 2025 rookies Angel Ayora, Jacob Skov Olesen and Oliver Lindell could all mount a serious challenge.
Start of the International Swing
This week sees the start of the International Swing, the second of five Global Swings on the 2026 Race to Dubai. Next week we head across the Emirate for the season's first Rolex Series event at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic before further stops in the Middle East at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship and Qatar Masters. There is then a week's break before we head to Africa for the Magical Kenya Open, Investec South African Open Championship and Joburg Open. The player who wins the most points across those seven events (points at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic are capped to 5,000) will win the Swing and gain entry into all events in Phase Two of the season - the Back 9 - and a US$200,000 bonus, with a place at the Genesis Scottish Open also up for grabs. At the conclusion of the Back 9, the top 70 players on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World will then return to the UAE for the start of Phase Three of the season - the DP World Tour Play-Offs.
Schaper chasing history
In the history of the DP World Tour, only two players have won three consecutive events: Sir Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros. Should Jayden Schaper win at Dubai Creek, he will join that illustrious company in the DP World Tour history books. After claiming a maiden win at the Alfred Dunhill Championship, he followed it up with another at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open a week later and now, refreshed after the festive break, he goes for the historic hat-trick. "I wait five years for the first (title) and then the following week (to get the second) is so cool," he said after his win in Mauritius. He may have to find another superlative if he lifts the trophy on Sunday.
