All you need to know ahead of the 2026 Abu Dhabi Championship.
How do the DP World Tour Play-Offs work?
The Abu Dhabi Championship marks the first event of the DP World Tour Play-Offs, introduced for the first time as part of a new-look schedule in 2024.
Alongside the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, which follows a week later, they are the final sprint of the Race to Dubai season.
After 40 events across 25 countries, the top 70 on the Race to Dubai Rankings will vie to make it through to the season finale in Dubai, where the leading 50 available players will compete.
History of the event
Founded in 2006, the Abu Dhabi Championship celebrated its 20th edition in 2025.
The tournament is organised by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council in collaboration with the DP World Tour.
In 2019, it was elevated to join the Rolex Series before it became a part of the season-ending DP World Tour Play-Offs in 2024.
Who is in the field?
The top 70 available players on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World will compete at the first event of the DP World Tour's end of season showpiece.
Keep across the DP World Tour website for updates on player announcements, with the full field set to be announced shortly after the conclusion of the Genesis Championship in October.
The venue
The Abu Dhabi Championship moved to Yas Links for the first time in 2022, after a 16-year stay at Abu Dhabi Golf Club.
Designed by Kyle Phillips and opened in 2010, Yas Links - a European Tour Destinations venue - has been described by its creator as the first true links golf course in the Middle East.
What happened last year?
Aaron Rai claimed his second Rolex Series crown at the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after beating fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood in a play-off.
Although he missed a good chance to win inside 72 holes on the 18th green, he made no mistake with his birdie putt at the first extra hole to become a three-time DP World Tour winner.
Rai, who won his first Rolex Series title at the 2020 Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, made a total of seven birdies - including four in a row from the fourth - and two bogeys in his closing 67 to reach 25 under par, while Fleetwood produced a bogey-free 66 that featured an eagle and four birdies.
