The DP World Tour season draws towards a close with its penultimate event as the Rolex Series returns at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship. Here are your five things to know.
The Play-Offs begin as the Rolex Series returns
After 40 events spanning five Global Swings, the Back 9, four Majors. three Rolex Series events and 16 national opens, the DP World Tour Play-Offs are upon us. The top 70 available players from the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World tee it up this week at Yas Links before the top 50 then move on to the season-finale at the DP World Tour Championship. Both those events form part of the Rolex Series, with Patrick Reed, Tom Kim and JJ Spaun having already been crowned Rolex Series champions in 2026. Reed's victory at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic helped him to win the International Swing and he is joined by fellow Swing winners Jayden Schaper, Mikael Lindberg, Eugenio Chacarra and Scott Jamieson in the field this week.
All to Play For
With the battle to keep full playing privileges on the DP World Tour having ended with the regular seaon, focus now turns to the quest to be Europe's Number One and lift the Harry Vardon Trophy. Rory McIlroy is looking to equal Colin Montgomerie's record of eight season-long wins with his fifth in a row but the Northern Irishman is in the unusual position of being the hunter rather then the hunted. With three victories this season, it is Chacarra who tops the Rankings ahead of long-time leader Patrick Reed, who has two wins of his own. Then comes Masters champion McIlroy ahead of another two-time 2026 winner in Casey Jarvis, who is the other player who could end this week on top of the Rankings with enhanced points on offer. Those enhanced points mean also mean that the jostling for dual membership with the PGA Tour is far from over, with Joe Dean currently holding the final spot. It truly is All to Play For.
Rai defends
Last year, Aaron Rai beat fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood in a play-off to win his second Rolex Series title at Yas Links, five years on from his first at the Scottish Open. It was a third DP World Tour title for Rai, who has since taken his career to new heights by becoming a Major Champion with victory at the US PGA Championship at Aronimink Golf Club in May. By doing so, he became the first Englishman in 107 years to lift the Wanamaker Trophy. That triumph, combined with a 48th-place finish at the Masters, a tied-11th finish at the U.S. Open and a tied-79th finish at The Open, saw him claim the inaugural Rory McIlroy Award, presented to the DP World Tour member who cumulatively earns the most Race to Dubai points across the four Major Championships. This week will see the 31-year-old, who is 17th in the Official World Golf Ranking, make his 27th Rolex Series appearance and fifth at this event. “Winning at Yas Links last year was a really special moment for me, so I’m really looking forward to going back and defending the title. It is a tournament that has a lot of history and a golf course that I really enjoy,” said Rai. "I always enjoy practising and playing in Abu Dhabi and fortunately, through playing well to date, I’m looking forward to finishing the year on the Race to Dubai."
Inside the field
The leading 70 available players on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World tee it up in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Rai is among six Major winners in the elite international field, alongside Reed, McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Adam Scott and Francesco Molinari. Chacarra is the sole three-time winner this season, and he will hope to add a Rolex Series title to his CV. There are 14 players making their tournament debuts, including event winners on the 2026 Race to Dubai in David Puig, Kota Kaneko, Yuto Katsuragawa, Stefano Mazzoli, Michael Hollick, Yurav Premlall and Jordan Gumberg. There are four Qualifying School graduates hoping to impress, with Davis Bryant joined by Daniel Rodrigues, Nathan Kimsey and Gregorio De Leo, who is the sole player making his Rolex Series debut. His Italian counterparts Mazzoli and Filippo Celli qualified as graduates of the HotelPlanner Tour's Class of 2025.
Aldar becomes title partner
The 21st edition of this event sees it take a new identity as Aldar, the Abu Dhabi-based real estate development, investment and asset management company, becomes Title Partner. This marks the next chapter in the existing relationship between the DP World Tour and Aldar, who became an Official Marketing Partner and Official Real Estate Partner of the DP World Tour in 2025. As the owner of Yas Links, Aldar is no stranger to the Abu Dhabi Championship, a tournament that has been hosted at the stunning links course on Yas Island since 2022. Aldar is the developer of the most iconic destinations in Abu Dhabi, including Yas Island and Saadiyat Island, having delivered over 35,000 homes since inception, with a growing residential development footprint in Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah, Egypt and the UK. Aldar also owns and manages a diverse portfolio of recurring income assets valued at more than USD 15 billion, which includes hotels, golf courses, shopping malls, hotels, offices, schools, and warehousing.
