- Jon Rahm will make his Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship debut at Yas Links from November 5-8.
- The event opens the DP World Tour Play-Offs, with the top-50 from a 70-man field advancing to Dubai.
- General admission is free for the first two days, with final-weekend tickets from AED 75.
Jon Rahm has won in the UAE three times, all of them at the season finale in Dubai. He has never played a tournament round in Abu Dhabi. That changes next month.
The two-time major champion has committed to the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship at Yas Links from November 5-8, the opening event of the DP World Tour Play-Offs. The following week he heads down the road to Jumeirah Golf Estates for the DP World Tour Championship, where he has done the bulk of his damage.
What does Rahm bring to Yas Links?
A formidable Rolex Series record, for a start. The former world number one has ten DP World Tour titles, and five of them are Rolex Series events. Only his Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton can match that tally.
Three of those five came at the DP World Tour Championship, in 2017, 2019 and 2022. The other two were Irish Open victories in 2017 and 2019. His second win at Jumeirah Golf Estates also made him the first Spaniard since Seve Ballesteros to finish top of the Race to Dubai.
“I’ve had some of the best weeks of my career in the UAE, so I’m really looking forward to playing in Abu Dhabi for the first time,” said Rahm.
He arrives at a course that hands out birdies freely. Tommy Fleetwood equalled the Yas Links course record with a bogey-free 62 in the first round in 2024, and the winning score last year was 25-under.
Who else is in the field?
The defending champion is Aaron Rai, now the US PGA Champion. Last November, when the event was staged as the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the Englishman beat Fleetwood in a play-off with a birdie at the first extra hole. It ended a five-year wait for a DP World Tour title.
Rory McIlroy finished tied third that week after an eagle at the par-5 2nd helped him to a closing 62. He returns chasing an eighth Race to Dubai title, which would draw him level with Colin Montgomerie’s record haul of Harry Vardon trophies.
How do the Play-Offs work?
The leading 70 available players on the Race to Dubai rankings tee it up at Yas Links for an event staged by the Abu Dhabi Sports Council and the DP World Tour. The top 50 then qualify for the DP World Tour Championship on the Earth course in Dubai from November 12-15.
Both events belong to the Rolex Series, and between them they carry 21,000 points. That is more than four Back 9 events combined, so the Race to Dubai standings can still be turned upside down across the fortnight. Grant Forrest showed how quickly things move on Sunday, when victory at the Open de España lifted him from 118th to 27th.
Tickets and hospitality
General admission is free on Thursday and Friday. Tickets for the weekend start at AED 75.
The Bar on Nine Ticket+ option returns. A limited number of promotional tickets are priced from AED 170, which includes an AED 100 food and drink voucher.
At the top end, the Championship Chalet sits on the 18th green, with air-conditioned hospitality overlooking the final hole. Prices start from AED 1,680.
For visitors who fancy a crack at the course themselves, Yas Links runs along the Arabian Gulf coastline on Yas Island. When we looked at the UAE’s resort golf last year, green fees were between AED 550 and AED 650.
Click here for more information and to book your tickets.
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Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.