- Aaron Rai will defend the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship at Yas Links from November 5-8.
- Rai won the PGA Championship at Aronimink in May and sits fifth in the Race to Dubai.
- The leading 50 available players in the rankings qualify for the DP World Tour Championship.
The Englishman will defend his title at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship at Yas Links from November 5-8. The event opens the DP World Tour Play-Offs and is the penultimate stop of the season.
How did Rai win last year?
Rai led overnight and closed with a 5-under 67 to reach 25-under. Tommy Fleetwood matched him with a bogey-free 66 that included an eagle at the par-5 2nd. In the play-off, Rai birdied the first extra hole and Fleetwood made par, settling it at the first time of asking.
The event was then staged as the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. It gave Rai his second Rolex Series title, following the 2020 Scottish Open. Rory McIlroy finished a shot back in a tie for third after a closing 62.
What has changed since?
In May, Rai won the PGA Championship at Aronimink. He began the final round two shots behind Alex Smalley and shot 65 to win by three from Smalley and Jon Rahm.
That week anchored the rest of his majors season. He added 48th at The Masters, a tie for 11th at the US Open and a tie for 79th at The Open. Together those results earned him the inaugural Rory McIlroy Award, which goes to the DP World Tour member who earns the most Race to Dubai points across the four majors.
Why Yas Links suits him
“It is a tournament that has a lot of history and a golf course that I really enjoy,” Rai said, adding that he always enjoys practising and playing in Abu Dhabi.
Yas Links rewards a hot putter. Fleetwood equalled the course record with a bogey-free 62 in 2024, and last year 25-under was only enough to force a play-off.
What is at stake?
Rai arrives fifth in the Race to Dubai rankings. The leading 70 available players tee it up at Yas Links, and the top 50 move on to the DP World Tour Championship on the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates from November 12-15.
Both events belong to the Rolex Series and carry 21,000 points between them. That is more than four Back 9 events combined, so the standings can still shift sharply across the fortnight.
McIlroy is in the field chasing an eighth Race to Dubai title, which would draw him level with Colin Montgomerie’s record. Jon Rahm will also make his Abu Dhabi debut, a week before returning to the Dubai course where he has won three times.
Tickets
General admission is free on Thursday and Friday. Weekend tickets start at AED 75.
The Bar on Nine Ticket+ option is back, with a limited number of promotional tickets from AED 170. That price includes an AED 100 food and drink voucher.
The Championship Chalet sits on the 18th green and offers air-conditioned hospitality overlooking the final hole. Prices start from AED 1,680.
Click here for more information and to book your tickets.
Related: Jon Rahm to Make Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship Debut at Yas Links
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.