A 70-player field has arrived at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi this week to compete for a $9 million purse in the DP World Tour’s first of two playoff events.
Rory McIlroy is in pursuit of Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra, who enters the tournament as the No. 1 player in the Race to Dubai rankings after career year that included three DPWT wins. Also sitting above McIlroy in those standings is longtime foe Patrick Reed.
McIlroy will also be competing against European Ryder Cup teammates and former LIV golfers, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton. It marks Rahm and Hatton’s first competitive tournament since announcing they would not join LIV 2.0.
Hatton missed the cut at the Spanish Open last month and enters the week No. 55 in the Race to Dubai — four spots below Rahm, who skipped his national open to be at home with his wife for the birth of their fourth child.
Like Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai are among the past winners in the field. Rai enters as the defending championship and No. 5 in the Race to Dubai behind Casey Jarvis. Fleetwood, who notched back-to-back titles in 2017 and 2018, is No. 26.
The top 50 players in the Race to Dubai qualify for the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course which runs Nov. 12 through Nov. 15.
Golf Channel will broadcast live coverage of all four rounds of the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship beginning at 2 a.m. ET on Thursday, Nov. 5. Here’s a day-by-day breakdown with links to stream (all times in ET).
Thursday, Nov. 5
Friday, Nov. 6
Saturday, Nov. 7
Sunday, Nov. 8
- 1:30-7:30AM: Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, final round
