Despite ongoing conflict in the Middle East, the DP World Tour is going ahead with back-to-back tournaments in the United Arab Emirates.
The DPWT’s Race to Dubai fortnight begins with this week’s Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi and will culminate with next week’s DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.
The 70-player field in Abu Dhabi is comprised of the top players in the season-long Race to Dubai rankings, including No. 1 Eugenio Chacarra, No. 2 Patrick Reed and No. 3 Rory McIlroy. However, 11 eligible players have chosen to skip the event, most notably Open champion Ryan Fox and Matt Fitzpatrick.
Last year, only four eligible players skipped – and none in the top 10.
Also not playing are Shane Lowry, Alex Fitzpatrick, Min Woo Lee, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Ludvig Aberg, Robert MacIntyre, Si Woo Kim, Justin Rose and Ryan Gerard.
While not every absence is indeed due to travel concerns, Fox and Fitzpatrick have both indicated their reasons for not playing are related to unrest in the region as the war between Iran and the U.S. and Israel continues.
“Being completely honest as things stand right now, I would say I’m not that comfortable,” Fitzpatrick said last month while adding, “I feel like it’s been very vague the whole time and they (DP World Tour) have not necessarily kind of had open communication.”
Fox said, “If I feel like it’s not the right decision, I may not go.”
In mid-October, following Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, the Asian Tour postponed its PIF Saudi International, originally scheduled for Nov. 18-21. However, the HotelPlanner Tour successfully held an event in Abu Dhabi a few weeks ago.
The U.S. recently kept its travel advisory to the U.A.E. at Level 3 (reconsider travel), noting, “Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including attacks on civilian airports and other critical infrastructure resulting in civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions. The hostilities have the potential to escalate rapidly beyond that immediate area.” There are four levels, with Level 4 stating “do not travel.”
The U.K. no longer has a travel advisory to U.A.E., though it does provide guidance that includes this statement on regional tensions, “The context in the Middle East remains deeply unpredictable and the risk of sudden escalation is high. Since conflict began in early 2026, Iran has stated its intention to target locations associated with the U.S. and Israel, including, but not limited to, organizations, businesses, facilities, and institutions. There have been strikes and retaliatory attacks by Iran and others across the region against civilian and U.S. military infrastructure.”
For the competitors at Yas Links this week, they were greeted with a bulletin titled, “Mobile phone alerts and emergency procedures.” That notice read:
If the U.A.E. authorities issue a mobile phone alert to the public at any point during the week whilst on site, play will be suspended immediately, signaled by a long blast of the air horns, as per the procedure for a dangerous situation.
Players and caddies should evacuate the course as per the evacuation plans and proceed to the clubhouse.
Tour staff will provide updates and announcements in the clubhouse, with further information shared via the Player Portal.
If an alert occurs away from the golf course, follow the relevant instructions and guidance issued by the authorities in that alert.
McIlroy was asked in August if he had any reservations in competing, to which he responded, “If the local governments feel like it’s safe to put on these events, they are not going to put their citizens or people visiting in harm’s way. I love the Middle East. I have a lot of friends there and I’m looking forward to going back for sure.”