In my first column of 2024, I used these pages to reflect on a brilliant start to the DP World Tour new calendar year in the Middle East, so it is only fitting that I end it on a similar note.
Our inaugural DP World Tour Play-Offs proved to be the perfect way to bring the curtain down on another outstanding season – a fantastic finale over a fortnight in the UAE as we concluded our Race to Dubai in style.
The decision we took together with Abu Dhabi Sports Council to move the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship from its traditional January slot to a new November date, alongside the DP World Tour Championship, was one we thought long and hard about.
For 18 consecutive years, the tournament had been a popular early season stop for many of our members, but the changes to global golf’s calendar over recent years allowed us all to think a little differently.
Rolex Series Opportunity
When we introduced the three phases for our 2024 season – the Global Swings, Back 9 and Play-Offs – we felt that there was a real opportunity to further elevate the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and have two Rolex Series tournaments to conclude the Race to Dubai.
Whenever you change a tried and tested formula, you are always keen for it to work out favourably, so we are delighted the feedback we’ve had across the board about both Play-Off events has been overwhelmingly positive.
Double Delight
We were treated to two sublime weeks of absorbing entertainment and two terrific champions in Paul Waring and Rory McIlroy, each with their own very different, but equally compelling stories.
Paul relocated from the UK to the UAE 12 months ago, partly due to the first-class facilities we have here, and he has certainly reaped the benefits of that decision with his best season in 17 years on Tour. His victory at Yas Links was quite simply wonderful to watch, particularly with so many of his family and friends there to share the moment, and for him to earn one of the ten PGA TOUR cards on offer in the process was a major bonus too.
Paul could easily have been forgiven for enjoying the highlight of his career so far, but all credit to him for also contending in the following week’s DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, a course he has spent a lot of time at since making Dubai his home.
Rory’s record over the Earth Course is unrivalled though, and while it was going to take something special from Thriston Lawerence to overhaul his healthy lead at the top of the Race to Dubai, you got the sense from the outset that Rory was determined to seal another career milestone on his own terms.
Remarkable End To The Season
Sport often produces remarkable plots, and our season-finale certainly gave us that, as Rory battled on the back nine with Rasmus Højgaard, the same player who denied him on home soil in the Amgen Irish Open in September and whose twin brother Nicolai won the tournament 12 months ago.
Rory showed exactly why he is one of the greatest talents Europe has ever produced, especially with that stunning approach to a foot on the 16th hole, and a further birdie on the last, to seal a two shot victory. It was magnificent viewing and an emotional moment for Rory, who matched the legendary Seve Ballesteros’s feat of six Harry Vardon Trophies, with Colin Montgomerie’s record of eight now firmly in his sights.
It was also a fitting finale to what has been an outstanding DP World Tour season in so many ways.
44 Tournaments in 24 Different Countries
Over the last 12 months we have played 44 tournaments in 24 different countries on the DP World Tour and we have set many new benchmarks along the way.
At the DP World Tour Championship alone, we significantly exceeded our sales targets in terms of General Admission, Ticket+ and Premium Experiences, with the attendance across the week also surpassing 80,000 for the week for the first time in the tournament’s history. The TV viewership figures were equally impressive, with the live average on Sky Sports in the UK up by 24 per cent compared to 2023 and a 17 per cent increase in peak viewing against last year.
At the start of the tournament week, we announced our full global schedule for the 2025 season. It will seek to build on the successful changes we introduced for 2024, with the return of national Opens in Turkey and Austria as part of our European Swing.
Welcoming New Players
We also welcome a number of new players, including 22 graduates from our Challenge Tour and 21 players who earned DP World Tour cards via the Qualifying School.
The global nature of our Tour was underlined by the fact that the Q School graduates came from 13 different countries, including Jean Bekirian, a 22 year old from Armenia, who becomes the first player from his nation to hold a card on the DP World Tour.
Of course, our 2025 season is already underway, with Elvis Smylie, one of those who did not progress from Q School, triumphing on home soil in the BMW Australian Open.
For us here in the Middle East, there is a short break before we begin the 2025 calendar year with five consecutive events in the region. As featured on the cover and elsewhere in this magazine, the first of those will be the Team Cup in Abu Dhabi.
We have announced two very strong teams for that mouthwatering contest, and I have a feeling it will set the tone for what promises to be another fascinating season ahead on the DP World Tour.
Tom Phillips
Director of Middle East, DP World Tour
