The four-time DP World Tour winner sits 15th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings heading into the HotelPlanner Tour’s final regular-season stop in Al Ain.
David Horsey arrives at this week’s Abu Dhabi Challenge on the edge of a return to the DP World Tour, and he’ll be sleeping in his own bed while he tries to secure it.
The Dubai-based Englishman is 15th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, the last position that earns a DP World Tour card at season’s end. The tournament runs from Wednesday, September 30 to Saturday, October 3 at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club.
The stakes are high right through the field. Only the top 68 after Al Ain qualify for the Hainan Open and the Hangzhou Open in China. From there, the top 45 advance to the Rolex Grand Final at Club de Golf Alcanada in Mallorca from October 29 to November 1, where the 15 cards are decided.
“It’s great to feel like this is my home event now, sleeping in my own bed,” said Horsey, who tied for 18th here last year. “It’s nice to feel like a local, and I feel like I’ve got a bit of an advantage in a way, especially with the heat.”
A proven winner
Horsey won four DP World Tour titles between 2010 and 2015 and climbed as high as 77th in the world. He topped the HotelPlanner Tour rankings in 2008. In June 2025 he won the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in France, beating three others in a play-off. It was his first title in almost ten years.
“I’m in a good place,” he said. “I feel like my game is probably as good as it’s been, and I feel more in control of it than ever before. I’ve just got to make it count and keep doing the right things.”
Former champion and in-form club pro in the field
Horsey is one of 12 UAE-based players in the field. They include Garrick Porteous, who won the first Al Ain edition in 2024 at 24 under par, one ahead of Alexander Lévy. Porteous is a former Amateur champion who now teaches at Trump International Golf Club, Dubai.
Jackson Bell, the top-ranked PGA Professional in the UAE, plays on an invitation from co-organiser the Emirates Golf Federation. He arrives in form after winning the first PGA event of the new season at Yas Links last week.
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“Teeing it up alongside DP World Tour winners, guys you grew up watching on TV, is amazing,” said Bell. “To be playing in the same field as them shows you’re doing something right.”
The rest of the UAE-based group is Adri Arnaus, Dominic Foos, Jack Davidson, Luke Joy, David Gray, Damien Scott, amateur Jay Mullane and Emiratis Ahmad Skaik and Ahmed Al Musharekh.
A tougher test expected
The par-70 Championship Course measures 7,117 yards. Its par-five 10th stretches to 678 yards, the longest par five in the Arabian Gulf. Scoring has usually been low, but Horsey expects a stiffer challenge this time.
“From what I hear, there’s going to be a bit more rough, so it sounds like it’s shaping up to be a bit more of a challenge this week,” he said.
The event has a record of sending players up. Former champions Renato Paratore and Ricardo Gouveia both went on to earn DP World Tour promotion. Horsey will be hoping to follow them.
