After a golf marathon featuring 40 events, spanning five continents and 27 countries, the DP World Tour Playoffs are here. The first of the two final events will take place from November 6th to 9th in the United Arab Emirates. The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship will feature the top 70 players (ranked in descending order) on the continental circuit, competing for a prize pool of $9,000,000 (the top prize being $1,530,000). Among them are two Italians: Francesco Laporta and Andrea Pavan.
DP, schedule
The field also includes top players in the sport, including Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy (world number 2), England's Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, and Matt Fitzpatrick, Ireland's Shane Lowry, Sweden's Ludvig Aberg, Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, and Denmark's Rasmus Hojgaard, all of whom were among the protagonists of the European triumph at the 2025 Ryder Cup in Bethpage, New York. Following the tournament, held at the Yas Golf Links in Abu Dhabi, the top 50 players will then compete in the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai from November 13th to 16th, competing for the European crown and the Harry Vardon Trophy. Regarding those eligible, Britons Justin Rose (19th) and Matt Wallace (66th), Spaniard Jon Rahm (59th), and Norwegian Viktor Hovland (66th) have decided not to play the competition, as has Austrian Sepp Straka, who has withdrawn for personal reasons.
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McIlroy, leader of the Race to Dubai for the seventh time in his career and the fifth consecutive year, is aiming to defend his title and dreams of closing in on Scotsman Colin Montgomerie, the only man to have lifted the Harry Vardon Trophy eight times (seven in a row). This is the fourth and penultimate event not only of the season but of the Rolex Series, but it has never been won by the Northern Irishman. Past winners include Hatton (2021), Fleetwood (2017 and 2018), and Lowry (2019). The spotlight will also be on Englishman Marco Penge (2nd) and Frenchman Adrien Saddier, who won this year's 82nd Italian Open at Argentario Golf Club in Tuscany. Also aiming high are Swede Alex Noren, who has been in great form in recent months, Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin, Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard, and American Patrick Reed. As for the Italians, Laporta, a 35-year-old from Castellana Grotte (Bari), has played 26 tournaments in 2025, making the cut 16 times and achieving four top-10 finishes. Meanwhile, Pavan, a 36-year-old from Rome, playing his 31st event on the circuit this season, has also made the cut 17 times with three top-10 finishes, including a fourth-place finish two weeks ago in South Korea at the Genesis Championship, which earned him a ticket to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
