Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship: Why at Yas Links? What are DP World Tour play-offs? Who leads Race to Dubai?

Tournament returns after 22-month absence with world's leading golfers heading to the UAE

Victor Perez of France poses with the trophy after winning the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links on January 22, 2023. Getty

Winner Victor Perez of France acknowledges fans on the 18th green. Getty

Victor Perez plays his third shot on the 18th hole at Yas Links. Getty

Victor Perez of France in action during the final round. EPA

Sebastian Soderberg of Sweden plays a shot on 10th hole. Getty Images

Min Woo Lee lines up a putt on the 12th green. Getty Images

Padraig Harrington on the seventeenth green. Getty Images

Shane Lowry plays a shot on the on the second hole. Getty Images

Italian Francesco Molinari plays his second shot on the 12th hole. Getty

Shubhankar Sharma of India tees off on the 2nd hole. Getty Images

One of the best loved features of the UAE sporting landscape will return after an extended absence this week when some of the leading golfers in the world tee it up at Yas Links.

Where has the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship been?

It is 22 months since the tournament last took place. The move from its traditional spot on the calendar came about because of a revamp to the DP World Tour (which was formerly known as the European Tour).

If the galleries at Yas Links this week find walking the course a little more taxing than in past editions of the championship, then there is a reason.

For the rest of its lifespan since its inception in 2006, the tournament was played at the start of the season, in the cooler temperatures of January. November in Abu Dhabi is generally four or five degrees warmer.

Why the switch?

The Tour revamp led to the creation of a new, two-tournament finale to the tour season. The DP World Tour Championship, at Jumeirah Golf Estates (JGE) next week, will still be where the order of merit winner is ultimately decided. But the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship has been moved to create a two-week play-off in the UAE.

What are the DP World Tour play-offs?

The Tour describe the new as “the final sprint of the 2024 Race to Dubai,” but it is more like a middle-distance race than a sprint now.

Since 2009, the leading players in the rankings vied for the final points on offer at the Earth Course in JGE, in a last push down the season’s home straight. Now there is an additional inflation of ranking points at the penultimate tournament of the season at Yas, too.

How does it work?

The top 70 available player in the Race to Dubai standings will tee it up as Yas, with the top 50 after that set for the season finale at JGE.

There are 9,000 ranking points on offer at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and 12,000 available at the DP World Tour Championship next week. The points are allocated based on finishing positions in the tournaments.

Who is winning at the moment?

Rory McIlroy tops the Race to Dubai standings ahead of the penultimate tournament, and might even claim a sixth Harry Vardon Trophy with a week to spare.

His nearest challengers, Thriston Lawrence and Rasmus Hojgaard, are some way back ahead of the start in Abu Dhabi.

Top five

1 Rory McIlroy, 4,532.33 points.

2 Thriston Lawrence, 2,959.94.

3 Rasmus Hojgaard, 2,612.05.

4 Billy Horschel, 2,480.00.

5 Tommy Fleetwood, 2,066.01.

Where is Victor Perez?

The Frenchman won the Falcon Trophy the last time the Abu Dhabi championship took place in January 2023, but he won’t be here to defend it.

Having won at Yas after a thrilling final day back then, Perez has since played more on the PGA Tour in the United States. As such, he played just eight ranking tournaments on the DP World Tour, and is ranking 142 in the Race to Dubai – which is more or less double the number he needed to be to feature in Abu Dhabi.

Tickets

General admission to the tournament at Yas is free via this link.