The DP World Tour season-ending Play-Offs are just over six weeks away. But the choice of venues has left some of the tour’s biggest names feeling uneasy. The finale is scheduled for Abu Dhabi and Dubai, a region where tensions have been ongoing since the conflict began in late February. Now, after months of uncertainty, the Tour has finally answered. The Play-Offs are officially staying in the UAE.
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DP World Tour’s chief executive Guy Kinnings confirmed the plan in an interview exclusively covered by Sky Sports. He said the building work is already underway at both courses and that the tour will keep taking advice from its travel advisors.
“Our plan is definitely to play the Play-Offs in the UAE.” Kinnings said
For context, the Play-Offs are a two-event finish to the Race to Dubai season. The Abu Dhabi Championship opens them at Yas Links from November 5th to 8th. The DP World Tour Championship then closes the season at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai from November 12th to 15th, with a combined prize purse of $19 million.
Notably, the same two courses hosted last year’s Play-Offs, when Matt Fitzpatrick beat Rory McIlroy in a playoff in Dubai. This year, the concern is the regional conflict that began in February. As a result, the discussion around the venue has been running for months. The conflict in the region has also led Formula 1 to cancel two races in the area earlier this year.
Many players, including Matt Fitzpatrick, had claimed the Tour first said it would decide on UAE events in June. He also described the communication since then as “very vague the whole time.” So at Wentworth this week, when asked about defending his Dubai title, the World No. 4 said, “As things stand right now, I would say I’m not that comfortable.”
Furthermore, he does not expect his stance to change the outcome. Asked whether the Tour would take his view on board, he said, “I just don’t feel like my opinion would hold that much weight.”
His playing colleague Rory McIlroy sees the situation much differently. After his opening round at the BMW PGA Championship, he said he has no concerns, stating, “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.” McIlroy also added that he “loves the Middle East,” has a lot of friends there, and looks forward to going back.
That being said, Rory McIlroy is also chasing an eighth Race-to-Dubai title, which would tie him to Colin Montgomerie’s record. For now, Patrick Reed is leading the rankings, but McIlroy’s tied second finish at Wentworth on Sunday cut the gap to 307.76 points. Now, if he advances towards the Play-Offs, he could have a fair chance of reaching the record.
Other players are split about the decision as Well
Matt Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy are not the only players with a few. Bob MacIntyre is closest to Fitzpatrick on the decision. The Scot became a father for the first time earlier this year, and, like Fitzpatrick, he is a Ryder Cup teammate of McIlroy.
Speaking at Wentworth, he said, “I’m not wanting to go to the Middle East.” While events continue, he said he will keep watching the situation before deciding. Overall, he is also unsure about his own schedule. As he says, “I don’t know what I’m going to play in.”
Ryan Fox, the reigning Open champion, is more measured, on the other hand. He has said he trusts the Tour’s due diligence and understands why others have reservations, but he is not ruling anything out.
“If I feel like it’s not the right decision, I might not go.”
Moreover, Tommy Fleetwood offered the view from inside the UAE. The Dubai resident lives there with his wife and children, and he flew home after the Tour Championship in Atlanta to spend two weeks in the country. His verdict is, “The school run has been fine, and the driving range has been good.”
That said, Fleetwood added that he cannot speak to world politics and believes every player will make their own decision. But he hopes the Tour will be in the Middle East at the end of the year.
All in all, the Tour has said individual schedule choices are for players to make, with Kinnings confirming the venue, asking the decision now sits with each of them.