The DP World Tour begins this week with many of the world’s best players heading to the Middle East for the 2025 Dubai Desert Classic.
Dubai Desert Classic: Rory McIlroy primed for three-peat
It’s the sixth event on this year’s European Tour but dwarfs the five that have gone before in terms of prestige, prize money and calibre of field. World No.3 and four-time champion Rory McIlroy will defend the title he won by a stroke from Adrian Meronk last year. But the Northern Irishman will have to be at his very best to fend off a field featuring superstars such as Viktor Hovland, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.
Dubai Desert Classic: Mighty McIlroy
This will be the 35th running of the Dubai Desert Classic, one of the richest events on the DP World Tour with a $9m purse. It has been won by a who’s who of golf legends including Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Colin Montgomerie and Tiger Woods. But no one has taken a shine to the event quite like Rory McIlroy, who first lifted the trophy in 2009 and has held it aloft three more times since, including in each of the last two years.
McIlroy clearly has a liking for the 6,792m Emirates layout and also a soft spot for Dubai in general, having won seven times in the city, most recently at November’s DP World Tour Championship. McIlroy hasn’t played a competitive round since then so he may be a little rusty, though he is still the clear favourite on a course he clearly flourishes at.
Dubai Desert Classic: Roaring Rahmbo
Such is the status of the event, the prize money and the attached ranking points, that plenty of the sport’s big guns have flown in to have a dart at Desert Classic glory. Few names are more headline-grabbing these days than Jon Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion and as a LIV Golf defector rarely seen on the DP World Tour these days.
He has set his sights on qualifying for Luke Donald’s European Ryder Cup team later this year which means making extra commitments to a tour he used to grace, and he is a box-office addition to the field. Rahm has never played at the Desert Classic, so it will be fascinating to see if this serial winner can challenge for the trophy.
Dubai Desert Classic: Exciting Englishment
It’s a world-class field from all over the globe with high-class Americans of the calibre of Patrick Reed and Akshay Bhatia teeing it up alongside Aussie aces such as Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee.
Rasmus Hojgaard, second in the Tour Championship in Dubai in the autumn, heads a whole glut of continental Europeans now competing at the very highest levels, among them Hovland, Guido Migliozzi and Rasmus’ brother, Nicolai.
Also sure to attract big galleries are Olympic silver medallist Tommy Fleetwood, the winner of last January’s Dubai Invitational at the nearby Dubai Yacht Club, and his explosive compatriot Tyrrell Hatton, who has finished inside the top 10 in each of the last five events he has played in.
By Jack Ogalbe
Please note that the information provided in this New Zealand v England article is for entertainment purposes only. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of the information provided. Any action you take upon the information on this article is strictly at your own risk, and we will not be liable for any losses and damages in connection with the use of our article. We do not encourage gambling and remind you to gamble responsibly.
18+ | BeGambleAware.org
