McIlroy, Rahm Headline Abu Dhabi Field as Several Stars Sit Out

The Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, scheduled for November 5-8 at Yas Links, will be missing a cluster of top DP World Tour players as the circuit's season winds down to just two events remaining out of 40 this year.

Who is skipping the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship?

Ryder Cup players Matt Fitzpatrick and Robert MacIntyre both opted out, each citing discomfort traveling to the Middle East given the region's ongoing conflict. Fitzpatrick, the defending DP World Tour Championship winner, said in September his decision was also shaped by the birth of his child in August.

"As things stand right now, I would say I'm not that comfortable," Fitzpatrick said.

MacIntyre, who welcomed his first child in January, said at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship he planned to wait until close to the entry deadline before deciding. Neither player is listed in the Yas Links field. They are joined in sitting out by reigning Open champion Ryan Fox, major winners Shane Lowry and Justin Rose, and Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Aberg. Alex Fitzpatrick, Matt's brother, also withdrew after a breakthrough season with wins on both the DP World Tour and PGA Tour.

Which players missed out on qualifying?

A separate group simply fell short of the top 70 in the Race to Dubai rankings needed to qualify. Viktor Hovland, brothers Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard, and 12-time DP World Tour winner Alex Noren are among the bigger names left out. Tom McKibbin, who is moving to a fuller DP World Tour slate in 2027 after leaving LIV Golf, finished 87th and also misses the cut. Marco Penge, runner-up to Rory McIlroy in last year's Race to Dubai, is instead focused on securing his PGA Tour card and is already in this week's Mexico Open field.

Min Woo Lee, Si Woo Kim and Ryan Gerard were within range in the 40th-to-70th range but did not make the Yas Links field either, effectively ending their 2025-26 DP World Tour seasons.

Who is still playing?

Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm remain in the field for what the DP World Tour still expects to be a high-caliber event, with the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship on November 12-15 the last two stops of the 2025-26 season.