Kuumar Shyam (Abu Dhabi)


A day after golf fans, especialy in the UAE, started looking nervously at the schedule of Rory McIlroy for the rest of the year, a statement has been released that he will be returning to Dubai for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship (DPWTC) at the Jumeirah Golf Estates.

McIlroy's workload came in focus after the Northern Irishman conceded at the PGA Tour Championship that he took too much on to his plate for 2024 and will look to reduce his commitments for the next season by at least nine tournaments.

"It's been a long season. I'm going to just have to think about trying to build in a few extra breaks here and there next year. Going forward because I felt like I hit a bit of a wall sort of post-US Open, and still feel a little bit of that hangover," McIlroy said in Atalanta.

"I feel like the tournaments came thick and fast, and obviously with the Olympics thrown in there, as well, this year, it sort of condensed everything a bit," he added despite finishing in a tie for ninth on Sunday at 16-under for the tournament.

McIlroy said he still has five events planned for the fall. McIlroy has had 27 events scheduled in 2024, with 19 of those on the PGA Tour. He had a runner-up finish there this season and seven top-10 finishes, while earning $10.9 million in prize money.

However, as the jaded golfer looks at the end of the tunnel, there is a return to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where he started this season with an European Tour victory – the Dubai Desert Classic – by a stroke in January. 

If that was not incentive enough, he has won the DPWTC three times, most recently in 2022 when he held off Scottie Scheffler, who won the Tour Championship victory on Sunday by four strokes over Collin Morikawa.



A 26-time winner on the PGA Tour, McIlroy won two PGA events this past season, the Zurich Classic of New Orleans with Shane Lowry as his partner in April and the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, North Carolina, the following month. He also had one victory on the European Tour, taking the Dubai Desert Classic by a stroke in January.

After finishing a disappointing second at the US Open in June, McIlroy did have three top-10 finishes to close out the season but also missed the cut at The Open Championship in July and finished tied for 68th at the St Jude Championship in August.


"I'm usually sort of like a 22 [tournament] sort of person," McIlroy said to the media on Sunday. "But again, that was when I was sort of in my 20s and didn't have the responsibilities that I do now. I'm going to try to cut it back to like 18 or 20 a year going forward, I think."

Before Dubai, there will be the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship - the first of the new, two-event Play-Offs, followed by the DPWTC. The top 70 players at the conclusion of the “Back 9” events will gather at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi before the list is filtered to 50 for the season climax.

The reigning Race to Dubai champion and world No.3 has prospered at the Earth Course of Jumeirah Golf Estates, who has won topped the season-long standings in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2022, and most recently in 2023.

McIlroy, 35, has moved clear into third place for the most Race to Dubai victories, one behind Ballesteros and three behind Colin Montgomerie, as he looks to add another European No.1 crown to his already impressive career.


“Dubai has been a special place for me, and I've been fortunate to achieve a lot of success there. To have the chance to equal Seve’s record is incredibly meaningful, he was a pioneer for European golf, and his impact on the world game can’t be overstated.

“It’s going to be a couple of big weeks in the Middle East with the DP World Tour Play-offs and I’m focused on playing some good golf to put myself in contention for more titles.”


Following record weekend crowds last year, general admission tickets are free for Thursday and Friday, while early bird prices for Saturday and Sunday start from Dh95 and onwards. Tickets and other details are on the tournament website.