The 2021/22 DP World Tour season draws to a close with the DP World Tour Championship at the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The top 50 players in the DP World Tour Rankings are eligible for the tournament. However, one player who won’t be making the trip to Dubai is reigning champion Collin Morikawa. The American’s win also saw him finish top of the DP World Tour Rankings in 2021, but he misses out due to personal commitments this year.
Nevertheless, some of the biggest names in the game will be competing for the title. One player to pay particularly close attention to will be Matt Fitzpatrick. The US Open champion – who, along with Jon Rahm, was awarded Honorary Life Membership to the DP World Tour before the tournament – was runner-up to Morikawa last year along with Swede Alexander Bjork. However, Fitzpatrick is also one of four players to win the tournament twice, having clinched the title in 2020 and 2016.
Another of those players is Rory McIlroy. The current World No.1 won the tournament in 2012 and 2015 and will be confident of clinching a hat-trick of wins. If he manages that this week, he will also guarantee finishing top of the DP World Tour Rankings for the fourth time.
Tommy Fleetwood defended his title in last week’s Nedbank Golf Challenge at the Gary Player Country Club in South Africa. He will hope to take that momentum into this week’s tournament. Meanwhile, Viktor Hovland will also expect to deliver a strong performance in a city where he has enjoyed relatively recent success. The Norwegian won the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic at the start of the year, albeit at a different venue, the Emirates Golf Club.
As well as McIlroy, Fitzpatrick, Fleetwood and Hovland, three other players in the field are in the running to finish top of the DP World Tour Rankings. One of those is New Zealander Ryan Fox, who is currently placed second. Irishman Shane Lowry, currently eighth, can also finish top, as can ninth-placed Adrian Meronkof Poland. There are several scenarios where Fox could finish at the top of the pack. However, like McIlroy, the only way to keep the outcome in his hands is to win the tournament.
One player who is not in the running to finish top of the rankings but will be confident of success this week is Rahm. The Spaniard, who spoke before the tournament about the lack of Official World Golf Ranking points afforded to it relative to this week’s RSM Classic on the PGA Tour, won the…
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