The DP World Tour Play-Offs are approaching, but their opening event already has a notable story: ten golfers eligible through the Race to Dubai standings have not entered the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship at Yas Links on 5–8 November 2026. Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry, Robert MacIntyre and Justin Rose are among those absent. This is not a report of withdrawals during a tournament; the competition has not started and their names do not appear on the published entry list.
The ten notable absences
Sky Sports reported on 27 October that the other eligible non-entrants are reigning Open champion Ryan Fox, Alex Fitzpatrick, Min Woo Lee, Ludvig Åberg, Si Woo Kim and Ryan Gerard. Combined with the four players above, that makes ten.
The rankings positions supplied in the report underline the significance of the omissions: Matt Fitzpatrick was 10th at the conclusion of the regular season; Lowry 16th; Alex Fitzpatrick 24th; Min Woo Lee 38th; Åberg 45th; MacIntyre 56th; Si Woo Kim 62nd; Rose 69th; and Gerard 70th. Fox is the highest-ranked absent golfer, according to the report. Crucially, these are season-long rankings positions, not scores on a leaderboard at Yas Links.
What can and cannot be concluded about the decisions
Some golfers have previously raised concerns about travelling to the Middle East amid regional security tensions. Matt Fitzpatrick, for example, expressed discomfort when asked about the prospect in September. That context matters, but it would be inaccurate to ascribe the same motivation to every player. Competitors are not obliged to provide a public reason for declining to enter, and individual schedules or other considerations may differ.
Why one missing start can matter
Abu Dhabi is the first of the two DP World Tour Play-Off events. The leading 70 available golfers are eligible for the Yas Links tournament, followed by the leading 50 available players at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai on 12–15 November. Missing Abu Dhabi should therefore not be automatically described as missing the entire play-off series: Fitzpatrick and Fox are still expected to appear in Dubai, according to the published reporting. Nevertheless, the opportunity to add Race to Dubai points in Abu Dhabi is lost, and that may change the dynamics of qualification and the title race.
The official Abu Dhabi field still includes season leader Eugenio Chacarra, Patrick Reed, Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Jon Rahm, Adam Scott and defending champion Aaron Rai. Chacarra leads the official Race to Dubai standings on 4,143.9 points, with Reed on 3,474.6 and McIlroy on 3,144.9. His advantage over Reed is approximately 669.3 ranking points. The tournament purse is US$9 million.
Verification and next dates
The DP World Tour's official field confirms who is entered. The absence of the ten eligible players and background context are documented in Sky Sports' 27 October report. The first round is scheduled for 5 November. There are no played-round scores or live tournament leaders yet; reports about the field should not be mistaken for a leaderboard update.
