The DP World Tour Championship will proceed without seven of its leading names, including Shane Lowry and Justin Rose, as the European golf season concludes in the Middle East this week.
Rory McIlroy remains in contention for a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, chasing Eugenio Chacarra, who tops the rankings going into the finale. The top 50 qualify to compete for the £2.2 million top prize at Jumeirah Estates’ Earth Course, but not all of them will take part.
Who is missing from the field
Matt Fitzpatrick, ranked 14th, is the highest-ranked absentee. Shane Lowry (20th) also opted to give the season-ending play-offs a miss, as did Fitzpatrick's younger brother Alex (35th). Min Woo Lee (48th) could have been involved had he wanted to, but he will not tee up either.
Ludvig Aberg (54th) was in with a shout if he had played in last week’s Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, which Jon Rahm won with a two-shot lead over Tyrell Hatton. Robert MacIntyre (61st) and Justin Rose (69th) round out the seven big names missing. They all snubbed playing in the Middle East amid the ongoing tensions in the region.
Players explain their decisions
Matt Fitzpatrick previously admitted his reservations, saying at the BMW Championship in September: "Being completely honest as things stand right now, I would say I’m not that comfortable."
"A few things have obviously changed for me, perspective and stuff. I’ve had a child in August, and that obviously kind of changes things a bit more."
But McIlroy has insisted he feels safe despite the Israel-Iran war, which saw Saudi Arabia come under attack last month. "I think the only thing would be that if they closed the air space and you were stuck here for a period of time, like people were at the start of year, but like I would still feel safe. I wouldn’t feel like I would be in any danger," he said last week.
