Jon Rahm has won three times at Jumeirah Golf Estates. On Thursday he finally gets to see what golf at the other end of the country is like.
The Spaniard tees off at 9.01am at Yas Links alongside Matt Wallace and Ewen Ferguson as the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship gets under way. It is his first appearance at the event, and his first start since confirming he will not return to LIV Golf next year.
When his entry was confirmed last month, Rahm said:
“I’ve had some of the best weeks of my career in the UAE, so I’m really looking forward to playing in Abu Dhabi for the first time”
“I’ve heard great things about Yas Links, and I’m looking forward to playing there. It’ll be great to get started in Abu Dhabi before heading to Dubai the following week.”
Those best weeks are easy to find. Rahm won the DP World Tour Championship in 2017, 2019 and 2022. His second win in Dubai also made him the first Spaniard since Seve Ballesteros to finish top of the season-long rankings, now the Race to Dubai.
Those three Dubai titles and his Irish Open wins in 2017 and 2019 give him five Rolex Series victories. That is level with his Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton, a past winner in Abu Dhabi who is also in the field. Rahm has collected 10.5 points for Europe across the last four Ryder Cups.
He is far from the only big name on the tee sheet. Aaron Rai, the reigning US PGA champion, defends the title he won 12 months ago when he beat Tommy Fleetwood with a birdie at the first play-off hole. Both men finished on 25 under. Fleetwood is back to try again.
Rory McIlroy is chasing a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title, and a fifth in a row. He has never won the Abu Dhabi title. He starts the week third in the rankings, behind leader Eugenio Chacarra and Patrick Reed.
For the first time, groups at the opening Play-Offs event go out in reverse rankings order. That puts Chacarra, Reed and McIlroy together in the final group at 11.50am. Rai plays 11 minutes earlier with Casey Jarvis and Daniel Hillier.
The top 70 available players in the Race to Dubai are at Yas Links this week. Only the top 50 after Sunday move on to the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates next week.
General admission is free on Thursday and Friday. Weekend tickets start at Dh75. The Bar on Nine Ticket+ package starts at Dh170 and includes a Dh100 food and drink voucher. Seats in the Championship Chalet, on the 18th green, start at Dh1,680.
