Jon Rahm will continue his reintegration into golf’s established tours when he tees it up at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship for the first time next month.
The Spanish Ryder Cup star has been confirmed for the penultimate competition of the DP World Tour season, taking place at Yas Links from November 5 to 8.
As a previous Race to Dubai winner, Rahm has enjoyed some of his finest successes in the UAE.
He has won the season’s finale, the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, three times – in 2017, 2019 and 2022.
And yet this will be his first time in the capital.
“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,” Rahm said.
“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.”
He will join a field that will include fellow stars like Rory McIlroy and Patrick Reed, who are vying with each other to win the Race to Dubai.
Reed signalled at the start of this season he was ending his association with the breakaway LIV Golf tour.
After winning the Dubai Desert Classic and heading to Bahrain, he said he hoped to play his way back on to the PGA Tour in the United States via Europe’s tour. The top 10 players in the Race to Dubai rankings are eligible for PGA Tour cards.
Rahm is now also in the throes of exiting LIV. The rebel tour is set to be restructured after losing funding from Saudi Arabia.
Players who sign up to LIV Golf next season will not be allowed to be members of the European Tour in 2027.
Players have been told they have to make a choice regarding where they play. Many of LIV’s leading stars, like Reed and Brooks Koepka, have already made for the exit.
Rahm has also signalled he will not be part of the new-look series. In May, he reached an agreement with the DP World Tour to maintain his membership, and ensure his availability for the Ryder Cup.
Participation in certain DP World Tour events was part of that, leading to him playing in the two-legged play-off finals in Abu Dhabi and then Dubai.
While his schedule for next season is unclear, he might pursue a similar route back to the PGA Tour in the US which Reed has taken this season.
Rahm could yet finish in the top 10 of the Race to Dubai standings this season. He is currently 46th in the standings, but could leap up with strong performances in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
However, he would not yet be eligible for a return to the PGA Tour. Rahm won the individual LIV title for the third time in August.
There is an automatic year ban for LIV players, so he would not be able to play there until August 28, 2027.
