The Rolex Series encompasses the marquee events on the DP World Tour, and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic brings together an array of headline international talent.
Featuring Major champions, Ryder Cup stars, multiple DP World Tour and PGA TOUR winners, a stellar cast of renowned players will vie for the Dallah Trophy at Emirates Golf Club.
Two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy is back targeting more Dubai delight, with the World Number Three from Northern Ireland joined by five other members of the top 20 on the Official World Golf Ranking.
Among those are Viktor Hovland, who returns to the Majlis Course for the first time since his 2022 victory, fellow Rolex Series winner Robert MacIntyre and 2013 Masters champion Adam Scott, who first participated in this event more than two decades ago.
Here, we pick out five stand-out players teeing it up in the United Arab Emirates on the DP World Tour this week as the International Swing gets under way on the 2025 Race to Dubai.
Rory McIlroy
Where else to start than with the reigning champion and top-ranked player in the field. As for so many events around the world, the 35-year-old is the man to beat, and this is perhaps even more so the case this week at a venue where he boasts such an enviable record. This is his 14th appearance at the Dubai Desert Classic since his debut as a 16-year-old amateur in 2006, during which time he has won the event on four occasions, more than any other player in the event’s history. He produced a weekend charge to successfully defend his title last year, and with no player having won it three years in a row, he arrives with more history in his mind. With this being his first competitive outing since winning the DP World Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship in November, the four-time Major winner will be refreshed as he begins his bid to win the Race to Dubai for the seventh time in his career.
Viktor Hovland
While the Norwegian may have welcomed in the new year on the back of a freak injury to a toe in his right foot, it did not stop him from beginning his fifth full year as a professional at The Sentry in Hawaii, a Signature Event on the PGA TOUR. He now makes the journey to the Middle East to the scene of his most recent DP World Tour title. Back in 2022, he defeated Richard Bland in a play-off to become a Rolex Series winner as he reached a career-high ranking of third in the world. He then enjoyed a brilliant 2023 in which he won three PGA TOUR titles and helped Team Europe regain the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club. But he struggled for a consistent run of form last year, registering three top tens. However, motivation is unlikely to be in short supply for the 27-year-old as he looks to get back to near his best and challenging for honours in what is a Ryder Cup year.
Robert MacIntyre
The Scot has already been busy this year, playing in both Hawaii-based events on the PGA TOUR this month. Now, after a long flight, he begins his DP World Tour season in Dubai, aiming to build on what was a year to remember in 2024. After winning his first PGA TOUR title at the RBC Canadian Open, a month later he went on to fulfil a career ambition of winning his national open, as he earned his first Rolex Series victory in front of home fans at the Genesis Scottish Open. After reaching the Tour Championship in his rookie campaign stateside, he went on to record five consecutive top 25 finishes at the end of last season on the DP World Tour to finish ninth on the Race to Dubai Rankings. His form on both sides of the Atlantic has seen him rise to a career-high 14th in the world, with the 28-year-old likely to be driven by the goal of ensuring he claims his place again on the Ryder Cup team at Bethpage Black in September.
Jon Rahm
The two-time Major champion has never played at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, but a history of success in the emirate is something he can call upon. He won at the DP World Tour Championship in 2017, 2019, when he also topped the Race to Dubai Rankings, and 2022. After finishing tied seventh at The Open last summer, the 30-year-old went on to record four further top tens, including at the Olympic Games and at the acciona Open de España presented by Madrid, where he was denied a fourth title at his home event by countryman Angel Hidalgo in a play-off. A ten-time DP World Tour winner, the Spaniard is likely to be a big draw as he joins fellow European Ryder Cup players at the $9million event.
Adam Scott
The popular Australian returns to Emirates Golf Club for the third time in the last four years. In his last two starts - in 2022 and 2024 - he registered top-ten finishes so will be hoping to mount a title challenge at an event he first played at in 2021. The former World Number One won the most recent of his 32 professional titles at the Genesis Invitational on the PGA TOUR in February 2020. While silverware has been lacking in recent years, his standing in the game is underlined by his extraordinary 23-year run of consecutive Major Championship appearances which will hit the mark of 94 at Augusta National in April. The 44-year-old finished tied third at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai at the season-ending event in November and features in the world’s top 20.
