The DP World Tour Championship marks the climax of the 2024 Race to Dubai season, also bringing to a close another season of the DP World Tour's Official Fantasy game.
Held over the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates, the season finale features the leading 50 available players on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex.
Rory McIlroy arrives in Dubai in pole position to win his sixth Harry Vardon trophy for finishing top of the season-long rankings, with Thriston Lawrence requiring a win to deny him, although even that will not be enough if the Northern Irishman finishes solo 11th or better.
The fifth Rolex Series event of 2024 - the second of back-to-back events in the United Arab Emirates in the DP World Tour Play-Offs - features a prize fund of $10m, while the top ten in the DP World Tour Rankings will share a bonus pool of $6m, with the Number One player claiming $2m.
At the end of the tournament, the top ten DP World Tour members on the final 2024 Race to Dubai Rankings (not otherwise exempt) will earn a PGA TOUR card, becoming dual members for the 2025 season.
If you have not done so already, you can still sign up to play the official 2024 DP World Tour Fantasy game here and submit your six-man team before round one gets under way on Thursday.
The 2024 season-long winner will win a trip to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next year, enjoy a lesson with a DP World Tour professional and a round of golf on the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates. For more information on this amazing prize and others, read here.
To play Fantasy DP World Tour, click here.
Fantasy Insight: For the second week running, Tyrrell Hatton is the most popular pick among Fantasy users, featuring in 69% of teams, after recording a win and a runner-up finish in his last two DP World Tour starts.
Next comes Billy Horschel as the American targets a second Rolex Series win of the season (53%), and he is followed by Shane Lowry (42%), Robert MacIntyre (41%) and Matt Wallace (39%).
Here, we pick out three players in action this week who are worth considering for your Fantasy team selections.
Favourite - Rory McIlroy
Not exactly a surprise. The World Number Three returned from a month-long break with a strong performance at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, where he finished tied for third. While there was the occasional lack of sharpness, with Friday's triple-bogey at the 17th and Saturday's double-bogey on the 18th ultimately costing him the chance to pip Paul Waring. Already a winner in this part of the world this year after his victory at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the Northern Irishman also has an impressive record over the Earth course, where he has won twice and had ten top-ten finishes in 13 appearances. Claiming the Race to Dubai crown for a sixth time looks a near-certainty and it would be no surprise if he completed the job with a win.
Form Horse - Tyrrell Hatton
It's perhaps no surprise that the Englishman is picked by so many in the game. Over his last four starts on Tour since the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo, the 33-year-old has finished no worse than a tie for 18th at The Belfry in September. His victory at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and subsequent runner-up finish last week in Abu Dhabi means he comes into the week in sixth place on the Race to Dubai and with the chance to better his previous best season-long finish of fourth on the season-long rankings. A big drive for the seven-time DP World Tour winner is his pursuit of a spot again on Luke Donald's Ryder Cup team next year and he currently leads the way on the qualifying standings for Bethpage. As if his form wasn't enough of a factor, he also boasts two runner-up finishes over the Earth course.
Wild Card - Francesco Laporta
It's been a hugely impressive finish to the season for the Italian, registering four consecutive top 20s in as many starts to earn his way into the DP World Tour's lucrative season finale. He recorded four sub-70 rounds last week in Abu Dhabi as he finished tied 13th to claim the final spot in this week's field and will be viewing this as a no-lose, everything to gain opportunity. He finished tied 46th in his only previous appearance at the DP World Tour Championship in 2021 but the 34-year-old should be full of confidence ahead of his return visit three years on.
Looking back - Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
Paul Waring featured in a fraction over 12% of teams, while he rewarded the one player who selected him as captain.
Our Favourite Rory McIlroy finished tied third, with Form Horse Jordan Smith 13th, while Shubhankar Sharma finished 32nd in the 70-strong field.
Season so far - 2024 DP World Tour Fantasy Top 10 player rankings
| Player | Points |
|---|---|
| Niklas Nørgaard | 3428 |
| Tom McKibbin | 3251 |
| Jordan Smith | 3248 |
| Casey Jarvis | 3127 |
| Connor Syme | 3101 |
| Rasmus Højgaard | 3098 |
| Angel Hidalgo | 3038 |
| Thriston Lawrence | 2995 |
| Jesper Svensson | 2994 |
| Alex Fitzpatrick | 2983 |
