- The Team Cup returns to Abu Dhabi Golf Resort in January as Molinari’s Continental Europe defends coveted match play title
- 2025 DP World Tour features a minimum of 42 tournaments in at least 26 different countries
- ‘Global Swings’, the ‘Back 9’, and the ‘DP World Tour Play-Offs’ will form three phases
Middle East golf fans can look forward to a mouth-watering line-up of tournaments in the 2025 DP World Tour global schedule announced today as the year tees off in style with the Team Cup match play showdown at Abu Dhabi Golf Resort.
The event, taking place from January 10-12, will pitch Franceso Molinari’s Continental Europe team against fellow Major winner Justin Rose’s GB & Ireland side in a hotly anticipated clash between some of the biggest names in DP World Tour golf.
Skipper Molinari will be keen to retain bragging rights for his Continental European players after they beat GB & Ireland in 2023, also on Abu Dhabi Golf Resort’s challenging National course.
Apart from being the perfect preparation for the Europeans under hugely competitive conditions for the 2025 Ryder Cup (September 26-28 at Bethpage Black in New York), the Team Cup will be the perfect launchpad for a string of DP World Tour tournaments held in the Middle East region in 2025.
They will culminate in the climax to the entire season, the ‘DP World Tour Play-Offs’ in November 2025, in the form of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links (November 6-9) and the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai (November 13-16), deciding the final season rankings.
Before all that, golf fans around the Middle East will be treated to a feast of great DP World Tour events played in the cooler winter sun. Following the Team Cup, the cream of the Tour will make the short trip to Dubai for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic (January 16-19) at Emirates Golf Club, the 36th edition of the iconic event.
The DP World Tour stays in the UAE but moves north for the Ras Al Khaimah Championship the following week (23-26 January), the fourth edition on the tight, tricky Al Hamra Course. Attention then turns to the Bahrain Championship (January 30-February 2), which made its debut on the DP World Tour in 2024, before the Tour moves on to Africa.
Tom Phillips, Director of Middle East, DP World Tour, said: “The 2025 DP World Tour promises another drama-packed, extraordinary season for our fans in the Middle East and around the world.
“With the return of the Team Cup in Abu Dhabi, followed by iconic events such as the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, the Bahrain Championship, and the season-ending DP World Tour Play-Offs in the UAE, we are bringing world-class golf to the growing communities of fans in the region who share our passion for the game.
“The DP World Tour’s commitment to a truly global schedule is stronger than ever, and we’re excited to showcase the talent, thrill, and unity that golf brings to every corner of the globe.”
Overall, it promises to be another enthralling season ahead, with a minimum of 42 Race to Dubai tournaments in at least 26 different countries planned for the 2025 season.
For the second consecutive season, the schedule will comprise three distinct phases, beginning with five ‘Global Swings’ followed by the ‘Back 9’, with the season then culminating with the ‘DP World Tour Play-Offs’ in November 2025.
The Turkish Open, which will be played at Regnum Carya Golf & Spa Resort from May 8-11, marks the DP World Tour’s return to Turkey for the first time in six years, following seven previous editions of the tournament played consecutively from 2013 to 2019.
The Austrian Alpine Open presented by SalzburgerLand, at Gut Altentann Golf Club from May 29-June 1, also sees the Tour return to Austria for the first time since 2021. It will be the 23rd edition overall of Austria’s national open, which first featured on the schedule when Bernhard Langer won the title in 1990.
Both tournaments will feature in the ‘European Swing’ – one of five Global Swings which form Phase One of the DP World Tour’s global schedule again in 2025.
Meanwhile, as previously announced, the Nedbank Golf Challenge, in South Africa, also returns to the schedule and will be the middle event of the ‘Opening Swing’ at the end of the current 2024 calendar year. The Opening Swing begins with the season-launching BMW Australian PGA Championship at Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane from November 21-24, 2024.
Each Global Swing has its own identity and its own champion, with exemptions into Rolex Series events and the second phase of the season – ‘the Back 9’ – also available.
The ‘Back 9’ events across the autumn then give players the opportunity to secure their places in the season-ending DP World Tour Play-Offs comprising back-to-back Rolex Series events in the Middle East, the Abu Dhabi Championship and the DP World Tour Championship.
Three Rolex Series events take place earlier in the season: the Hero Dubai Desert Classic (January 16-19), the Genesis Scottish Open (July 10-13) – which is co-sanctioned with the PGA TOUR – and the BMW PGA Championship (September 11-14).
Guy Kinnings, the DP World Tour’s Chief Executive, added: “Our 2025 schedule once again demonstrates and celebrates the truly global nature of the DP World Tour.
“The introduction of the Global Swings in the current season has given us a strong, clear narrative that showcases the diversity of our membership and the places and cultures we visit. This will be further enhanced through the return of national Opens in Turkey and Austria in the first phase of our 2025 season.
“Then, as we have seen in recent weeks with great success in terms of attendance, viewing figures and compelling drama, the Back 9 provides a real opportunity for our Tour internationally as we build momentum into the Play-Offs. We therefore also look forward to building on this in our 2025 season.
“Our thanks go to our partners, broadcasters, promoters, federations and partner Tours for their support and commitment to the DP World Tour and for helping us to create this schedule for the 2025 season that will appeal to our members and our fans globally.”
