SHANE LOWRY IS one of a number of high-profile players who will not be playing at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai this week for the final tournament in the Race to Dubai season.
Lowry’s Ryder Cup teammate Matt Fitzpatrick, his brother Alex Fitzpatrick, Australia’s Min Woo Lee and Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg have all decided not to travel for the event despite a $10m (€8.93 million) purse at stake.
Fitzpatrick (32), who won the DP World Tour Championship last year, had previously spoken up amid concerns about travelling to the Middle East due to the conflict in the region.
Matt Fitzpatrick was victorious in Dubai last November. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
In September, he described refixing the season-ending events to different locations as a “no-brainer”, and said he would make a decision closer to the event as he was “not 100% comfortable” with playing.
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“You’ve only got to look at the hotel that got hit earlier this year. I was having dinner the week I won in that hotel,” Fitzpatrick told the BBC.
However, Rory McIlroy will be playing in Dubai this weekend. McIlroy, who is currently second in the Race to Dubai standings, said he “would never feel unsafe” during last week’s tournament in Abu Dhabi.
Rory McIlroy with Eugenio Chacarra during the Abu Dhabi Championship. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
If he can leapfrog current tour leader Eugenio Chacarra into first, McIlroy would draw level with Colin Montgomerie for the most Order of Merit/Race to Dubai titles in European Tour history, with eight.
The 37-year-old will tee off last on Thursday morning with Spain’s Chacarra, with their round set to start at 12.40pm local time/8.40am Irish time.
Patrick Reed is currently in third overall and tees off just before the leaders alongside South Africa’s Casey Jarvis (12.30pm/8.40am), while Aaron Rai and Jon Rahm, last week’s Abu Dhabi Championship winner, start together 10 minutes before them (12.20pm/8.20am).
Meanwhile, further down in the Race to Dubai standings, England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton tee off at 10.30am/6.30am and 11.50am/7.50am respectively.
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Lowry among big names absent from Dubai tournament as McIlroy eyes record books
SHANE LOWRY IS one of a number of high-profile players who will not be playing at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai this week for the final tournament in the Race to Dubai season.
Lowry’s Ryder Cup teammate Matt Fitzpatrick, his brother Alex Fitzpatrick, Australia’s Min Woo Lee and Sweden’s Ludvig Åberg have all decided not to travel for the event despite a $10m (€8.93 million) purse at stake.
Fitzpatrick (32), who won the DP World Tour Championship last year, had previously spoken up amid concerns about travelling to the Middle East due to the conflict in the region.
In September, he described refixing the season-ending events to different locations as a “no-brainer”, and said he would make a decision closer to the event as he was “not 100% comfortable” with playing.
“You’ve only got to look at the hotel that got hit earlier this year. I was having dinner the week I won in that hotel,” Fitzpatrick told the BBC.
However, Rory McIlroy will be playing in Dubai this weekend. McIlroy, who is currently second in the Race to Dubai standings, said he “would never feel unsafe” during last week’s tournament in Abu Dhabi.
If he can leapfrog current tour leader Eugenio Chacarra into first, McIlroy would draw level with Colin Montgomerie for the most Order of Merit/Race to Dubai titles in European Tour history, with eight.
The 37-year-old will tee off last on Thursday morning with Spain’s Chacarra, with their round set to start at 12.40pm local time/8.40am Irish time.
Patrick Reed is currently in third overall and tees off just before the leaders alongside South Africa’s Casey Jarvis (12.30pm/8.40am), while Aaron Rai and Jon Rahm, last week’s Abu Dhabi Championship winner, start together 10 minutes before them (12.20pm/8.20am).
Meanwhile, further down in the Race to Dubai standings, England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton tee off at 10.30am/6.30am and 11.50am/7.50am respectively.
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DP World Tour Golf Missing in Action Race to Dubai Rory McIlroy Shane Lowry