After 40 events across 25 countries, the DP World Tour brings its 2026 season to a close across back-to-back weeks with the DP World Tour Play-Offs.
Who is involved, what is at stake and how to watch. Here, we explain all...
What are the DP World Tour Play-Offs?
Introduced as part of a new-look schedule ahead of the 2024 season, the DP World Tour Play-Offs mark the concluding two events of the 2026 Race to Dubai campaign.
Following the final regular event of the season at the Genesis Championship, the top 70 available players on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World contest the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship at Yas Links.
After that, the top 50 available players will progress to the Earth course at Jumeirah Golf Estates for the season finale, the DP World Tour Championship, where the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai champion will be crowned.
Across the DP World Tour Play-Offs, there is US$ 19 million in prize fund being played for.
When are the DP World Tour Play-Offs?
Following a one-week break in the Race to Dubai, the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship will take place from Thursday, November 5th to Sunday, November 8th.
Our 13-month global odyssey comes to a close with a 42nd and final event at the DP World Tour Championship from Thursday, November 12th to Sunday, November 15th at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
Who is playing?
An elite international field is set to gather in the capital city of the United Arab Emirates for the first of back-to-back Rolex Series events.
Aaron Rai returns for his title defence as one of six Major champions, alongside Rory McIlroy, Patrick Reed, Adam Scott, Jon Rahm and Francesco Molinari.
The top five on the Race to Dubai are all in action, with Eugenio Chacarra leading the Race to Dubai Rankings as the sole three-time winner on the DP World Tour this season.
There are nine Rolex Series winners, with Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton bidding to claim a record sixth title.
They are joined by fellow winners of the DP World Tour's blue-riband events in McIlroy, Reed, Rai, Victor Perez, Francesco Molinari, Bernd Wiesberger and Tommy Fleetwood.
Of the 70-strong field, 14 are set to make their tournament debut, including Rolex Series debutant Gregorio De Leo - one of four Qualifying School graduates.
There are 27 winners from the season in action, including Yuto Katsuragawa who only played his way into the field in style with victory at the Genesis Championship.
To view the entry list for the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship in full, click here.
The field for the DP World Tour Championship will be finalised following the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship.
How did players qualify?
Beginning last November and running through to August, the first phase of the season consisted of five Global Swings, before the Back 9 ran from late August through to October.
DP World Tour members have been able to win Race to Dubai points at each event, with 3,000, 3,500 or 4,000 points in the case of the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player on offer within the Global Swings and an increased 5,000 points in the Back 9. At the four Major Championships, 10,000 points have been at play.
The first three Rolex Series events this season all carried 8,000 points.
To view the Race to Dubai Rankings ahead of the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, click here.
What is at stake?
The contest to win the Race to Dubai is likely to dominate focus, with Chacarra holding the advantage as he bids to become the third Spanish winner after Rahm and Seve Ballesteros.
But in Reed and Jarvis, both two-time winners on the schedule this season, and McIlroy - Race to Dubai champion in each of the past four years and bidding to match Colin Montgomerie with a record-equalling season-long crown - he faces stiff opposition.
Players will be awarded a share of the points based on their finishing position in a tournament, with the winner in Abu Dhabi claiming 1,500 points and the champion in Dubai earning 2,000.
In addition, the winner of the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award will also be determined with Kota Kaneko, Michael Hollick, Stefano Mazzoli, Daniel Rodrigues and Yurav Premlall in the mix going into the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship.
Huge steps can also be made in discovering who wins the Seve Ballesteros Award, voted for by the Tour's own members.
THE RACE IS ON 🔥
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 26, 2026
Eugenio Chacarra gained an extra 51 points after his T22 at the Genesis Championship on the Race to Dubai Rankings and will head to the play-offs with a 669.27 difference ⚔️#GenesisChampionship pic.twitter.com/zvy2HYJIoP
What is the format for both events?
The DP World Tour Play-Offs will be contested over 72-hole individual stroke play, with no cut.
Who has won so far on the Rolex Series in 2026?
So far on the 2026 Race to Dubai, we have seen three different players become first-time Rolex Series winners.
• Hero Dubai Desert Classic - Patrick Reed
• Genesis Scottish Open - Tom Kim
• BMW PGA Championship - JJ Spaun
Will that run continue in the United Arab Emirates?
How can I watch it?
European Tour Productions, the DP World Tour’s in-house production company, will produce and distribute coverage of the DP World Tour Play-Offs.
To keep across how and where you can follow TV coverage, click here.*
For specific broadcast timings in all territories, please check your local listings.
*This article is updated weekly ahead of each tournament
