Exciting climax in prospect in Dubai
Daniel Hillier – could find himself with a PGA Tour card -file image courtesy of NZ Open
The 2024/2025 DP World Tour season reaches its climax this week when the DP World Tour Championship is played over the Earth Course at the Jameira Estates in Dubai.
The leading 50 players from the Race to Dubai rankings, plus two other Ryder Cup players not otherwise exempt (Shane Lowry and Ludvig Alberg), tee it up for a total purse of US$10 million with another US$6 million available in bonus money to be split amongst the leading ten players.
The first prize for the event itself is US$3 million, with another US$2 million to the leading player in the Race to Dubai standings at the completion of the event.
Three Australasians have made the field, namely Daniel Hillier, Elvis Smylie and Kazuma Kobori, with Hillier and Smylie also eying the possibility of gaining access to the PGA Tour should they finish high enough to finish inside the top ten in the Race to Dubai standings and not otherwise exempt for the PGA Tour.
Currently Hillier is in 12th position in the race for a tour card, Smylie 14th and Kobori quite some way further back, so Hillier and Smylie remain in the running to be playing in the US should they produce a strong week. For Hillier and Smylie, perhaps, a top 5 finish might be good enough, although many variables could alter that.
After a poor opening round of 75 last year, Hillier recovered to finish a reasonable 38th in his debut, while Smylie and Kobori will to play the event for the first occasion.
The event promises to be a real shootout with Rory McIlroy looking to claim the title for 4th occasion, but two-time runner-up in this event, Tommy Fleetwood, is chasing a dream end to 2025, having won the FedEx Championship on the PGA Tour and now the possibility of winning this equivalent title.
