The 2025 Abu Dhabi Championship takes centre-stage in the penultimate DP World Tour event of the season, with plenty of top quality players to watch out for.
The Abu Dhabi Championship field is an incredibly strong one, including the likes of Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton amongst plenty of other world class golfers.
Players To Watch At The 2025 Abu Dhabi Championship
SportsCasting‘s golf expert has outlined five golfers to keep an eye on this week at the Abu Dhabi Championship from Yas Links Golf Club.
These include multiple major winners, this year’s FedEx Cup champion and some of the most in-form players in world golf right now.
Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy’s next tournament sees the five-time major champion tee it up at Yas Links in Abu Dhabi, and the Northern Irishman is certainly worth watching this week.
The career Grand Slam winner currently leads the way in the Race to Dubai standings as he chases a record seventh title, with two more DP World Tour events including this week in the UAE for him to get over the line.
The 36-year-old hasn’t played since making his debut in India last month, where he finished in an underwhelming tie for 26th. However, McIlroy has won in the UAE on countless occasions, so has fond memories of his time in the Middle East and playing golf at Yas Links.
A win this week at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Championship would almost guarantee his seventh Race to Dubai title, so Rory McIlroy is certainly worth watching out for this week in the world of golf.
Tommy Fleetwood
Another golfer worth watching this week at the Abu Dhabi Championship is reigning FedEx Cup champion and former Race to Dubai winner Tommy Fleetwood.
The Englishman has enjoyed the year of his life in 2025, winning for the first time in America as well as claiming victory in the PGA Tour season-long FedEx Cup. Fleetwood also won on his last outing on the European Tour, where we successfully backed him in our DP World India Championship betting tips.
Now, Fleetwood aims to go back-to-back on the DP World Tour and remain hot on the heels of Rory McIlroy as he goes in search of a second Race to Dubai title.
Fleetwood won the Race to Dubai back in 2017, but winning it for the second time in 2025 would further amplify his world class golf this year with wins on both the season-long events in both America and Europe.
Both McIlroy and Fleetwood are the two outright favourites to win the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which comes as no surprise whatsoever. Be sure to watch out for the luscious locks of the Southport man this week at Yas Link Golf Club.
Marco Penge
This year has been a true breakthrough season for Marco Penge, who currently sits second just behind Rory McIlroy in the current Race to Dubai standings.
The Englishman only started playing on the European Tour last year, but has taken the world of golf by storm in 2025 with three wins already this season. These include victories at the Hainan Classic in April, Danish Golf Championship in August and the Open de Espana just last month.
Penge has earned automatic qualification for all four majors next year, and looks guaranteed to earn his PGA Tour card given the world class golf he has played this year.
The 27-year-old is one of the biggest hitters in the world, which is matched by his touch around the greens and reliability with the flat stick too.
Priced amongst the favourites with golf betting sites, Marco Penge is most definitely worth watching this week at the Abu Dhabi Championship.
Tom McKibbin
Tom McKibbin broke the Hong Kong Golf Club course record last Thursday en route to winning the 2025 Hong Kong Open, and the Northern Irishman is once again in the field this week at Yas Links, looking to continue his strong form.
The 22-year-old has become one of the most consistent players at LIV Golf this year, winning the Team Championship with Legion XIII alongside the likes of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.
Although he now competes at LIV, McKibbin has still had several strong showings on the DP World Tour this season too. His last European Tour event was a fourth place finish at the Open de Espana last month, before winning in his next tournament with ease at the Hong Kong Open just last week on the Asian Tour.
The Northern Irishman has won once on the European Tour before, and looks set to win a lot more in the coming years. He is still a relative baby in terms of professional golf, so be sure to watch out for his name on major championship leaderboards in years to come.
McKibbin comes to Yas Links as one of the red-hot players in the field, so he is most definitely worth watching at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Championship this week.
Ludvig Aberg
Another player worth watching at the Abu Dhabi Championship is European Ryder Cup star and two-time PGA Tour winner Ludvig Aberg.
The Swedish golf sensation is one of the best players in the world right now, currently ranked at number 15 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He was as high as fourth at one stage, but is yet to win a golf tournament in 2025.
Although he hasn’t had as successful a year in 2025 as he perhaps did the two previous years, Aberg still won on the PGA as he clinched the Genesis Invitational back in February with a remarkable display at Torrey Pines.
The 26-year-old enjoyed a successful 45th Ryder Cup in September at Bethpage Black too, becoming the only winner on Sunday for Luke Donald’s side as he helped improve Team Europe’s Ryder Cup record on US soil with a first win stateside since 2012.
Although the Swede hasn’t been just as consistent this year, he remains one of the world’s best players and is most definitely a golfer to watch out for this week in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi Championship Preview
All eyes are on Yas Links Golf Club this week for the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in what is the penultimate tournament of the DP World Tour season.
The Abu Dhabi Championship is showcasing a bumper field of golfing talent, as well as a lucrative prize pot of $9million.
Some of the world’s best players are in action, with several Ryder Cup stars like career Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy, former Race to Dubai winner Tommy Fleetwood and former champion Tyrrell Hatton all in the stacked Abu Dhabi Championship field.
A total of 74 players are teeing it up at Yas Links, with eyes firmly set on the Abu Dhabi Championship trophy before the final DP World Tour event in Dubai next week in what is the Race to Dubai finale.
Some of the most consistent performers on the European Tour are also in action such as Marco Penge, Matt Fitzpatrick and Robert MacIntyre, but players like Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Joaquin Niemann are absent this week and opting to skip Abu Dhabi and head straight for Dubai next week instead.
With just two tournaments to go on the DP World Tour, we really are at the business end of the season-long 2025 Race to Dubai. McIlroy is aiming to claim a record seventh Race to Dubai title, with Fleetwood chasing a second and the likes of Hatton and Penge looking to win their first Race to Dubai title.
The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is a straight stroke-play event over 72 holes with a half-way cut. The final group are expected to tee off at approximately 7am on Sunday.
So, who will reign supreme at Yas Links Golf Club this week and claim victory at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Championship come Sunday after 72 holes?
Abu Dhabi Championship – Tournament Info
- 🏌️ Event: Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship
- 📅 Date: Thu 6 Nov – Sun 9 Nov
- 🕛 Opening Tee Time: Approx. 4.00am BST
- 🏆 2024 Winner: Paul Waring (-24)
- 💰 Purse: $9,000,000 (Winner: $1,530,000)
- 📺 TV Channel: Sky Sports
- ⛳️ Venue: Yas Links Golf Club | Abu Dhabi, UAE
