Five tied atop busy leaderboard in Abu Dhabi

  DP WORLD TOUR : Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship  Weather Leaderboard

Past champions Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry were part of a five-way tie after the first round of the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship after opening with stunning 64s.

The Ryder Cup stars, who played alongside each other at the penultimate Rolex Series event of the season on Thursday, shared the lead with New Zealand's Kazuma Kobori, South African Richard Sterne and Frenchman Adrien Saddier on -8

Reigning FedEx Cup champion Fleetwood carded eight birdies and no bogeys, while Lowry fired nine birdies and dropped a single shot.

Saddier briefly got to nine under in the afternoon after reeling off nine birdies over his first 16 holes but a bogey on the 17th saw him slip back into a share of the lead.

Sterne, who finished second behind winner Lowry at the 2019 edition of this event, made two eagles in his opening round and saved his best until last as he holed from 75 feet for a three on the par-five 18th.

Kobori, meanwhile, made an eagle and six birdies in a flawless first-round effort.

There were seven players one shot further back, with Alex Noren, Andy Sullivan, Nicolai von Dellingshausen, Nicolai Højgaard, Keita Nakajima, Michael Kim and Nacho Elvira all producing 65s.

Ludvig Åberg made a hole-in-one on the par-three eighth, landing his tee-shot a couple of feet from the pin before watching his ball roll into the cup for an ace.

Two-time former champion Fleetwood got off to a dream start at Yas Links, birdieing the first and second from close range before making two more gains on the seventh and eighth.

A 20-foot birdie on the tenth and a tap-in at the 11th saw the Englishman make back-to-back birdies for the third time in the round.

And he picked up another shot from range at the par-three 13th before birdieing the 16th to reach -8

He said: "I played well. I was very, very good off the tee and I think I made some good decisions off the tee. 

"I felt very comfortable with the shots that I chose and I hit. I putted well. I think I made a big par save on the 12th and followed that with a birdie, which was I think a crucial part of the round if it's going to be a very, very good round.

"It's Thursday. You can obviously play your way out of it. You can't win it, but eight under is a really nice way to start."

Lowry also turned in 32 after making four front-nine birdies. He then picked up five more shots on the back nine, with his only blemish coming at the 12th.

He said: "I just like the place. The condition of it is amazing, and I just see my way around here pretty well. Hopefully I can put four rounds together this week."

Sterne turned in 29 after making an eagle and five birdies on the front. His back nine was mixed but he closed the round in style, holing a monster eagle putt.

He said: "I was confusing the line to be honest. I wasn't quite sure what was happening but obviously read it correctly and got a bit lucky and just hit a perfect putt, really."

Kobori got two birdies on the front side before making an eagle and four birdies in the first seven holes of the back nine.

He said: "At the start it was very dicey, but held it together and got on a run early in the back nine. Just kept playing good golf, so it was good."

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus

Aaron Cockerill playing for his Tour card at Final Stage Q School this week...rd1 TEE TIMES

 DP World Tour : Q School Final Stage.  Leaderboard Tee Times

After a disappointing 2025 season, losing his Tour Card after finishing outside the top 115,  Canada's Aaron Cockerill has another chance to retain his card beginning Friday at this years Q School Final Stage.

Six rounds at the Infinitium's 2 courses Lakes and Hills will result in 20 players from a field of 156 will get cards for the 2026 season. 

Here is the story....

It's crunch time for many players in Spain as the gruelling six-day Final Stage of DP World Tour Qualifying School takes place at INFINITUM. Here are your five things to know.

How it works

After visiting 13 venues across seven countries for the 14 72-hole tournaments across stages one and two, the Qualifying School – designed to provide a true test for those with ambitions of competing on the DP World Tour – presents one final, and demanding, examination.

Starting on Friday, each player will play two rounds over each of INFINITUM's Lakes and Hills courses before a 72-hole cut is made at the conclusion of play on Monday. The final two rounds – held over the Lakes on Tuesday and Wednesday – will then see the remaining players battle it out.

A familiar venue, yet a new challenge awaits

Infinitum, formerly known as Lumine before undergoing a rebrand in 2021, has become the home of Final Stage since hosting the event for the first time back in 2017. With no DP World Tour Qualifying School in 2020 or 2021 due to the Covid pandemic, this year represents the seventh occasion the resort in Costa Daurada - which boasts 45 holes - is the base.

As with previous stagings, Final Stage is held over INFINITUM's two 18-hole courses – Lakes and Hills.

Since last year, the woodland Hills course has undergone an extensive back-nine renovation. Among the standout changes as part of the project led by European Golf Design is the completely reimagined 18th hole, now a striking par-four with an island-green-style approach set within a natural quarry. Other highlights include a new green complex on the tenth, reversed routing on the 15th and 16th holes, and extensive bunker and sustainability upgrades featuring Zoysia grass surrounds and Bermuda 419 fairways.

The Lakes, an inland links layout, was itself the subject of an €1.5 million renovation last year.

The field

An eclectic field of 156 players are teeing it up on the Catalonia coastline, with some prominent players joined by unheralded talent from around the world.

English duo Chris Wood and Oliver Wilson have Ryder Cup experience and five DP World Tour titles between them but are on the hunt for welcome returns to Golf’s Global Tour.

Their countrymen Eddie Pepperell, who has gained a new legion of fans through a podcast he co-hosts, Matthew Baldwin and David Horsey are among other recognisable names, but the depth of talent extends further internationally.

Lucas Bjerregaard and Alexander Levy – both former top 50 players in the world – are chasing DP World Tour playing opportunities after disappointing Race to Dubai campaigns this season.

Other notables include Yannik Paul, who finished 121st on the Race to Dubai Rankings after four consecutive years on the DP World Tour, while two-time DP World Tour winner Shubhankar Sharma has already come through Second Stage just to get here after a campaign beset by a loss of form that has seen him tumble outside the world’s top 500.

Kristian Hjort Bressum finished fourth on the Global Amateur Pathway Rankings, narrowly missing out on guaranteed playing status on either the DP World Tour and HotelPlanner Tour, but the 20-year-old Dane who only turned professional last month has since come through Second Stage.

There are 56 players who have made it through both first and second stages, including Scotland's Sam Locke, who was the leading amateur at the Open Championship in 2018.

No amateurs have made it through to Final Stage this year.

READ MORE: Ten big names targeting DP World Tour status at Final Stage

To view the Final Stage entry list, click here.

To view the tee times for Final Stage, click here.

Alexander Levy has won five DP World Tour titles since first earning status through Qualifying School in 2012

What they are playing for

The top 20 and ties earn conditional playing privileges (Category 18) on the DP World Tour for next season, along with fully exempt status on the HotelPlanner Tour of the 2026 season.

Those who make the cut but finish below that mark earn conditional membership (Category 21) on the DP World Tour and fully exempt status on the HotelPlanner Tour in 2026.

Each player will be ranked according to their final results with ties resolved by a play-off.

A player's finishing position can make a big difference to the number of Tour starts they earn, although there is opportunity for players to be re-ranked in their respective categories with good performances during the Opening Swing on the 2026 Race to Dubai schedule.

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

Fleetwood, Lowry lead the pack, Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, round 1 results..

  DP WORLD TOUR : Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship  Weather Leaderboard

Under ideal conditions with light wind NNW 8-12mph, Yas Links was no match for these top 72 players at this edition of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

With the lead at -8 64, only 7 players did not break par 72.

Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood, Richard Sterne, Kazuma Kobori, and Adrien Saddier all shot 64,-8 to tie for the lead.

The rest of the field are bunched up in order behind them, with Nicolai Hojgaard and Andy Sullivan leading a second place pack at -7 65.

Other Ryder Cup stars, T11 Tyrrell Hatton and assistant captain Alex Noren -6 66,  T20 Matt Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre -5 67 and T27, Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Aberg, -4 68.

full story to follow......

Bryan Angus

Five Canadians playing World Wide Technology Championship in Mexico...Thursday TEE TIMES..

 PGA Tour : World Wide Technology Championship Tee Times

The PGA Tour's Fall season continues at the Tiger Woods designed El Cardonal at Diamante in Mexico.

Its a full field event, at a fabulous Mexican Resort, with real rewards for many in the field, for instance a place in the top 100 for a tour card, in the top 125 for conditional Tour card status, a place in the AON Top 10, 51-60

None of the big boys play this Fall season, and opposing this event are the DP World Tour playoffs for their top 70 including Rory and seven of his Ryder Cup teammates on spectacular Yas Island in Abu Dhabi. 

Here is why the five Canadians are in the field.

Nick Taylor is 37 now, well placed at #41 owgr,  T19th in the Fed Ex Cup standings and 25th on the Official Money list...Must be looking for a working holiday in sunny Mexico.

Adam Hadwin is coming off one of his poorest seasons, now ranked 148th in the Fed Ex Cup standings, is vying to get inside that top 100 to keep his card, or at least top 125 conditional cards to avoid Q School and demotion to the Korn Ferry Tour.

Ben Silverman is in the same boat as Adam Hadwin. The Canadian, based in Florida has been the king of all those 36 hole Florida satellite tour events before earning his card in 2024. He is ranked #213 owgr, #163 in the FedEx Cup standings, but #148 in the Fall Fed Ex Cup. 

Mac Hughes has slipped out of the Fed Ex top 50 to #66. While his 2026 PGA Tour card is secure he wants to get back inside that top 50, or a least the AON top ten 51-60 for all the perks, like the $20m signature events.

Adam Svensson is also playing to move from #165 Fed Ex Cup into that top 100 or 125.

Time is running out with 2 events, the Butterfield Bermuda Championship Nov. 13-16, and the RSM Classic Nov 20-23 in Sea Island, Georgia left after this week.

Q School is lurking Dec 11-14 in Ponte Vedra, Florida.

Bryan Angus

Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.. McIIroy leads a stellar field Top 70 field...TEE TIMES, weather

 DP WORLD TOUR : Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship Tee Times Weather

Rory McIlroy is the man to beat, as the best of the DP World Tour have gathered for the 2025 season's two week finale in the contradiction that exists in today's Middle East.

Just a 2550 km drive south east down route 65 from the hell on earth that is happening in parts of Israel, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, or a five hour flight, takes you to the peaceful opulence of the YAS Links in Abu Dhabi on the Persian Gulf, then next week to the astonishing skyline of Dubai, now one of the worlds foremost locations for tourism and commerce.

It has been another long year on the DP World Tour, 26 countries, 47 events perhaps crowned by a stunning defence of the Ryder Cup in New York state in late September.

Rory has won the Grand Slam in a dramatic Masters playoff with his close friend and teammate Justin Rose, adding titles at Pebble Beach over his Irish pal Shane Lowry, the Players Championship in a playoff, then brought all of Ireland to their feet winning the Amgen Irish Open at the K Club near Dublin.

In Texas at the Children's Houston Open he became the 2nd player in history to surpass $100,000,000 in PGA Tour earnings. Tiger Woods is the other. 

Firmly intrenched at #2 in the owgr, he has won six Race to Dubai titles, and is favoured to make it a seventh this year in Dubai.

Seven of his Ryder Cup colleagues, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Rasmus Hojgaard, Tyrrell Hatton, Matt Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre and Alex Noren are all playing, click on my link above for all the tee times.

Of note, Jon Rahm (59), Justin Rose (19) Viktor Hovland (25), Matt Wallace (66) have opted not to take their spots in the field, and Sebb Straka withdrew to be at home with his son who is recovering from serious medical issues. 

Apart from the money and prestige, there are 10 spots available for dual membership with the PGA Tour / DP World Tour in 2026.

72 players this week, down to top 50 and ties next is the scenario.

WEATHER

Rarely an issue in this part of the world, this week nothing but sunshine, 33*c, breezy late on Thursday, otherwise a steady 8-12 mph for the rest of the week.

Bryan Angus

DP World Tour playoffs. Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship field, details.

 The DP World Tour Play-Offs get under way this week with a stellar field assembled at Yas Links for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Here is the field, facts... 

• Entry List

The Play-Offs begin

It all comes down to this. After 40 events across five continents and 27 countries covering five Global Swings and the Back 9 we have reached the DP World Tour Play-Offs. 

We have so far seen 35 different winners, with 19 lifting a DP World Tour trophy for the first time, and John Parry, Laurie Canter, Keita Nakajima, Kristoffer Reitan and Marco Penge becoming Swing Champions. 

Rory McIlroy ended his decade-long wait for a Major at the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam and Europe won a Ryder Cup on US soil but we are not done yet. Starting this week at Yas Links and continuing into next week's DP World Tour Championship, the Play-Offs will decide who is to be crowned Europe's Number One. It's All To Play For.

Hunting McIlroy

Race to Dubai Rankings leader McIlroy arrives at Yas Links looking for a seventh Harry Vardon Trophy and fourth in a row but he may well not have it all his own way in the UAE.

 Three-time winner this season Marco Penge is his nearest challenger and while 441.32 points is a hefty deficit to make up, with enhanced points on offer the next two weeks, it is very much game on. 

McIlroy has 4,132.56 points but back-to-back wins in the Play-Offs could see a player rack up 3,500.00, with as few as 77.600 on offer for two last-place finishes. That puts not only Penge in the hunt but many others, although McIlroy is the only one with his destiny in his own hands.

Race to Dubai

The phrase has never held so much meaning as only the top 50 after this week will advance and have the chance to earn more points at the DP World Tour Championship. 

HotelPlanner Tour graduate Brandon Robinson Thompson arrives at Yas Links 50th in the Rankings, one place behind Jacob Skov Olesen, who is the only player in the field making his Rolex Series debut this week. 

Alex Fitzpatrick and Genesis Championship winner Junghwan Lee have made huge strides in recent weeks to crack the top 70 and will be looking to maintain their momentum, while those in the forties will be nervously looking over their shoulders.

Rolex Series returns

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is the fourth and penultimate Rolex Series event of a season that has already seen the blue riband spectaculars produce high drama. 

It all started in neighbouring Dubai where Tyrrell Hatton won a record-equalling fifth Rolex Series title. 

Chris Gotterup then lifted the trophy at the Genesis Scottish Open before Alex Noren - the first ever Rolex Series champion at the 2017 BMW PGA Championship - brought it full circle with a second title at Wentworth Club after a play-off victory over Adrien Saddier. 

This week's event has been part of the Rolex Series since 2019 and has seen Shane Lowry, Lee Westwood, Hatton, Thomas Pieters, Victor Perez and Paul Waring hoist the Falcon Trophy.

Inside the field

McIlroy may take the headlines but with all of the top 18 in the Race to Dubai Rankings and 66 of the top 70 on display, he will have to overcome an elite field to finally get his hands on the trophy at an event where he has nine top threes from 13 appearances. 

Seven of his Ryder Cup team-mates tee it up including Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre, both of whom are also currently in the top ten on the Official World Golf Ranking. Hatton will also be hunting another win in the desert alongside a host of winners from 2025. Last season's champion Waring is unable to defend his title due to injury.

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

Rolex Grand Final... TIMES, Tournament details..

 DP World Tour, Road to Mallorca : Rolex Grand Final Tee Times History

The Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A takes place this week from October 30-November 2 at Club de Golf Alcanada in Mallorca, and marks the 30th anniversary of the season-ending showpiece.

Here is everything you need to know as the 2025 Road to Mallorca reaches its conclusion…

It all comes down to this

After 28 events spanning 18 countries and three continents, the final event on the 2025 Road to Mallorca is here. With 20 DP World Tour cards on the line and one Road to Mallorca Rankings winner to be crowned, there is all to play for this week.

Every single person in the 45-man field can earn promotion. Spaniard Victor Pastor (pictured), who is the last man in the field, and Englishman Jamie Rutherford, who currently occupies 20th in the Rankings and the final promotion place, are separated by just 161 points. The winner at Alcanada will be awarded 640 points, meaning no-one is out of the running to earn a life-changing card on Golf’s Global Tour. It really does all come down to this.

Club de Golf Alcanada

Club de Golf Alcanada hosts the HotelPlanner Tour’s season finale for a fifth time this week, and for the fourth time in successive years. In 2019 the Alcúdia venue made its debut, with Italian Francesco Laporta coming out on top. Three years later it returned to the schedule and it has remained the home of the final event on the Road to Mallorca ever since.

The course at Alcanada provides the perfect test. Designed by legendary golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr., the layout includes incredible views of the sea, mountains and the iconic lighthouse situated on a nearby island. First opened in 2003 after three years of construction, it now houses outstanding practice facilities alongside the coastal course.

The man to catch

JC Ritchie became the sixth different player to hit the Road to Mallorca summit when he won for a third time this season in the Italian Challenge Open at the end of September. With that win, the South African secured automatic promotion to the DP World Tour and is now looking to conclude an outstanding campaign by ending the year as the Number One. With a 101-point lead over Austrian Maximilian Steinlechner, Ritchie is in pole position to do just that, however Steinlechner is one of seven other players that could mathematically catch him.

A shot at history

Adri Arnaus has an opportunity to write his name into the record books when he tees it up at Club de Golf Alcanada this week. With victory the Spaniard would not only secure his return to the DP World Tour, but he would become the first player to win the season finale on two separate occasions. Arnaus birdied the final hole of the 2018 edition of the event, held in the UAE, to win by one-stroke and secure his promotion to the DP World Tour. 

He would go on to become a winner on Golf’s Global Tour in 2022 at the Catalunya Championship on home soil, and despite narrowly missing out on retaining his playing privileges, has shown consistency throughout 2025 to give himself a chance of a quick return.

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)