DP World : Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship Entry List
Højgaard twins Rasmus and Nicolai earned their places in the first event of the DP World Tour Play-Offs after qualifying for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, taking place at Yas Links from November 7-10.
The Danish pair join the world class field set to compete in Abu Dhabi in the fourth Rolex Series event of the season, which is the first tournament in the new-look season-ending Play-Offs. The top 70 available players from the Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex will compete next week in Abu Dhabi, with the top 50 then advancing to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
Also teeing it up at Yas Links will be four-time Major winner and defending Race to Dubai champion Rory McIlroy, fellow Major Champions Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Adam Scott and Olympic Silver Medalist Tommy Fleetwood among a host of DP World Tour stars including Canadian Aaron Cockerill who is enjoying his best season, this his 5th, placing 47th in the Race to Dubai standings having risen as high as 9th after a T4 in January at the Dubai Desert Classic which was won by McIlroy.
" It was fun, that's where you want to be in that situation, he said of the big money atmosphere, there are great crowds, it was a great tournament with such a cool vibe. Playing some of those holes looking at the massive skyline in the background, it doesn't even look real" Cockerill and his wife Chelsea and daughter Addison are enjoying life in their new home in Dubai as he prepares for the season finale.
Rasmus is currently in third position on the Race to Dubai Rankings, thanks to an impressive 2024 campaign which also saw him win his fifth DP World Tour title at the Amgen Irish Open at Royal County Down in September.
He is just under 2,000 points behind McIlroy in the season-long standings, but a strong performance at Yas Links would give him an outside chance of claiming the Race to Dubai if he were to emulate his twin brother’s success from last year and win the DP World Tour Championship.
It will be his fourth appearance in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, with his best result to date coming on his last outing in 2022 when he finished in a share of 20th place.
Nicolai earned his place in the field in Abu Dhabi after finishing in a share of ninth at last week’s Genesis Championship. Following on from successive top-20 results at the FedEx Open de France and Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, the 2023 Ryder Cup star, moved up to 67th on the Rankings to claim a place as he hopes to ascend further still and defend his DP World Tour Championship crown.
“One of my goals for this year was to defend my DP World Tour Championship title, so I’m hoping for a big week at Yas Links to move further up the Rankings and make that Top 50."
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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