Two big prizes are up for grabs this weekend in Dubai: the tournament itself and the Race to Dubai trophy that will be determined by how the leading contenders do here in the UAE between Thursday and Sunday. Here’s how the Race to Dubai works, who’s leading it, who has won here in the past, the latest betting odds and of course, our betting tip for it all.
There’s certainly proof that the cream rises to the top at this tournament.
12 of the last 13 winners (some were multiple winners here in Dubai) were Major winners at the time of their win here or went on to win a Major afterwards: Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jon Rahm, Danny Willett and Collin Morikawa.
- Starts: 12 November
- Venue: Earth Course, Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai
- Coverage: Sky Sports Golf
Best Bet: Patrick Reed Top 10 Finish
It’s understandable that most punters this week will want to focus on the winner market and take their chances with the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm or Tommy Fleetwood, but that’s not where the best bet lies.
Instead, American Patrick Reed ticks plenty of boxes for a Top 10 finish at best odds of 3.0.
He’s third in the Race to Dubai and has been playing well all season on the DP Tour. He has 13 wins to his name across his career and a strong record here with three Top 10 finishes in the last 10 years: a second (2018), a third (2020) and a 10th (2017).
In total, he’s played here eight times before, so he knows the course well and has good memories of it, with his excellent putting under pressure being another positive.
The big negative is that his recent form is a bit patchy, but that really is the only concern and is also the main reason why we’re getting such a big price on him.
Current DP World Tourna Betting Odds and Favourites
3-time winner here, McIlroy, is the 4.0 favourite, followed by his Ryder Cup teammate Jon Rahm at 7.0, a player highly likely to return to the DP Tour and PGA Tour next season after almost certainly abandoning the disaster that was the LIV Tour.
Fan favourite Tommy Fleetwood is next at 10.0, then it’s the Race to Dubai Leader Chacarra, with Tyrell Hatton (another LIV exile) and then the evergreen Adam Scott.
Patrick Reed, a man with 13 pro tournament wins to his name and third on the Race to Dubai standings, looks a generous price at 26.0.
In side markets, McIlroy is 10.0 to be the 1st Round Leader, Rahm is 13.0 and Fleetwood 17.0.
Fleetwood is also the 3.0 favourite to be the top Englishman, with Hatton 5.5 and Aaron Rai 7.0.
The Race to Dubai
As mentioned already in our preview of the snooker Champion of Champions tournament, this is a big week for end-of-season tournaments across several sports with small fields where qualification for them is dependent on the players showing remarkable consistency throughout the year. It's also the case with the DP World Tour Championship here, where players need to be currently ranked in the Top 50 in the Race to Dubai.
So a good starting point is: what’s the Race to Dubai? It’s the season-long competition on the DP Tour, formerly known as the European Tour, that determines the Tour’s leading player. And it’s a competition that features one man’s name time and time again, with Rory McIlroy having won it on seven occasions and in each of the last four seasons.
So this tournament is the final one in the Race to Dubai, and it’s worth reiterating that there are two prizes at stake here.
Firstly, the tournament itself, with the trophy and prize money that go with it. And secondly, the points up for grabs here that will help to determine who wins the Race to Dubai.
There may be something of a surprise winner of the Race to Dubai. Spain’s Eugenio Chacarra heads into the final tournament as the leader after an outstanding season in which he won three times and secured four more Top 3 finishes. Then again, he played a hell of a lot of tournaments this season: 30.
For some context, third-placed American Patrick Reed played 21, fourth-placed Casey Jarvis 27 and fifth-placed Aaron Rai just eight.
Who’s in second, then? Yeah, you guessed it: Rory McIlroy, who played 12 qualifying tournaments, winning once, coming second twice, third two times and showing remarkable consistency in all the others. So don’t rule out McIlroy having a strong performance here in this tournament and winning the Race to Dubai yet again.
Previous DP World Tour Winners
This is an interesting tournament in that it’s pretty unpredictable when it comes to finding a winner.
Yes, from among the players in this week’s field, Rory McIlroy has won here three times (2012, 2015 and 2024), the same number as Jon Rahm (2017, 2019 and 2022).
Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick has triumphed twice (2016 and 2025) but isn’t in the field this week.
On the other hand, the last five editions have all been won by different players: Fitzpatrick, McIlroy and Rahm, in addition to Collin Morikawa (2021) and Nicolai Hojgaard. So you can see that it’s not one of those courses where one player has made it their own.
The Earth Course?
Speaking of the course itself, the Earth Course is a spectacular par-72 championship layout designed by former Major winner and former LIV CEO Greg Norman.
Measuring approximately 7,700 yards, it is one of golf’s most demanding challenges. The course features wide, rolling fairways, strategically positioned bunkers, numerous water hazards and fast, undulating greens.
Inspired by traditional parkland courses, it combines lush green playing surfaces with colourful landscaping and mature trees, creating a striking contrast against Dubai's desert surroundings.
Accuracy off the tee and excellent approach play are essential, while the closing holes provide plenty of opportunities for dramatic finishes at the DP World Tour Championship.
One of the characteristics of those final holes is that you’re never safe at the top of the leaderboard, while it’s also not easy to build yourself a big lead.
The proof is in the pudding: only once in the last 11 editions has a player won by three or more strokes, while last year it went to a playoff, with Fitzpatrick eventually beating McIlroy in it.
