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The Back 9 tournaments on the DP World Tour just ended a week ago, and now it’s time for the Play-Offs. Scheduled from November 6 to November 9, 2025, the 2025 HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship is the first Play-Off. The $9 million tournament will be played at the Yas Links Abu Dhabi Golf Course. Yas Links Abu Dhabi features natural terrain with seaside breezes, a dune landscape, and undulating fairways. The par-72 course is a length that challenges even the most experienced professionals. Since it is a Play-Off event, it has long been where golf’s biggest names make statements. In fact, only the top 70 on the Race to Dubai rankings are directly eligible to play in the tournament. Besides them, Ryder Cup participants get to play the Abu Dhabi Championship. Some of the notable members in the field include the World No. 2, Rory McIlroy; Ryder Cup stars Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry, Ludvig Aberg, Matt Fitzpatrick, Rasmus Hojgaard, and Robert MacIntyre; and 2025 winners, such as Marco Penge (Spanish Open, Hainan Classic, and Danish Golf Championship), Michael Kim (Open de France), Alex Noren (BMW PGA Championship, Betfred British Masters). ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad So, who is sitting out this important event on the DP World Tour Play-Offs? ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Sepp Straka Like Shane Lowry and Ludvig Aberg, even Sepp Straka was a member of the 2025 Ryder Cup team. So he could have taken the free pass like his teammates. In fact, he did. A few days back, Straka announced that he would play both Play-Off events. Until now, he had played two tournaments on the DP World Tour this year. He had to play two more to retain his DP World Tour membership for 2026. So, he decided to play in both Play-Off events to make it a total of four. However, he had to withdraw from both events because of a family emergency. Sepp Straka’s son, Thomas, has been struggling with health issues for a few months now. This was the reason Straka didn’t participate in the Ryder Cup practice match at Wentworth. He was also the only European team member not to play the BMW PGA Championship. Although Straka wanted to play the Play-Off events, he could not because Thomas was arriving home after getting discharged from NICU. Read Top Stories First From EssentiallySports Click here and check box next to EssentiallySports “Paige and I are pleased to share that we are preparing for our son, Thomas, to return home in the coming weeks after spending his initial two months of life in intensive care,” the 4x PGA Tour winner said when withdrawing from the tournaments. Since he had a genuine reason, the DP World Tour is also allowing him to retain his membership despite playing only two events in 2025. ADVERTISEMENT Article continues below this ad Jon Rahm Jon Rahm ranks 59th on the Race to Dubai rankings. Moreover, he was also a member of the 2025 Ryder Cup team. This means that he was eligible to play in the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship. Despite being eligible, he is not part of the field. Jon Rahm finished his 2025 DP World Tour season earlier than usual. After playing the Spanish Open, Rahm announced he would take a 3-month break from professional golf. “I’ve never had three months of vacation, but I’m looking forward to it. Other athletes have it, and we’ll see. I’m lucky to be able to go home now, have a preseason, be a father, and be with my family. And well, if I see that it’s too much, then maybe I won’t do it next year, but I’m eager,” the Spaniard told Marca. Rahm won’t tee up again until the LIV Golf season begins in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in February 2026. Thus, fans won’t see him at the DP World Tour Championship as well. While there’s no clear reason why Rahm made the move, analysts say it is because of the growing tensions between him and the DP World Tour over unpaid fines. Adam Scott Unlike Sepp Straka or Jon Rahm, who are eligible but not playing, Adam Scott is not eligible to play the Abu Dhabi Championship. He currently stands in 108th position on the Race to Dubai rankings. Since only the top 70 get to play, Scott is not eligible. The 11x DP World Tour winner struggled throughout much of the 2025 season. He failed to notch top 20 finishes since July’s Scottish Open. Besides the four majors, he played four other events on the tour. Of the 4, his best finish was T17 at the Genesis Scottish Open. Besides that, he played the Hero Dubai Desert Classic (T37), the BMW PGA Championship (T38), and the Genesis Championship (T30). Since his performances were not great throughout the season, he didn’t earn enough points to become eligible for the Abu Dhabi Championship. Justin Rose Another Ryder Cup team member not playing the Abu Dhabi Championship is Justin Rose. Rose’s 2025 season hasn’t been bad. He played 8 events, including 4 majors, 1 Ryder Cup, and 1 other team event. He finished T124 in both the US Open and the PGA Championship. But besides that, he finished 2nd at the Masters, just below his Ryder Cup teammate Rory McIlroy. Firing rounds of 70-68-68-63, he finished 6th at the Scottish Open. On the PGA Tour, he won the 2025 FedEx St. Jude Championship. Thanks to his performances, he is 19th on the Race to Dubai rankings. However, he opted not to play in the 2025 Abu Dhabi Championships. He has not given any specific reason for withdrawing from the tournament yet. Viktor Hovland Viktor Hovland is notably absent from the 2025 DP World Tour Playoffs and specifically the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. He was last seen playing in the DP World India Championship. Hovland finished T6 at the event. He is 25th on the Race to Dubai rankings and is even a Ryder Cup member. So, unlike Adam Scott, who is not allowed to play, Hovland is eligible for the DP World Tour Play-Offs. While Hovland has not given any specific reason not to play in the Play-Offs, it is suspected that his neck injury may be the cause. He sustained a neck injury during the Ryder Cup. Therefore, he had to withdraw from the singles match on Sunday, enforcing the envelope rule. Although he played at the DP World India Championship after the Ryder Cup, he is not participating in either of the Play-Off events. This is not unprecedented for Hovland; he also skipped the finale events in 2024. Despite these elite golfers sitting out the 2025 Abu Dhabi Championship, there are enough stars to make the event exciting.
