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In what was expected to be their final tournament of the DP World Tour’s 2025 Race to Dubai, this week in India, the season may not be over yet for Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood.
With Fleetwood sitting 94th and Lowry 155th in the season-long order of merit, the pair need a strong performance at this week’s inaugural DP World India Championship to move inside the top 70 and secure a spot for the $9 million Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, and the top 50 for the $10 million DP World Tour Championship. Neither is scheduled to play next week in Korea at the Genesis Championship.
Shane Lowry – 2019 Abu Dhabi HSBC Champion – Getty Images
Outside the Majors, the 2019 Abu Dhabi HSBC Champion, Lowry has played his minimum four DP World Tour events in 2025: the Amgen Irish Open, BMW PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, and last week’s Open de España. This week in India will bring his tally to five.
Tommy Fleetwood, the 2017 Race to Dubai winner and two-time Abu Dhabi HSBC Champion, has played just one extra event, appearing in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, Genesis Scottish Open, BMW PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, and Alfred Dunhill Links Championship prior to the DP World India Championship.
The brace of elevated Rolex Series events in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links is restricted to the top 70 players on the Race to Dubai Rankings, while the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates is limited to the top 50, following next week’s Korea Championship—or so it appears.
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The winter break might not come as early as expected for some, as the DP World Tour has confirmed to bunkered, that Ryder Cup players are now included in addition to those already in the top 70 and 50. This means field sizes will expand where necessary to accommodate their participation.
The DP World Tour rule book specifically outlines that Team Europe members have their own exemption category to play both the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the DP World Tour Championship.
Team Europe
For the rest of Team Europe, it was announced last week that 2025 Ryder Cup stars Ludvig Åberg and Rasmus Højgaard, Vice-Captain Alex Noren, and Nicolai Højgaard will join Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton, and Robert MacIntyre at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
Åberg, currently outside the automatic qualifying spots in 72nd, has confirmed he will play in Abu Dhabi, while Sepp Straka, 147th, has yet to confirm his participation. Justin Rose will only compete in the DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates, skipping Abu Dhabi.
Three-time DP World Tour Championship winner Jon Rahm, 56th in the rankings, has finished his competitive season and will next compete at LIV Golf Riyadh in February. Meanwhile, Norway’s Viktor Hovland, returning from a neck injury at Bethpage and currently 28th, has yet to confirm his winter plans in the UAE.
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Main Image: Ramsey Cardy
