For the second successive season, the DP World Tour has been separated into three distinct phases.
The season began in November 2024 with the first of the Global Swings tournaments, the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
It gave way to the Back 9, which began in August and concluded with the Genesis Championship, over 11 months after the season began.
That leaves just the DP World Tour Play-Offs phase to come – a part of the season that may be the shortest, with just two Rolex Series events, but is the most consequential for the competitors.
So, how do the DP World Tour Play-Offs work?
The Race To Dubai So Far
All season, as well as prize money and honors in individual tournaments, players have been competing in the Race to Dubai. Points are awarded in each event, with a running total throughout the season.
The Global Swings phase of the season was the longest, running from November to August, and in most of its events, between 3,000 and 3,500 Race to Dubai points were available.
The Back 9 upped the ante, with the number of points available increasing to 5,000.
The only exceptions were the three Rolex Series events in those two phases, which each offered 8,000 points, and the four Majors, which offered 10,000 points.
After the final event of the Back 9, the Genesis Championship, the position of players in the rankings determined factors including whether they would have a DP World Tour card for the 2026 season, with the top 115 guaranteeing their involvement next year.
Meanwhile, the top end of the rankings was pivotal to who would be eligible for the first of the all-important Play-Offs events at Yas Links.
Who Is Eligible For The DP World Tour Play-Offs?
The top 70 in the Race to Dubai rankings following the Genesis Championship were guaranteed eligibility for the first of the Playoffs, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links.
However, not all of them will compete in the Play-Offs, including the player in 59th, Jon Rahm. As a result, even the player in 74th in the rankings, Joe Dean, is in the field for the first of the two Play-Offs.
At the top of the rankings is Rory McIlroy, who is looking for his seventh Race to Dubai title and fourth in succession.
Any member of the 2025 European Ryder Cup Team who is not otherwise exempt is also eligible, with Ludvig Aberg, Shane Lowry and Sepp Straka taking advantage of that to tee it up in the first tournament.
Following the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the rankings will be updated, with the top 50 reaching the season-closing DP World Tour Championship.
What Is The Format Of The DP World Tour Play-Offs Events?
The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship is a 72-hole individual strokeplay event, with no cut.
There are 9,000 points available at the first of the Play-Offs tournaments, and the opportunity to accumulate as many as possible will be the priority.
At the end of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, only those players in the top 50 of the revised rankings will progress to the second and final Play-Offs event, the DP World Tour Championship, which, as ever, will be held at the Jumeirah Golf Estates’ Earth Course in Dubai.
Those who make it to the stage will again compete over four rounds of no-cut strokeplay, but on that occasion, the stakes will be even higher, with 12,000 Race to Dubai points available.
After the final putt on November 16th, as well as a tournament champion, the Race to Dubai winner will also be confirmed and presented with the Harry Vardon Trophy.
What Are The Key Scenarios In The DP World Tour Play-Offs?
Rory McIlroy may currently lead the way in the rankings, but he’s not yet guaranteed to win the Harry Vardon Trophy for the fourth year in a row.
Ahead of the Play-Offs, his nearest rival is Marco Penge, on 3,691.24 points, 441.32 behind McIlroy’s 4132.56 points.
Penge and some others further down the rankings, including LIV Golf's Tyrrell Hatton, could yet catch McIlroy even if they don’t win one of the events, depending on McIlroy’s performances in the Play-Offs.
However, as the leader, it's all in McIlroy's hands, and if he happens to win both events, there's nothing anyone else can do to stop him.
For reference, the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship awards 1,500 points to the winner, with 2,000 going to the winner of the DP World Tour Championship.
The player with the fewest points is Joe Dean, on 728.99 points. Even from that position, two wins could move him ahead of McIlroy, but only if the Northern Irishman endures a relatively miserable couple of events and doesn't pick up more than another 96.43 points.
It's a highly unlikely scenario, and even if it happened, several other players nearer the top of the rankings would be likelier candidates to take advantage of a McIlroy slump and finish in the top spot, even without a win.
Therefore, the priority for Dean, and many others in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, will be to ensure he is in the top 50 of the rankings after the event to reach the DP World Tour Championship.
For Dean to make the DP World Tour Championship, a bare minimum of seventh is required, and likely higher than that.
What’s On Offer At The DP World Tour Play-Offs?
Each Play-Offs event has the incentive of elevated prize money, with a $9m purse at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and $10m available at the DP World Tour Championship.
There is also a separate Race to Dubai rankings bonus pool of $6m, with the top 10 sharing $6m, and $2m going to the winner.
Meanwhile, after the DP World Tour Championship, the top 10 players in the rankings not otherwise exempt will earn life-changing PGA Tour cards.
