Rory McIlroy makes DP World Tour decision – Golf – | Golf News

Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy has revealed he’ll kick off his 2026 season on the DP World Tour slightly than his typical PGA Tour stomping grounds.

McIlroy’s opening DP World Tour look will happen at Dubai Creek Resort during the Dubai Invitational.

The transfer follows the PGA Tour’s sudden cancellation of its season opener.

“I’m excited to be starting my year in Dubai,” McIlroy declared. “The UAE is a place where I’ve enjoyed a lot of great weeks, and I’m sure this will be no different.

“Dubai Creek Resort was a implausible host venue two years in the past, and Abdulla and his workforce put on an unimaginable event. I got here very close to successful that week, so I’m hoping 2026 will likely be another actually good yr for me. And to start strong in the Middle East can be the right manner to get it under manner.”, reports the Mirror US.

Following the Dubai Invitational, McIlroy will continue his Middle East swing at the Dubai Desert Classic the subsequent week, an event where he’s tasted victory four times previously.

These two competitions represent his only confirmed early-season commitments for 2026, though he’ll technically begin his DP World Tour campaign at the Australian Open and the season-bridging BMW Australian PGA Championship. Rory McIlroy, the world’s No.

2 golfer, has hinted at a shift in his career trajectory, with plans to participate in more global events and fewer PGA Tour appearances, favoring the DP World Tour instead. He recently discussed the “luxurious” of being one of the PGA Tour’s top stars, which allows him considerable flexibility in planning his schedule.

“I’ll always look at the schedule at the start of the yr and see what best matches me and my life, and every little thing else that I do with household or other alternatives that I’m pursuing outdoors of golf,” he said.

“This yr that meant skipping a few signature occasions. I’d skip less, I’d skip the same quantity.

“The luxury of being a PGA Tour player is we’re free to pick and choose our own schedule for the most part. I took advantage of that this year and I’ll continue to take advantage of that for as long as I can.”

McIlroy famous that he is only ever begun his season once on the PGA Tour, back in 2019 when he performed the Sentry in Hawaii, an event now cancelled for the 2026 season.

“I think it’s all positive,” said McIlroy concerning the modifications in the schedule.

“Golf builds through the January, February, March months, gets a huge popularity spike through Augusta and to try and keep that momentum going through the next few weeks, through the PGA, through the US Open, I think is a good thing.

“It’s fairly a workload for the gamers to play that a lot golf in that stretch but it isn’t as if we’re having to journey midway around the world to do it,” McIlroy commented.