Three members of the LIV Golf setup in Tyrrell Hatton, Joaquin Niemann and Adrian Meronk will make a return to the DP World Tour next week for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

The event at Yas Links will kick off the DP World Tour’s playoffs, with the top-70 players in the Race to Dubai Rankings earning a spot to compete in the Middle East. Of that top-70, three LIV players will be in the field with Hatton in 22nd, Niemann in 33rd and Meronk in 39th.

There was a also a spot for Hatton’s Legion XIII captain and Ryder Cup teammate Jon Rahm, who is 34th in the list, however the former world No. 1 has opted not to enter the event having recently welcomed his third child into the world with wife Kelley.

Hatton’s start will be his fourth DP World Tour event since August, having made a return to the Wentworth-based circuit to remain eligible for next year’s Ryder Cup. The Englishman needed to play four events by the end of the year to hold onto his membership, completing this quota when winning the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last month.

He will now have the chance to add another big prize to his collection ahead of the $9million event in Abu Dhabi next week. Hatton will face tough competition though, mainly from his European teammate Rory McIlroy, who heads to the Middle East at the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings.

McIlroy heads into the final two playoff events with the hopes winning a sixth Order of Merit crown on the DP World Tour, and a third on the bounce, having prevailed in 2022 and 2023. Following a trip to Abu Dhabi, the season will come to a close in Dubai, with the top-50 competing for the DP World Tour Championship.

Rory McIlroy won the Race to Dubai trophy for the fifth time

Rory McIlroy won the Race to Dubai trophy for the fifth time in 2023 ( 

Image:

Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

This is where the Northern Irishman will be hoping to once again be crowned Europe’s top player, with the 35-year-old hoping to chase down Collin Montgomerie’s record, who won eight Harry Vardon trophies during his playing career, including seven on the bounce in the 1990s.

McIlroy won his fifth crown with a week to spare last campaign, the first time the feat had been achieved in the Race to Dubai era. On the back of his win and with his eyes on the eight-win record, he said last year: “Winning the Race to Dubai title for the fifth time is an incredible honour and another important milestone in my career…

“I still have a distance to cover to reach Colin’s tally in the order of merit, and this inspires me to give my best in the upcoming years.” McIlroy has quite the record out in the Middle East, having won the season-ending DP World Tour Championship on two occasions. He has also enjoyed success at the Dubai Desert Classic too, winning a record-breaking fourth title at the Emirates Club earlier this year.