Tournament: DP World Tour Championship, Dubai
Rolex Series: Fifth Rolex Series tournament of 2022
DP World Tour Rankings: Tournament 43 of 43 events
Venue: Jumeirah Golf Estates, Dubai, UAE
Prize Fund: $10,000,000
Hashtag: #DPWTC #RolexSeries #DPWT
Tournament Preview
Ryan Fox will bid to become the first New Zealander to win the Harry Vardon Trophy at this week’s DP World Tour Championship, Dubai as the 2022 DP World Tour season reaches its climax.
The Kiwi’s form this season has been nothing short of spectacular, with two victories, four runner-up finishes and four further top tens in 23 appearances.
He now sits second on the DP World Tour Rankings in partnership with Rolex, just 128.1 points behind front-runner Rory McIlroy. Providing he finishes higher than McIlroy and none of the remaining players inside the top nine on the Rankings win this week’s event, he would become the first player from his nation to finish the year as Europe’s Number One.
Also in the field this week is Spaniard Jon Rahm, making his first appearance at Jumeirah Golf Estates since his victory here in 2019, the same year he finished top of the Rankings. The 28-year-old has an enviable record on the Earth Course, with two DP World Tour Championship victories and a fourth-placed finish in three starts.
Rahm and Matt Fitzpatrick were also presented with Honorary Life Membership of the DP World Tour by Chief Executive Keith Pelley, following their U.S. Open victories in 2021 and 2022. The pair became the 58th and 59th players to be conferred the accolade.
Player Quotes
Ryan Fox: “(It’s) a bit surreal to be honest. If you’d have said this at the start of the year, I probably wouldn’t have believed you. It’s been an amazing season and hopefully I can finish it off this week. But regardless of what happens, I’m really proud of what I’ve done this year. It’s been a fun ride.
“I’m not trying though think about it too much. Rory is the best player in the world. He’s obviously the favourite but to be in this position is great and I’ve got nothing to lose this week. Won’t do anything different from what I’ve been doing all year. Just go out and try to beat the golf course and see what happens in that sense and that’s served me pretty well and hopefully I can do the same thing this week.
“He is the best player in the world and to play against the Number One is always special. I’ve heard from plenty of guys on Tour that he’s a great guy, and I just hope he doesn’t bring the rugby up too much in the first couple of holes.”
Jon Rahm: (On Honorary Life Membership) “To join the list of icons that have earned this, it is truly an honour. Any time you can write your name in history next to some of the greatest that have accomplished this before me is very unique. To keep doing things like this, it is a true honour to represent Spain and an honour to receive this.”
“I’m happy to be back and I’m happy to have a chance to hopefully win this tournament again. It’s a city I really enjoy and a week I really enjoy. It been fun every time I come. Hospitality has been unmatched. It’s just hard to beat.
“And it’s a world-class golf course, especially those last finishing maybe five to seven holes where if you take the necessary risks, you can come up with some birdies like Collin did last year and end up with the win. So hopefully I have a good showing again.”
