Golf celebrity Rory McIlroy will open his 2026 marketing campaign this week, with a substantial payday on the road.
Rory McIlroy is competing for his share of a £2million prize fund this weekend (Picture: Getty) This text comprises affiliate hyperlinks, we are going to obtain a fee on any gross sales we generate from it. Be taught extra
Rory McIlroy will make his bow in 2026 when he tees off on the Dubai Invitational on Thursday. The golf icon’s first date of the calendar yr shall be a cease on the DP World Tour as he seems to be to make up for a runner-up end at this match two years in the past.
Tommy Fleetwood gained the inaugural version of the Dubai Invitational in 2024 after edging McIlroy and South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence by a single stroke. And the biannual competitors returns after a one-year hiatus, with expectations excessive for McIlroy following a massively profitable 2025. The Northern Irishman gained three PGA tournaments and secured his seventh Race to Dubai title, to not point out profitable the Masters to finish the profession Grand Slam. Nonetheless, he hopes to maneuver on to even greater issues in 2026, beginning with an opportunity to assert his piece of a £2million prize pot at Dubai Creek Resort.
The victor will declare rather less than £350,000 of that purse, which does not fairly match up towards a few of the PGA’s Signature Occasion rewards he is grown accustomed to. Nonetheless, the six-figure sum nonetheless would not be a nasty method to kick off the brand new yr.
Even second place yields a considerable payout of £225,000, whereas the third-place finisher will take residence round £128,000. There is not any lower on the Dubai Invitational, that means even those that begin off within the tough could have an opportunity to recuperate and make a softer touchdown.
Reigning champion Fleetwood is unsurprisingly again within the 60-man subject, which additionally contains 60 newbie golfers, to defend his title. The Englishman has since celebrated even greater feats by clinching final yr’s Ryder Cup and eventually ending his await a PGA Tour title, however Fleetwood holds particular recollections in Dubai, the place he has lived since 2022.
“I’m delighted to be defending my Dubai Invitational title in entrance of household and pals right here in Dubai,” he stated forward of this yr’s match. “Successful the primary version was a extremely particular second for me, and Abdulla did a incredible job bringing the occasion to life. I can’t wait to start out the brand new yr again at Dubai Creek Resort.”
A number of the different massive names within the subject embody Patrick Reed, who gained The Masters in 2018 however is now virtually 4 years faraway from his final PGA Tour win. The LIV Golf defector has bickered with McIlroy previously and reportedly threw a tee on the Northern Irishman when he ignored him on the Dubai Desert Traditional in January 2023.
McIlroy is hoping to go one higher after ending as runner-up to Tommy Fleetwood two years in the past (Picture: Getty)
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McIlroy defended his actions by saying he was subpoenaed by Reed’s attorneys on Christmas Eve 2022, having been named to present proof in certainly one of Reed’s defamation lawsuits. It is unsure the place issues stand between the pair now, although it might make for an intriguing head-to-head ought to each gamers discover themselves in rivalry on Sunday.
Open champions Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington and Francesco Molinari are additionally a part of the 60-man subject in Dubai this weekend, as is present Race to Dubai standings chief Jayden Schaper.
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Schaper could make historical past this weekend if he manages to win a 3rd straight DP World Tour occasion. The South African waited 5 years for his first title on the circuit however is now driving a scorching streak after securing each the Alfred Dunhill Championship and AfrAsia Financial institution Mauritius Open within the area of every week.
Solely two different gamers have managed to win three consecutive DP World Tour tournaments: Sir Nick Faldo and Seve Ballesteros. That offers the 24-year-old an enormous alternative to clinch a chunk of historical past if he can capitalise on his present momentum come Sunday.
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