The DP World Tour officially returns from its early-season break this week, with the Hero Dubai Desert Classic having the honor of kicking off the international swing portion of the season’s global swing stage.
The Dubai Desert Classic is the first of five Rolex Series events to be held in 2025 and has produced a number of high-profile champions since its launch in 1989, including Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Seve Ballesteros and Bryson DeChambeau.
McIlroy has lifted the trophy four times and is aiming to lift it a fifth time this year by winning for the third consecutive time. If he succeeds, the Northern Irishman will receive a top prize of just over $1.5 million from a total prize pool of $9 million.
But to reign supreme again, the world's third-ranked player must take on the likes of Akshay Bhatia, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton at Emirates Golf Club Start a contest.
The DP World Tour's 2025 opener contains the second-largest prize fund of the year, although three other Rolex Series events will rival them once they arrive – the Genesis Scottish Open, BMW PGA Championship and Abu Dhabi Championship. It was eventually surpassed by the $10 million DP World Tour Championship in November.
McIlroy looking for fifth Dubai Desert Classic title in 2025
(Image source: Getty Images)
In a rare event, the DP World Tour's tournament purse is bigger than its PGA Tour rivals this week, with an $8.5 million purse available at the American Express in California.
In addition to the eye-catching purse, there are 8,000 Race to Dubai points and 2,000 Ryder Cup points available. Here are the prize money payouts for the 2025 Dubai Desert Classic.
Dubai Desert Classic prize money details
| Location | bonus |
|---|---|
| first place | $1,530,000 |
| second place | $990,000 |
| third place | $567,000 |
| fourth place | $450,000 |
| fifth place | $381,600 |
| sixth place | $315,000 |
| No. 7 | $270,000 |
| No. 8 | $225,000 |
| No. 9 | $201,600 |
| No. 10 | $180,000 |
| No. 11 | $165,600 |
| No. 12 | $154,800 |
| No. 13 | $144,900 |
| 14th | $137,700 |
| No. 15 | $132,300 |
| No. 16 | $126,900 |
| No. 17 | $121,500 |
| No. 18 | $116,100 |
| 19th | $111,600 |
| 20th | $108,000 |
| 21st | $104,400 |
| 22nd | $101,700 |
| No. 23 | $99,000 |
| 24th | $96,300 |
| 25th | $93,600 |
| 26th | $90,900 |
| 27th | $88,200 |
| 28th | $85,500 |
| 29th | $82,800 |
| No. 30 | $80,100 |
| No. 31 | $77,400 |
| No. 32 | $74,700 |
| No. 33 | $72,000 |
| 34th | $69,300 |
| No. 35 | $66,600 |
| No. 36 | $63,900 |
| No. 37 | $62,100 |
| No. 38 | $60,300 |
| 39th | $58,500 |
| No. 40 | $56,700 |
| No. 41 | $54,900 |
| No. 42 | $53,100 |
| No. 43 | $51,300 |
| 44th | $49,500 |
| No. 45 | $47,700 |
| No. 46 | $45,900 |
| No. 47 | $44,100 |
| No. 48 | $42,300 |
| No. 49 | $40,500 |
| No. 50 | $38,700 |
| No. 51 | $36,900 |
| No. 52 | $35,100 |
| No. 53 | $33,300 |
| No. 54 | $31,500 |
| No. 55 | $30,600 |
| No. 56 | $29,700 |
| No. 57 | $28,800 |
| No. 58 | $27,900 |
| No. 59 | $27,000 |
| No. 60 | $26,100 |
| No. 61 | $25,200 |
| No. 62 | $24,300 |
| No. 63 | $23,400 |
| No. 64 | $22,500 |
| No. 65 | $21,600 |
| No. 66 | $20,700 |
| No. 67 | $19,800 |
| No. 68 | $18,900 |
| No. 69 | $18,000 |
| No. 70 | $17,100 |
What are the star names for the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic?
(Image source: Getty Images)
As well as some of the DP World Tour's biggest names including Rory McIlroy, Robert McIntyre and Tommy Fleetwood, there are also a host of PGA Tour regulars and LIV Golf League players taking part in Hero Dubai 2025 Desert Classic.
Akshay Bhatia made a rare appearance on the European Tour with his American counterpart Viktor Hovland, one of Team Europe's Ryder Cup heroes.
LIV golfers Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton have increased their presence in DP World Tour events in recent months and will continue to do so as they Look for a spot on Bethpage Black's Luke Donald list in September.
Meanwhile, Patrick Reed, Adrian Meronk and Thomas Pieters left Bubba Watson's RangeGoats over the winter for Daryl Dustin Johnson's 4Aces join the list of LIV players competing in Dubai this week.
What is the prize money at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic?
Players will compete for a $9 million prize pool at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, the DP World Tour's first Rolex Series event of the year. This is the same amount as the total amount for the 2023 and 2024 tournaments. Among them, the champion will receive US$1.53 million and the runner-up will receive US$990,000.
Who will compete in the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic?
The Hero Dubai Desert Classic is one of the most high-profile events on the DP World Tour calendar, so it’s no surprise that there were so many entries. Four-time Grand Slam winner Rory McIlroy is the protagonist, Tommy Fleetwood (Tommy Fleetwood), Jon Rahm (Jon Rahm), Tyrrell Hatton (Tyrrell Hatton) ), Akshay Bhatia, Viktor Hovland and Patrick Reed will also appear.
