As DP World Tour action resumes after an early-season hiatus, the stage is set for the 2025 Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club.
Emirates Golf Club has a host of current and former Ryder Cup stars, with Rory McIlroy's possible Bethpage Black teammates Tyrrell Hatton, Tommy Fleetwood, Viktor Hovland and Jon ·Rahm was ahead in odds.
Other strong contenders include Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard, Matt Wallace and Robert MacIntyre, as well as a host of LIV golfers such as Patrick Reed, Adrian Meronk and Dean Burmester.
If that's not enough to whet your pre-tournament appetite, Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia have returned from the PGA Tour Venture to one of the best venues for the Dubai Desert Classic since its inception in 1989.
Below, several members of the Golf Monthly team have selected a few players we believe will be competing for Sunday's Hero Dubai Desert Classic trophy.
Four-time champion Rory McIlroy is the defending Dubai Desert Classic champion
(Image source: Getty Images)
Dubai Desert Classic: Course
The Majlis course at the Emirates Golf Club was designed by American architect Karl Litten and opened in 1988, a year after the inaugural Dubai Desert Classic. This is the first grass golf course in the Middle East.
It was originally designed to be just over 7,300 yards long, but will reach 7,428 yards by 2025. Much like many other layouts in the area, the Majlis course features wide fairways, large undulating greens and ample water to incorporate into the course. Huge bunker. Its signature hole is the eighth, which offers stunning views of the Dubai skyline as players tee off.
Bryson DeChambeau set the tournament record at 24 under in 2019, but the single-round record was set by Ernie Els when he won in 1994 of. The great South African shot a 61 in the first round.
Win totals have fluctuated wildly over the past six iterations, with McIlroy winning at 14 under a year after winning at 19 under. In the previous four tournaments, winning scores have varied between 9 under and 24 under.
View of the 8th hole at Emirates Golf Club in Dubai
(Image source: Getty Images)
Dubai Desert Classic past winners
Year | champion | winning score |
---|---|---|
2024 | Rory McIlroy | -14 (one stroke) |
2023 | Rory McIlroy | -19 (one stroke) |
2022 | Victor Hovland | -12 (Playoffs – Richard Brand) |
2021 | Paul Casey | -17 (four-stroke) |
2020 | Lucas Herbert | -9 (Playoffs – Christian Beziidenhout) |
2019 | Bryson DeChambeau | -24 (seven-stroke) |
2018 | Haotong Li | -23 (one stroke) |
2017 | Sergio Garcia | -19 (three strokes) |
2016 | Danny Willett | -19 (one stroke) |
2015 | Rory McIlroy | -22 (three-stroke) |
Dubai Desert Classic Betting Odds
The odds of outright victory are via FanDuel Sportsbook
- Rory McIlroy (+360)
- Jon Rahm (+500)
- Tyrell Hatton (+900)
- Tommy Fleetwood (+1100)
- Viktor Hovland (+1400)
- Robert McIntyre (+2200)
- Adam Scott (+2500)
- Thorbjorn Olsen (+3000)
- Rasmus Hoggard (+3000)
- Akshay Bhatia (+3500)
- Lee Min Woo(+3500)
- Dean Burmeister (+3500)
- Patrick Reed (+4000)
- Matt Wallace (+5000)
- Jordan Smith (+5000)
- Johannes Wellmann (+6500)
- Nicola Hoggard (+6500)
- Thomas Peters(+7000)
- Roman Langeske (+7500)
- Keita Nakajima (+8000)
- Niklas Norgaard (+8000)
- Matthew Jordan(+9000)
- Lauri Kanter (+9000)
- Triston Lawrence (+9000)
- Tom McKibbin (+9000)
Dubai Desert Classic Betting Picks
(Image source: Getty Images)
Favorite: Tommy Fleetwood (+1100)
The Englishman comes into this week's competition having impressed in the Team Cup in Abu Dhabi, winning all four of his GB&I races.
Fleetwood, a Dubai resident, has three career wins in the UAE following his win in Dubai last January. He has finished in the top 17 at Emirates Airline GC in six of the past seven years, but surprisingly has never finished in the top five. That's sure to change on Sunday after a strong 2024 showing last week that included a win and four more top-three finishes.
Outsider: Tom McKibbin (+9000)
The Northern Irishman is one of the brightest prospects in the sport and will be keen to put in a good performance this week in order to score some Ryder Cup and OWGR points ahead of his move to LIV Golf, where he Indeed it was not done. When questioned by reporters, he denied it.
McKibbin, who finished tied for 14th in just his second start here last time out, is another player who has performed well in the Team Cup, winning three of four games. I hope he can have a good performance and be in the top ten in the final round.
Barry Plummer
(Image source: Getty Images)
Favorite: Tommy Fleetwood (+1100)
Tommy Fleetwood is an absolute must-have when playing in this area, and I sincerely believe his price is fair based on some of the other most popular players in the area. Fleetwood finished 16th at the DP World Tour Championship and 6th in Abu Dhabi, where he finished 14th and won the 2024 Dubai Invitational, but he has also been in Dubai over the years. Have an excellent resume.
His performance in the Teams Cup last week was a testament to his current form, and with red-hot Tommy Fleetwood potentially giving his other rivals a danger in a year's time, I'm convinced the popular Englishman Will finally break his Grand Slam!
Outsider: Matt Wallace (+5000)
Matt Wallace, who also competed in the Team Cup last week, will be keen to have a strong year with a Ryder Cup berth just around the corner. He has performed impressively in the region in recent years, finishing 11th and 3rd in the final two events of the 2024 season, finishing runner-up at the 2023 DP World Tour Championship, and finishing third at this year's DP Finished runner-up in the World Tour Championship. 2019 Events.
He has enough distance off the tee and is coming in strong, so I could see him starting in 2025 at a decent one-way price.
(Image source: Getty Images)
Favorite: Patrick Reed (+4000)
The American captain has been in good form recently, with Reed victorious at the Hong Kong Open, followed by top-20 finishes at the Qatar International Series and the Saudi International Series.
Returning to the golf course for the first time since his runner-up finish in 2023, I believe Reid has all the tools to compete in the UAE Golf Championship and given that he is one of the most consistent players in world golf right now, I feel his overall Competition and consistent play will make him a contender on Sunday.
Outsider: Andy Sullivan (+12,000)
The Brit appeared to rediscover his form in 2025, with Sullivan finishing tied for 14th at the Nedbank Golf Challenge and seventh at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
To be honest, looking back at his performance in this race, it's hard to say he had a great performance, finishing between 40th and 70th several times. However, Sullivan hasn't missed a cut at the Dubai Desert Classic since 2017, where he finished tied for sixth, so he does know how to play well here.
Ultimately, it will come down to how he attacks, and if he opens up with his irons, I could see him hitting low at the Emirates.
Jonny Layfield
(Image source: Getty Images)
Favorite: Tyrell Hatton (+900)
Tyrrell Hatton has been arguably the 'best' player in golf over the past few months, with his win at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship kicking off his DP World Tour or A record of consecutive top six finishes on the Asian Tour. He finished second at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, sixth at the DP World Tour Championship and fifth at the Saudi International.
Then, at last week's Team Cup, he earned 3.5 points out of a possible four with relative ease, demonstrating his prowess on the putter and ability to control longer clubs. If anyone can finish ahead of Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood this week, it's Tyrrell Hatton.
Outsider: Paul Welling (+10,000)
Waring, who gained notoriety after winning the HSBC Championship in Abu Dhabi last year, now has a PGA Tour card. The win seemed to give him a real confidence boost, and he went on to score a few more top-25 finishes in 2024.
Anyone wondering whether this sequence was a flash in the pan need only note Waring's performance in the Teams Cup, with the Englishman equaling Hatton's 3.5 points from four games. If his putter lights up, Waring could crash the big-name star party on Sunday.
How to watch the Dubai Desert Classic
United States (East)
- Thursday, January 16 – Round 1: 2:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Friday, January 17 – Round 2: 2:30 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Saturday, January 18 – Round 3: 2:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
- Sunday, January 19 – Round 4: 2:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. (Golf Channel/NBC Sports App)
United Kingdom (GMT)
- Thursday, January 16 – Round 1: 6:00am – 1:30pm (Sky Sports Golf)
- Friday, January 17 – Round 2: 6:00am – 1:30pm (Sky Sports Golf)
- Saturday, January 18 – Round 3: 6:00am – 1:00pm (Sky Sports Golf)
- Sunday, January 19 – Round 4: 6:00am – 1:00pm (Sky Sports Golf)