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Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm will square off in a DP World Tour and LIV Golf Tour rankings match at the $9 million Hero Dubai Desert Classic, which kicks off on Thursday A battle between the first players.
McIlroy won the season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November, his third consecutive Dubai victory.
In September, Spanish player Ram won the last regular season championship in Chicago, thus locking in the individual championship of LIV Golf throughout the season.
With no official World Golf Ranking points from the Saudi Arabia-backed league, the former world number one has fallen to 31st.
McIlroy is aiming to win a third consecutive Dubai Desert Classic and claim the overall title, while Rahm is making his tournament debut.
The 30-year-old Northern Irishman has a remarkable record in the Emirates, having won the DP World Tour title three times.
“It's always nice to start my year in Dubai. It's what I've done most of my career,” McIlroy said.
“The last few years, coming to Dubai, starting the season and being successful has been a really strong start to the season. Obviously, that's the plan again this year.”
McIlroy is an outspoken opponent of LIV Golf, but the two European Ryder Cup stars remain good friends through everything.
However, recent news, which has yet to be officially confirmed, that Northern Ireland's Tom McKibbin is moving to LIV Golf and Lahm's side will add an edge to their relationship.
McKibbin, 22, happens to be a member of McIlroy's hometown club in Holywood and has had the backing of the four-time major champion since he was a teenager.
McIlroy admitted he was “a bit disappointed” with McKibbin's decision but revealed the youngster had spoken to him about the issue regularly.
McIlroy said McGibbin, whom he has known since he was 10 years old, called him in New Zealand as soon as he received the LIV invitation.
“I had a number of conversations with him throughout December to get his perspective. All I can do is give my perspective.
“He has a lot of potential. I said to him, if I were in your situation, I would make different choices than you want.
“Having worked so hard to get a Tour card in the U.S. (he was one of 10 players on the DP World Tour to get a PGA Tour card), I think he might have sacrificed and given up something — like playing in a major Majors, potential Ryder Cup spot — big.
“If I were in his position and I had his potential, I wouldn't make that decision. But I'm not him. I'm not in his shoes. I've made it clear: I'm not in his shoes. Where you stand if you need to make a decision.”
Rahm, who remains a member of the DP World Tour and is appealing the fine he received for participating in the LIV golf event, said the Dubai Championship was important to him to ensure he was part of the European Ryder Cup team, Attend the event in Newar. York State in September.
“This is a tournament I've always wanted to play. There are a lot of great champions in this event. I love this city and I love coming here,” Lahm said.
“We don’t have our first LIV event until the first week of February. So it’s good to be able to play an event before that to give it a little more feel.
“It's going to be very tricky for me to play more DP World Tour events after August. It's nice to be able to play one event early and not have to play too many events after the Ryder Cup. I Don't want to underperform and possibly lose my membership.
“I don't know what's going to happen in the future, but I can tell you my plan is to be on that (Ryder Cup) team.”
In addition to McIlroy and Rahm, this tournament also includes Viktor Hovland of Norway, ranked eighth in the world and 2022 champion, and Tommy Foley of the United Kingdom, ranked tenth in the world in Dubai. Tommy Fleetwood and American phenomenon Akshay Bhatia.
St/Gee