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Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm will mount a battle of the DP World Tour and Liv Golf Tour No. 1 players at the $9 million Hero Dubai Desert Classic, which begins Thursday.
McIlroy won the season-ending DP World Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in November for his third successive Dubai title run.
In September, Spain’s Rahm had secured Golf Liv’s individual season championship when he won the last of the regular events in Chicago.
With no official world golf points for the Saudi-backed league, the world No. 1 ranking has fallen to 31.
McIlroy is aiming for his third successive Dubai Desert Classic victory, and fifth overall, while Rahm makes his tournament debut.
The 30-year-old Northern Irishman, however, has an exceptional record in the emirate, having won the DP World Tour Championship title three times.
“It’s always been nice to start my year in Dubai. It’s something I’ve done most of my professional career,” McIlroy said.
“The last two years, to come here to Dubai and open the season and be successful, is a very strong start to the season. Obviously that’s the plan again this year.”
McIlroy has been vocal about his opposition to Liv golf, but the two European Ryder Cup stars have remained good friends through it all.
– another recruit Liv –
However, the recent, and yet officially confirmed, news that Northern Ireland’s Tom McKibbin is moving to Liv Golf – and into Rahm’s team – will add an edge to their relationship.
McKibbin, 22, happens to be a member of McIlroy’s original club in Holywood and has been supported by the four-time major champion since his junior days.
McIlroy admitted he was “slightly disappointed” with McKibbin’s decision but revealed the youngster had often spoken to him about the issue.
McIlroy said McKibbin, who he had known since they were 10, called him in New Zealand as soon as he received the offer from LIV.
“And I talked to him several times throughout December to get a sense of what he was thinking. All I can do is give my point of view.
“He has a ton of potential. I told him that if I were in your shoes, I would make a different choice than the one you are considering making.
“Working so hard to get your Spot Tower Card – is massive.
“If I was in his position and I had his potential, I wouldn’t make this decision. But I’m not him. I’m not in his place. I’ve made it perfectly clear: I’m not going to stay in your way if you need to make the decision.
Rahm, who is still a member of the DP World Tour and has appealed fines imposed on him for playing Liv golf events, said the Dubai tournament was important for him to ensure he made part of the European Ryder Cup team for the event at New York State in September.
“This is a tournament I wanted to play. There are a lot of great champions in this event. I love the city and I love coming here,” Rahm said.
“We don’t have our first VIV event until the first week of February. So being able to play an event before is nice to feel the competition.
“It’s going to be quite difficult for me to play more DP World Tour events before August. It’s nice to play one early and not have to play too much after the Ryder Cup. I never want to fail and maybe lose my subscription.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, but I can tell you my plan is to be on this (Ryder Cup) team.”
Besides McIlroy and Rahm, the tournament features world No. 8 and 2022 world champion Viktor Hovland of Norway and world No. 10 Tommy Fleetwood of England, as well as American phenom Akshay Bhatia.
STR / GJ
