Jon Rahm OUT of DP World Tour Championship

Jon Rahm is out of the DP World Tour Championship.

The world No.1 has withdrawn from the European Tour’s season-ending event, despite being well-placed to win the Race To Dubai for the second time in three years.

Currently third on the standings, behind American duo Collin Morikawa and Billy Horschel, Rahm has decided to pass on the opportunity to play this week as he recovers from a busy 2021.

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In addition to winning his first major championship at the US Open, the Spaniard was also Europe’s standout player at the Ryder Cup and tested positive – twice – for COVID-19. He also became a father for the first time in the days leading up to the Masters.

After missing the cut at the Andalucia Masters in October, Rahm’s exhaustion was plain for all to see.

“This is the first time in my life that I don’t want to see a golf club,” he said. “And this comes from someone who loves this sport, and after a year in which some pretty good things have happened to me. More than my body, it is my mind that can’t take it. I need to rest.”

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Viktor Hovland and Justin Rose have also decided to pass on Dubai but it is the absence of world No.1 Rahm that will be felt most keenly by the tour, which last week announced its intention to rebrand as the DP World Tour from next season.  

With Rahm’s withdrawal, it now looks likely that the Race To Dubai – formerly the Order of Merit – will be won by an American for the first time.