Jon Rahm joins Rory McIlroy for debut in tour event

It might have seemed inconceivable only a matter of months ago, but Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm only competed in the same field five times in 2024.

The Masters, the PGA Championship, The Open, the Olympic Games and the Dunhill Links.

Rahm did miss the US Open through injury and skipped the two DP World Tour playoff events this month in the Middle East as McIlroy won his sixth Race to Dubai crown.

But the point still stands.

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That two of European golf’s biggest heavyweights only teed it up against one another on a handful of occasions across a calendar year only emphasises the impact of the division that continues to engulf men’s professional golf.

And while the talent pool remains divided and the LIV Golf League presses ahead with its 2025 plans, opportunities to see the world’s best in one arena will remain limited.

Which is precisely why the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January promises to be quite the spectacle.

Rahm has never before played the prestigious Rolex Series event in Dubai, but will now join the likes of McIlroy and fellow Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood at the Emirates Club on January 16-19.

The Spaniard has three wins in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, but will now start his season in the Middle East before LIV’s curtain-raiser in Riyadh a month later.

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“This is an event that I have heard a lot about and I am looking forward to making my Hero Dubai Desert Classic debut in January,” said Rahm.

“I have had a lot of success in Dubai in the past so it’s a place that holds a lot of good memories for me, and it will be great to get back there.”

Rahm has renewed his DP World Tour membership for 2025 having played in the minimum four events he needed to keep his card.

Alongside Tyrrell Hatton, the two-time major champion is currently appealing sanctions imposed against him by the tour for competing in LIV events, and is eligible to make starts pending the outcome of the legal proceedings.

“If you look back at the roll call of past winners of the event, it’s clear that the Hero Dubai Desert Classic prides itself on bringing the finest players on the planet together to compete on what is a truly iconic stage,” said the tournament’s executive director Simon Corkill.

“The confirmation that Jon Rahm will make his debut on the Majlis Course in January is certainly continuation of that and we’re delighted to announce his inclusion in what is shaping up to be one of the most exciting fields in the event’s history.”

Hatton, meanwhile, will also start his 2025 in the desert.

The Englishman has been confirmed in the field alongside Robert MacIntyre, Adam Scott and Akshay Bhatia in the $9million tournament.

Ben Parsons joined bunkered as a Content Producer in 2023 and is the man to come to for all of the latest news, across both the professional and amateur games. Formerly of The Mirror and Press Association, he is a member at Halifax Golf Club and is a long-suffering fan of both Manchester United and the Wales rugby team.