Rory McIlroy's 2016 schedule will start in the United Arab Emirates.
McIlroy said he will start the year with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, followed by a title defense at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.
McIlroy will make his U.S. debut in February, playing in the Northern Trust Open for the first time, wanting to check out a course he believes will be good for his game.
In the past, McIlroy has started his PGA Tour schedule in the Florida Swing, but with the addition of the Northern Trust Open and the move of the WGC-Cadillac Match Play, which will be played in Austin, Texas, to March, the Ulsterman will have two additional events compared to a typical schedule.
McIlroy has committed to The Honda Classic for the Florida Swing, to be played Feb. 25-28, where he is the 2012 winner. This will be his eighth consecutive year in the event. He has also committed to playing in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
McIlroy will defend his title at the Wells Fargo Championship, then play in The Players Championship and host the Irish Open in consecutive weeks. He's skipping the BMW PGA Championship, but he'll then play in the Memorial Tournament in June after skipping the event last year.
Of course, McIlroy will play in all four majors and likely represent Europe in the Ryder Cup.
