2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship format, cut rules and DP World Tour playoff format
DP World Tour Purses and Payouts

2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship format, cut rules and DP World Tour playoff format

A photo of golfer Rory McIlroy DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JANUARY 30: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrates with the winners trophy on the 18th green after the final round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club on January 30, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)


The 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship format is new this year, with the DP World Tour event played at Yas Links Golf Club in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship field is 72 players.

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship field is made up of many top players that are in the top 70 available players in the Race to Dubai standings, as well as players who made the 2025 European Ryder Cup team.

Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship format

The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship format is a 72-hole event. The field is divided into morning and afternoon waves for the first two rounds, with players competing in threesomes each day. The same threesomes play together in each of the first two rounds, with one round starting on No. 1 tee and one round on No. 10 tee. There's one round in the morning wave and one round in the afternoon wave.

A cut is made after 36 holes to the top 65 players and ties.

For the third and fourth rounds, pairings and tee times are made based on each player's total score through two and three rounds, respectively. Players with the highest total score go first, then in descending order until the two players with the lowest total score in the final group.

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The player with the lowest total score after 72 holes is the winner and will pick up the winner's share of the $9 million purse.

A playoff to settle any ties after 72 holes will be played under DP World Tour rules. The Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship playoff format is a sudden-death format, with playoff holes being 18 and played by any qualifying players. The players compete hole-by-hole until a winner is determined by a player scoring the lowest among the remaining players.

The winning player will get a two-season DP World Tour exemption. The winner is exempt into other tournaments as well. The winner earns 1,500 DP World Tour points and 35.6 Official World Golf Ranking points.

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