Geneva, 6 November 2023 – The DP World Tour Championship is the final event of the prestigious Rolex Series, the premium tournament category on the DP World Tour. Founded in 2009, the showpiece event is contested by the leading 50 players on the DP World Tour Rankings at the start of the tournament and also determines the winner of the Race to Dubai, the season-long competition to crown the tour’s No. 1 player.
This year’s edition will take place from 16–19 November at the Jumeirah Golf Estates, an internationally acclaimed golfing destination situated in the heart of the United Arab Emirates’ most populous city, Dubai. The venue’s world-renowned Earth Course, set against the shimmering skyscape of one of the world’s most cosmopolitan and vibrant cities, has staged the tournament since 2009 and is a fitting location for the finale of this year’s Rolex Series.
The Rolex Series comprises the DP World Tour’s five leading tournaments: the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship; the Hero Dubai Desert Classic; the Genesis Scottish Open; the BMW PGA Championship; and the DP World Tour Championship. Launched in 2017 and coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the long-standing partnership between Rolex and the DP World Tour, this collection of elite events delivers the highest quality golf, played in iconic locations, in the global spirit of the game.
Rolex Testimonees have a rich history of success in Dubai, winning six of the previous seven editions. Seeking to defend his crown will be Jon Rahm, who claimed a record third title at this tournament in 2022; he was also victorious in 2017 and 2019, the latter triumph clinching him the Race to Dubai title courtesy of a magnificent birdie on the 18th. The Spaniard, who won his second Major crown in thrilling fashion at the Masters Tournament in April and was a key part of the victorious Team Europe at this year’s Ryder Cup in Rome, will be hoping to finish the year in similar style by lifting the coveted trophy once more.
Commenting on the prestige of the Rolex Series, Jon Rahm said: “Given the strength of the field at these events, they always demand an extremely high level of golf and performance. As a Rolex Testimonee, there is also added motivation because you want to make sure a Rolex Testimonee wins! Hopefully, the Rolex Series will continue for a very long time because it represents such key moments throughout the year for us players to focus on in the calendar and work around.”
One of the most important initiatives in the DP World Tour’s history, the Rolex Series elevates premier golf tournaments into world-class, unmissable sporting occasions. By championing the highest-calibre golf and the unique, international spirit of the game, the Rolex Series resonates strongly with the Swiss watchmaker’s own quest for perpetual excellence. Rolex will again be present as Official Timekeeper at this year’s DP World Tour Championship, a role the brand has performed since 2017.
Among the past winners also in the Rolex family will be Matt Fitzpatrick, who captured this championship for the first time in 2016, aged 22. In doing so, he became the youngest Englishman to claim three Tour titles and obtained automatic selection for The Ryder Cup that year. Fitzpatrick lifted the trophy for a second time in 2020 and finished a career-high second in the Race to Dubai Rankings. He broke through to win his first Major title at the 2022 U.S. Open.
Another Testimonee vying to become a multiple Rolex Series winner is Frenchman Victor Perez, who won the season-opening Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in January.
The connection that has existed between Rolex and golf for more than half a century is rooted in the very essence of the game. Precision, elegance, respect and humility make the sport an endless school of life. Through its initial association in 1967 with Arnold Palmer, joined by Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player – known together as The Big Three – the brand helped to perpetuate excellence in the discipline and has continued to forge partnerships with the sport’s leading institutions and their greatest events, while supporting both seasoned champions and emerging talent.
Since that landmark partnership with three of the game’s greats, the relationship between Rolex and golf has flourished, permeating every level and attaining global reach. Underlining its support for golf in Europe, in 1997 the brand became the Official Timekeeper of The European Tour, a partnership it now maintains through its alliance with the DP World Tour.
