Matt Fitzpatrick has won the DP World Tour Championship three times, including in a playoff last year. But with the tournament set to end the 2026 season in Dubai, he is now unsure whether he will return to defend his title, and he pointed to a shift in personal priorities as part of the reason.
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Speaking on Wednesday at Wentworth ahead of the BMW PGA Championship, the DP World Tour’s flagship event, Fitzpatrick didn’t dance around the issue: “Being completely honest, as things stand right now, I would say I’m not that comfortable. No, I wouldn’t be that comfortable. A few things have obviously changed for me, perspective and stuff. I’ve had a child in August, and that obviously kind of changes things, I guess, a bit more.”
Fitzpatrick’s frustration is not just about safety or the lack of it. He is also miffed by how little clarity the DP World Tour has given players about the season finale. He said his management team was told in April that a decision would be made by June. But that deadline has come and gone, and regular updates have still not followed. There is also another personal reason behind Fitzpatrick’s concerns.
He pointed to an incident from his previous visit to Dubai, saying a hotel where he had dinner during the week of his 2025 victory was later damaged in a missile strike. Fitzpatrick described the incident as frightening, and he is not the only player demanding changes to the schedule.
Robert MacIntyre doesn’t want to travel to the Middle East
Scottish golfer Robert MacIntyre, who is also a new dad on Tour, told the Scotsman: “To be honest, I’m not wanting to go to the Middle East with everything that is going on. I’ll constantly be keeping an eye on what is going on out there before I make a decision.”
Matt Fitzpatrick brought up Formula One’s uncertainty over the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, especially after races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia were canceled this year. For him, that naturally raises the question of whether the DP World Tour should also be reconsidering its plans.
He also pushed back on how the situation is being covered depending on where you’re reading about it: “I know where you get your news isn’t always… can be very one-sided, particularly in the U.S. But I think for me, as things stand right now, it would feel a little bit weird, given what I’m reading elsewhere.”
Interestingly, Tommy Fleetwood, who has a home in Jumeirah Golf Estates, the host of the DP World Tour Championship, was also asked to share his opinion on the matter. The Englishman said he had visited Dubai after the Tour Championship.
Tommy Fleetwood strikes a different chord
“I’ve just been there for two weeks. I went home after Atlanta. You know, as much as my knowledge, which kind of over the last two weeks has been school I run and some practice, it’s fine in both of those cases. The school I run has been fine, and the driving range has been good. There’s been nothing happening on those.”
As for Fitzy’s comments, Fleetwood said, “I think everybody’s their own person, and I think that everybody kind of makes their own decisions of how they feel and what’s going on. I can’t be someone that knows what’s going to happen in the future or knows worldly thinking or what’s going on, but from my own experience at home, it was great to go home for the last few weeks for some of us that live there.”
The Abu Dhabi Championship remains scheduled for November 5-8, with the $10 million DP World Tour Championship taking place in Dubai the following week. Together, the two events will decide the Race to Dubai title.
For now, the Tour still appears to be planning to hold both tournaments in the UAE. Reports have suggested that Turkey, Spain, and Portugal are being considered as backup options, but no final change has been announced.
The situation comes as tensions between the U.S. and Iran continue to raise concerns across the Middle East. The DP World Tour has said it remains in contact with players and their management teams while stressing that individual players can decide whether they want to compete.
But for Matt Fitzpatrick, a three-time winner of the Dubai finale, that still leaves the biggest question unanswered. With the playoffs only about two months away, he and other players are still waiting to find out where the season will actually end.