The DP World Tour is coming to the Dubai Creek Resort from January 15-18 for the Dubai Invitational. While Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy headline the field, three prominent names are missing from the $2.75 million field.

Ludvig Aberg

The Swedish star is missing the Dubai Invitational after failing to make the Race to Dubai cut in 2025. Ludvig Aberg finished 80th in the Race to Dubai standings, failing to make it to the playoffs in 2025 via the standard top-70 rankings. He only got into the playoffs because of a Ryder Cup wildcard. However, he did finish T3 at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai with a bogey-free 66.

Aberg had a great 2025 season on the PGA Tour. He won the Genesis Invitational in February with a clutch 66, finished in the top 25 in eight tournaments in a row, made $8.3 million (14th overall), had a 69.5 scoring average, and was ranked No. 4 in the world. He has secured multiple exemptions from the PGA Tour, so it’s somewhat clear that he is looking for the PGA Tour more.

Adam Scott

The 44-year-old Australian is going to Waialae Country Club instead of Dubai. He is playing in the PGA Tour 2026 late-season opener, the Sony Open in Hawaii, from January 15 to 18. Scott barely kept his DP World Tour card in 2025. He finished 108th in the Race to Dubai after playing only eight ranking events and not finishing in the top 10 in any of them.

In 2025, Adam Scott played 18 times on the PGA Tour, made $1.75 million, had a scoring average of 70.2, and hit 68% of the greens in regulation. His strategic plan focuses on majors and a few big events, as he said at the US Open last year.

Min Woo Lee

The Australian birdie machine is also skipping Dubai to focus on big PGA Tour events.

Min Woo Lee’s big break came at the Texas Children’s Houston Open in 2025, when he won his first PGA Tour title and moved up to No. 22 in the world rankings. That win gave them automatic entry into all of the other signature events in 2025.

He only played in five DP World Tour events, finishing T11 at the BMW PGA Championship and T5 at the Open de France. He came in 104th in the Race to Dubai, which meant he didn’t make the playoffs. Lee’s recent form, however, is still strong: he finished T5 at the Australian PGA Championship in November and T12 at the Australian Open in December. He has great distance (319-yard drives) and great putting stats.

Lee isn’t playing in the Sony Open, as well, which means he’s taking time off!

The Dubai Invitational still has star power with Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, and defending champion Tommy Fleetwood. However, Scott’s participation in the Sony Open and Aberg and Lee’s preparation for upcoming PGA Tour events.