2024 Race to Dubai format: How it works, field sizes, DP World Tour tournaments
CMC European Tour

2024 Race to Dubai format: How it works, field sizes, DP World Tour tournaments

A picture of golfer Rory McIlroy DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - JANUARY 29: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland tees off on the 8th hole during the Third Round on Day Four of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club on January 29, 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)


The Race to Dubai playoffs format has changed several times since the concept was introduced, and the Race to Dubai playoffs format that started being used with the 2018-2019 DP World Tour season.

Explaining the Race to Dubai playoffs format means detailing how players earn Race to Dubai points, qualify for the final events to the DP World Tour Championship and then battle it out to see who wins the $2 million first-place prize.

2024 Race to Dubai playoff format

How to qualify

As has been the case since the start of the Race to Dubai, the entire DP World Tour regular season leads to the Race to Dubai conclusion, with each official DP World Tour event offering points to players who made the 36-hole cut based on a standardized system related to the purse as quoted in US dollars. For each regular DP World Tour event, the winner earns a certain number Race to Dubai points. The four majors, World Golf Championships and the BMW Championship offer more points. The final two events offer elevated points

All of the points from regular season events are tallied together at the conclusion of the regular season, which this year came with the completion of the Genesis Championship. The top 110 players in points typically retain their status for the next season.

LISTEN TO GOLF NEWS NET RADIO 24/7
FOLLOW GOLF NEWS NET RADIO: iHEART | TUNEIN

The top 70 players in the Race to Dubai standings at the end of those tournaments qualify for the Race to Dubai Playoffs opener in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

The top 50 available players after Abu Dhabi qualify for the DP World Tour Championship.

The top five finishers in the Race to Dubai standings after the DP World Tour Championship claim a share of the bonus pool.

Race to Dubai playoff events and cuts

The Race to Dubai playoff events whittle a field of 70 down to 50 for the final event at the Tour Championship. The points are increased by a factor from the regular season events, with a winner picking up 2,000 Race to Dubai points in the finale.

DP World Tour Championship format

Starting in 2019, the DP World Tour Championship format is a 72-hole, stroke-play tournament with no handicaps or cut. The player who wins the event earns 2,000 Race to Dubai points, and each player completing the event earns points. At the conclusion, the points leader wins the season-long race.

However, there remains great incentive to win the season-ending tournament. The tournament features a $10 million purse.

Win both the season finale and the season-long race, and a player claims a huge payday.

About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is currently a +2.6 USGA handicap, and he has covered dozens of major championships and professional golf tournaments. He likes writing about golf and making it more accessible by answering the complex questions fans have about the pro game or who want to understand how to play golf better.

Ryan talks about golf on various social platforms:

X or Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanballengee
Facebook: https://facebook.com/ryanballengeegolf
Instagram: https://instagram.com/ryanballengee
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@ryanballengeegolf

Ballengee can be reached by email at ryan[at]thegolfnewsnet.com

Ryan occasionally links to merchants of his choosing, and GNN may earn a commission from sales generated by those links. See more in GNN's affiliate disclosure.