The Scottish Robert MacIntyre and the Englishman Tyrrell Hatton, players from the European Ryder Cup team, the Australian Adam Scott, winner of the 2013 Masters Tournament, and Akshay Bhatia, an emerging star of American golf who already has two victories on the PGA Tour, have been the latest names to join the field of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, a tournament that will kick off the year on the DP World Tour from 16 to 19 January at the Emirates Golf Club.
There, they will face off against such important names as Rory McIlroy, who aims to lift the famous Dallah Trophy for the fifth time in his career, or Jon Rahm, who continues to pursue his playing options on the European circuit after appealing the sanction imposed on him for signing with LIV Golf, or Tommy Fleetwood, another star of the Old Continent team in the Ryder. A top-level line-up for a Rolex Series event that offers nine million dollars in prizes.
MacIntyre made his Ryder Cup debut when he joined McIlroy, Fleetwood, Rahm, and Hatton in Europe’s victory in Rome in September 2023 and has since enjoyed a fantastic 2024 season. The Scot claimed his first PGA Tour title at the RBC Canadian Open in June and added a third title on the DP World Tour—and his first in the Rolex Series—with an emotional home victory at the Genesis Scottish Open. He has finished twice in the top 10 in his four previous appearances at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.
Hatton, who claimed his seventh DP World Tour title at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in October, has finished four times in the top ten at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The Englishman has also enjoyed success in the region, in Abu Dhabi in 2021, and is seeking his fifth victory in the Rolex Series.
Scott is no stranger to success in the Middle East, boasting two victories in Qatar in his illustrious career. The Australian also concluded one of his best seasons to date on the DP World Tour with a tied third place at the DP World Tour Championship last month on his way to the top 10 in the Race to Dubai.
The trio will be joined by American star Akshay Bhatia, who will compete in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic for the first time in his career. The 22-year-old was a decorated amateur and represented the United States in the Junior Presidents Cup, Junior Ryder Cup, and Walker Cup before turning professional in 2019.
He secured his first DP World Tour and PGA Tour title at the co-sanctioned Barracuda Championship in 2023, adding a second title on the American circuit earlier this year at the Valero Texas Open. “I’ve heard a lot about the tournament and everything about the week in Dubai, and I’m eager to experience it,” he stated.
