The Spanish Armada and Dubai have a strong bond. They really do. Nacho Elvira is the eighth different Spanish player to win a tournament in this emirate, making it a total of eleven victories. The list is impressive: Severiano Ballesteros, José María Olazábal, Miguel Ángel Jiménez, Álvaro Quirós, Rafa Cabrera Bello, Sergio García, Jon Rahm, and Nacho Elvira. All of them have won once in Dubai, except for Quirós, who has won twice, and Rahm, who has three victories. The club, you must admit, is impressive.
It should be noted that a total of 56 tournaments have been played in Dubai throughout the history of the European circuit. They are distributed as follows: 36 editions of the Dubai Desert Classic, 17 of the DP World Tour Championship (Final in Dubai), two editions of the Dubai Invitational, and one edition of a tournament that was also played in this emirate during the pandemic year (Golf in Dubai Championship), which did not continue further. It can be said, therefore, that Spanish golf, with its eleven victories, wins practically one in every five tournaments held in Dubai. See (and reread) to believe.
No country has more victories than Spain in this emirate, although England also boasts eleven victories, achieved by seven players, one less than Spain (Mark James, David Howell, Danny Willett, Paul Casey, Tyrrell Hatton, Lee Westwood, and Matt Fitzpatrick). The third country with the most victories in Dubai is Northern Ireland, with seven, which are exactly the victories accumulated by Rory McIlroy in this emirate. He is the great emir. No matter how you look at it. The fourth is the United States (6), ahead of Sweden (4) and South Africa (4).
If we count all the emirates of the UAE where DP World Tour tournaments have been held, Spanish golf reaches thirteen victories and ten different winners, as the eleven victories in Dubai are joined by Pablo Larrazábal‘s triumph in Abu Dhabi (2014) and Alejandro Del Rey‘s in Ras Al Khaimah (2025). In this regard, England stands out with 21 victories, as in addition to the eleven achieved in Dubai, there are nine victories in Abu Dhabi and one more in Ras al Khaimah. England and Spain are the only two countries with at least one victory in each of the emirates where DPWT tournaments have been played.
With this victory, Nacho Elvira has risen to fourth place in the Race to Dubai, while David Puig has moved up to second thanks to his third place in the Dubai Invitational, Eugenio Chacarra remains eleventh, and Ángel Ayora gains a spot in the ranking and is now 19th.
Additionally, the 38-year-old Cantabrian golfer has set his sights on the PGA Championship, no less. With his victory, he will see a significant rise in the world ranking. At most, he will be placed at 113th. From there, it will depend on what happens at the Sony Open and some adjustments after the Dubai Invitational. In any case, it is most likely that he will be among the top 120. That is to say, the PGA, which usually invites almost all of the top 105 in the world, is within reach. Nacho has never played this Major. In fact, it would be the third of his career after the Open Championships of 2023 and 2024.
This is Elvira’s third victory on the DP World Tour, following his wins at the Cazoo Open in Wales in 2021 and the Soudal Open in 2024. Three victories with two different caddies: the first with Diego Suazo and the next two with David Morago. Three years passed between the first and the second, and now he has reduced the gap to two (and less because we are at the beginning of the year). We will see if he reduces it again by achieving the fourth this year. He has time ahead. It is the 213th victory for Spanish golf on the DP World Tour. Of course, the first of the year, but of the season. It joins David Puig‘s victory at the Australian PGA Championship. Two out of six played on the European circuit. Not a bad average.
