despite lingering political unrest in the area. Players are, however, on alert this week in Abu Dhabi as tour officials have procedures in place at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, should there be any safety concerns or emergencies. The tour has posted this notice to players explaining that if there is an alert, they will get a message on their phone, play will be suspended immediately and to seek shelter inside the clubhouse.

Eleven of the top 70 on the Race to Dubai points list have skipped the event, including Matt and Alex Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre, Ryan Fox, Shane Lowry, Ludvig Aberg and Justin Rose. Matt Fitzpatrick previously had mentioned concerns about the unrest in the region potentially keeping him from playing in Abu Dhabi or the final event in Dubai, where he has won three times.