Europe starts its postseason in Middle East and 11 players chose not to go

The European tour begins its two-week conclusion to the season at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship for the top 70 players on the Race to Dubai. The first playoff event is getting more attention for the 11 players who chose to sit this one out.

The tour decided to stick to the schedule of Abu Dhabi and Dubai amid increased tensions and security concerns in the Middle East because of the Israel-Iran war.

Among those sitting out are major champions and Ryder Cup regulars Matt Fitzpatrick and Shane Lowry. Both are assured of staying in the top 50 who advance to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai next week, if they choose to play.

Eugenio Chacarra, Patrick Reed and Rory McIlroy are Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in the Race to Dubai and headline the field, along with the return of Jon Rahm , who is playing Abu Dhabi for the first time.

"We have plans in place for every aspect of every tournament on the DP World Tour and that is the case again this week,” the European tour said in a statement.

Even so, the start of the week came with a notice that is different from most other tournaments. Part of it read that if United Arab Emirates authorities issue a mobile phone alert to the public at any point, “play will be suspended immediately, signaled by a long blast of the air horns, as per the procedure for a dangerous situation.”

“Players and caddies should evacuate the course as per the evacuation plans and proceed to the clubhouse," the message said.

The UAE shares a border with Saudi Arabia. The Asian Tour already has postponed one of its most prestigious events, the PIF Saudi International, that was scheduled for Nov. 18-21.

Ludvig Aberg is No. 45 and is not playing in Abu Dhabi. Four players outside the top 50 are assured of having their European tour season end — Robert MacIntyre of Scotland (56), Si Woo Kim (62), Justin Rose (62) and Ryan Gerard (70).

Gerard, who last year flew to Mauritius with hopes of ending the year in the top 50, is playing the PGA Tour event in Mexico this week.

Bernhard Langer turned 50 in August 2007 and played five times on the PGA Tour Champions, missing out on the Charles Schwab Cup Championship. That was the last time the season finale was held and the two-time Masters champion was not around.

Langer, 69, finished 45th in the Schwab Cup and did not qualify for the 36-man field at Phoenix Country Club next week. He registered only two top 10s in his last 14 starts dating to April. Langer did not play in last week's event in Arkansas because it would have been four in a row.

“I still have goals to win tournaments and to finish as good as I can week after week. I still enjoy competing,” he said at the Furyk & Friends event in Florida last month.

Langer has a record 47 wins on the PGA Tour Champions, with six Schwab Cup titles and 12 senior majors. This was the first year since he turned 50 in 2007 that he failed to win on the PGA Tour Champions or the Legends Tour in Europe.

November has become the “Tiger Woods Watch” now that the 15-time major champion is back to reasonable health.

The Hero World Challenge he hosts in the Bahamas the first week in December is a 20-man field and 17 players have been announced. Players must be in the top 50 in the world ranking at a cutoff, though an exception is made for the tournament host.

More likely is the PNC Championship for major champions and Players Championship winners and their children or parents. Woods and son Charlie, who has committed to play at Florida State, have played every year when Woods was healthy.

Meanwhile, the PNC Championship field is starting to fill with 20-player teams. Nelly Korda (with father Petr) and Annika Sorenstam (son Will McGee) return for the Dec. 19-20 event. Among the newcomers are Cameron Young playing with his father, Dave, the longtime golf director at Sleepy Hollow in New York. Brooks Koepka also makes his debut playing with his father.

Nelly Korda and Haeran Ryu have led the LPGA Tour this year, each with two major championships and the lowest adjust scoring average.

Neither is in line to win the Vare Trophy for scoring average, which awards one point toward the LPGA Hall of Fame.

Korda, with a 69.38 scoring average, skipped the Asia swing again, returning for the final two events in Florida. But she will fall short of the minimum 70 rounds. Ryu had to withdraw from the Maybank Championship in Malaysia, meaning she also will fall short with her 69.44 average.

Next in line is Miyu Yamashita of Japan, who won in Malaysia and lowered her average to 69.47. Yamashita, now second behind Korda in the season points race, already has played 78 rounds.

Muirfield has waited 21 years before it finally gets to host another Open — the seniors.

The R&A announced Tuesday that Muirfield will host the Senior British Open in 2028 for the first time since it welcomed the senior men in 2007 won by Tom Watson.

Still to be determined is whether Muirfield, regarded as the purest of the links on the Open rota, again gets the oldest championship in golf.

The British Open hasn't been held at Muirfield since Phil Mickelson won in 2013. The next open date is 2029, meaning it will be at least 16 years between Opens at the East Lothian links in Scotland. Muirfield has never waited more than 13 years since the Open resumed after World War I.

At issue is whether Muirfield makes changes to its course to accommodate larger crowds the R&A prefers to have in a modern Open. Muirfield did host the Women's British Open in 2022.

The next two Opens on the rotation are St. Andrews next year and Royal Lytham & St. Annes in 2028. Royal Lytham & St. Annes last hosted the Open in 2012.

Augusta National will have back-to-back official films on Tuesday, Nov. 24, airing on Golf Channel. The official film of the Augusta National Women's Amateur is at 8 p.m., a recap of Maria Jose Marin winning that will be followed by the official film of the Masters and Rory McIlroy becoming the fourth back-to-back winner. ... The Charles Schwab Cup Championship, held at Phoenix Country Club since 2017, will move to Papago Golf Club in Phoenix next year. ... Hoiana Shores in Hoi An, Vietnam, will hold the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship next year. It will be the first time the tournament is held in Vietnam since it began in 2009.

The last 10 tournaments on the LPGA Tour have been won by players from Japan, Thailand, South Korea or China.

“There are massive implications for my career with this win. Obviously confidence coming from it is a part, but I think opportunity is now the biggest benefit.” — Andrew Novak after winning the Mexico Open, which puts him on the upper Championship Series in 2028.

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