Rory McIlroy paired with standout DP World Tour player for season finale
Four-time major champion Rory McIlroy will tee off with Ryan Fox in the final group on Thursday in the first round of the DP World Tour Championship.
Rory McIlroy and Ryan Fox will make up the final group on the first day of action at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
The Northern Irishman and the man from New Zealand will tee off at 12.45 pm as the number one and two players in the DP World Tour Rankings.
Despite winning the CJ Cup and the FedEx Cup for the third time, McIlroy didn't notch a victory on the DP World Tour after making eight top-10 finishes in nine starts.
He most recently made top-five finishes at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the DS Automobiles Italian Open and the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Ryan Fox came second for the third time in 2022 at the Nedbank Golf Challenge. He also won the Ras al Khaimah Classic and the Alfred Dunhill in what has been a great year for the 35-year-old.
Tommy Fleetwood, who beat Fox to the Nedbank title in South Africa, will play in the penultimate group on the Earth Course with US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick.
There are 50 players in the field this week as the entries extended to the top 53 in the rankings following the withdrawals of Will Zalatoris, Thomas Pieters and Collin Morikawa.
Morikawa, who won this event by three shots 12 months ago, withdrew from the event at Jumeirah Golf Estates due to "some upcoming personal commitments."
Round One Tee Times
8.35 - Haotong Li & Paul Waring
8.45 - David Law & Romain Langasque
8.55 - Fabrizio Zanotti & Jorge Campillo
9.05 - Joakim Lagergren & Marcel Schneider
9.15 - Eddie Pepperell & Richard Mansell
9.25 - Max Kieffer & Rafa Cabrera Bello
9.35 - Sebastian Soderberg & Oliver Wilson
9.45 - Ashun Wu & Sam Horsfield
9.55 - Matthieu Pavon & Kurt Kitayama
10.10 - Min Woo Lee & Oliver Bekker
10.20 - Connor Syme & Alex Noren
10.30 - Antoine Rozner & Adri Arnaus
10.40 - Gavin Green & Guido Migliozzi
10.50 - Shubhankar Sharma & Hurly Long
11.00 - Thorbjorn Olesen & Victor Perez
11.10 - Richard Bland & Tyrrell Hatton
11.20 - Callum Shinkwin & Yannik Paul
11.35 - Pablo Larrazabal & Richie Ramsay
11.45 - Rasmus Hojgaard & Robert MacIntyre
11.55 - Jon Rahm & Ewen Ferguson
12.05 - Adrian Otaegui & Thriston Lawrence
12.15 - Jordan Smith & Adrian Meronk
12.25 - Shane Lowry & Viktor Hovland
12.35 - Tommy Fleetwood & Matt Fitzpatrick
12.45 - Ryan Fox & Rory McIlroy
