Joost Luiten smiles and raises his black visor in celebration, wearing an orange shirt, with blurred white event tents behind him.

news Nov 13, 2026

Luiten Leads in Dubai as McIlroy Gains on Chacarra

Joost Luiten celebrates at the 2016 Lyoness Open in Atzenbrugg, Austria. File photo, not from this week's event. Photo: Shot Clock Masters / Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Joost Luiten shot a 5 under 67 on Thursday to take a one-stroke lead after the first round of the 2026 DP World Tour Championship, the season finale that settles the Race to Dubai. Rory McIlroy sits in a tie for third, three shots clear of Race to Dubai leader Eugenio Chacarra, who opened with a level-par 72.

Luiten leads: Joost Luiten shot a 5 under 67 to take a one-stroke lead after Round 1 of the 2026 DP World Tour Championship.
McIlroy closes on Chacarra: Rory McIlroy's 69 left him three shots ahead of Chacarra, who still leads the Race to Dubai standings.
Skov Olesen in second: Jacob Skov Olesen sits one shot back at 4 under 68.
Fitzpatrick sits out: Defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick isn't playing this week, citing ongoing tensions in the region and becoming a father in August, per Golf Monthly.
No cut this week: The full 50-player field plays all four rounds, with Round 2 set for Friday and a scheduled Sunday finish.

Luiten takes the early lead

Luiten, of the Netherlands, carded a 5 under 67 at the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, according to GolfToday's full Round 1 leaderboard and ESPN's tournament leaderboard, which both confirm the top of the field. The 2026 DP World Tour Championship runs November 12 to 15 and closes out the season with a 50-player field playing 72 holes with no cut. The field is drawn from the top 50 in the Race to Dubai standings, and Luiten only got in because higher-ranked players withdrew: he entered the week ranked 56th, according to Golf Monthly and Today's Golfer, which both confirm the withdrawal-filled spot. He arrives with six career DP World Tour wins, from his first in 2011 to his most recent in 2018.

Skov Olesen and a five-way tie for third

Jacob Skov Olesen of Denmark sits one shot back in second place at 4 under 68. Five players are tied for third at 3 under 69: Victor Perez of France, Gregorio De Leo of Italy, Freddy Schott of Germany, Francesco Laporta of Italy, and McIlroy of Northern Ireland, per the same two leaderboards. A further eight players share eighth place at 2 under 70: Adrian Otaegui, Matthew Jordan, Jorge Campillo, Kristoffer Reitan, Dan Bradbury, Oliver Lindell, David Puig, and Tyrrell Hatton.

The defending champion isn't here

Matt Fitzpatrick, who beat McIlroy in a playoff to win last year's DP World Tour Championship, isn't playing this week. He also sat out the Abu Dhabi Championship the week before, citing discomfort traveling to the Middle East amid ongoing tensions in the region and having become a father in August, according to Golf Monthly. Fitzpatrick's 2025 win was his third DP World Tour Championship title and his first since 2020. McIlroy still won last year's season-long Race to Dubai that week, his seventh title overall, per ESPN. This year's tournament carries a $10 million purse, with $3 million going to the winner, according to Today's Golfer.

McIlroy closes in on Chacarra

McIlroy's 69 left him three shots ahead of Chacarra after one round, a meaningful swing given what's riding on the week. Chacarra arrived in Dubai leading the Race to Dubai, with McIlroy second, about 534 points behind him, and Jon Rahm sixth. The winner at Jumeirah Golf Estates earns 2,000 Race to Dubai points, with 1,335 for second and 752 for third, which is a reminder of how much of the season standings is still unsettled heading into the weekend. It's tempting to read one good round as decisive, but a chase worth hundreds of points over a season usually turns on Saturday and Sunday, not a Thursday morning tee time.

Rahm's quiet start after Abu Dhabi

Rahm opened with a 1 under 71, tying for 16th, a far quieter start than the week before, when he won the Abu Dhabi Championship. He sits sixth in the Race to Dubai standings, and that post's own assessment still holds: he has an outside shot at the season title, but it likely needs a win this week to matter.

What's next

Round 2 is scheduled for Friday, with the tournament continuing through a scheduled Sunday finish. There's no cut at the DP World Tour Championship, so the full 50-player field plays all four rounds to decide both the tournament winner and the season-long Race to Dubai.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who leads after Round 1 of the 2026 DP World Tour Championship?

Joost Luiten leads at 5 under 67, one stroke ahead of Jacob Skov Olesen in second place.

Where does Rory McIlroy stand against Eugenio Chacarra in the Race to Dubai?

McIlroy finished Round 1 three shots ahead of Chacarra, the Race to Dubai leader entering the week. Chacarra still leads the season standings, with McIlroy about 534 points behind starting the tournament.

Where is the 2026 DP World Tour Championship played?

At the Earth Course at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 12 to 15.

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