With Brooks Koepka’s return to the PGA Tour dominating the headlines, and LIV’s roster changes, it’s been easy to forget that both the PGA and DP World Tour stage their first events of the year this week.
In the Middle East, Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Tom McKibbin and Pádraig Harrington are all in action at the Dubai Invitational at Dubai Creek, while on the opposite side of the globe, Séamus Power opens his bid to regain full PGA Tour status at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Starting his year in the Emirates is a tried and tested formula for McIlroy, and though it’s typically been at the neighbouring Emirates Golf Club or down the coast in Abu Dhabi, two years ago he held the lead on the 72nd tee at Dubai Creek before Tommy Fleetwood picked his pocket for victory.
For the world number two, the first quarter of the year has always been played in the shadow of the Masters, and while his Career Grand Slam completing win at Augusta National last year has removed the monkey from his back, he’ll be keen to hit the ground running and lay down a marker to his rivals well ahead of the year’s first major.
Lowry has made no secret of his frustrations at failing to add to his victory tally over the past three seasons, despite playing at a consistently higher level than at any stage of his career prior. That’s something he’s desperate to put right this year, but he too has his eye on Augusta National where he’s flirted with contention but has yet to put himself fully in the mix on that Sunday back nine.
Ryder Cup qualification doesn’t start until later in the year, but making the European team for Adare Manor will be top of his two-year wishlist. There are no points available for early season performances, but it never hurts to play well and win prior.
Few players in the field played as much golf towards the latter end of 2025 as McKibbin. His victory in the Asian Tour’s Hong Kong Open earned him a first invitation to Augusta National, so he’s got that to look forward to, and each OWGR-counting start this year could bring him closer to securing his place in all four majors for the first time in his career.
Harrington’s victory in the U.S. Senior Open in 2025 means that he adds the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills to the PGA and Open Championships which his past-winner status meant he was already exempt into this year.
He very much believes that he can still have a say down the closing stretch in major championships, and proving that he can compete with the elite players on the DP World Tour will be the first step as he looks forward to playing three weeks in succession.
Over on the PGA Tour, Power is part of a strong field that’s assembled at Waialae Country Club in Honolulu, but the Waterford man knows that, without the benefit of having full PGA Tour status behind him, he needs to make the most of his early chances to avoid another late-season scramble for the top 100.
And he’s not the only one. Jordan Spieth, who finished outside the top 50 and is having to rely on sponsors’ invitations into the first two Signature Events, is also in the field, as are fellow major champions JJ Spaun, Keegan Bradley, Hideki Matsuyama, and Brian Harman.
Reducing the card-retaining requirement to the top 100, plus the cancellation of The Sentry which offered the top players from the prior year an easy opportunity to put FedEx Cup points on the board and money in their pockets means that it’s never been more important to start a season well and ease the pressure.
But Power has been plagued by injuries over the past two years, both major and minor, and with a clean bill of health combined with a strong showing towards the end of 2025, he’ll fancy his chances of regaining full status and teeing it up in major championships once again.
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