McIlroy chases Race to Dubai leaders in Abu Dhabi

The DP World Tour’s Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship is scheduled to open the season-ending playoffs on November 5 at Yas Links, with Rory McIlroy seeking to close the gap in the Race to Dubai standings. The four-round event runs through November 8 and is the first of two playoff tournaments that will decide the tour’s season-long title. McIlroy enters third in the standings, behind Eugenio Chacarra and Patrick Reed. The winner in Abu Dhabi can earn 1,500 points, giving the leading contenders an opportunity to change the standings before next week’s DP World Tour Championship. The top 50 players qualify for that season-ending event, where the title will be decided. McIlroy is seeking an eighth Race to Dubai title, which would match Colin Montgomerie’s record, and a fifth consecutive season title. He has finished second four times and third six times at the Abu Dhabi event, including third-place finishes at Yas Links in each of the past two seasons. He said he hoped to contend again and described the UAE as a successful place for him, while acknowledging he had not yet won in Abu Dhabi. The opening-round draw groups McIlroy with Reed and Chacarra. It is his first time playing...