Hero Dubai Desert Classic 2025: Participants, Favourites and Odds

Tournament History and Course Details 

The first-ever Hero Dubai Desert Classic was held way back in 1989 when England’s Mark James rose to glory, beating Peter O’Malley of Australia in the thrilling playoff. The 2025 competition marks the 36th edition of the tournament and the first of five Rolex Series events scheduled for the year. 

The Majlis course is a challenging one, particularly the front nine, where players averaged 35.81 on a par 35 last year, compared to the back nine where the average was 36.44 on a par 37. Being a desert track, wind can become a major factor, and if it gets up, scoring can become much more difficult than in calm conditions. 

From Major Champions, DP World Tour and PGA Tour winners to Ryder Cup stars, this year’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic brings us a stellar cast of players who will vie for the coveted Dallah Trophy at the Emirates Golf Club. 

Headlining the event is none other than the two-time defending champion Rory McIlroy, and the number-three-ranked player in the world is joined by five others who currently feature inside the top 20 in the Official World Golf Ranking. 

Players are competing for a prize purse of $9m at this year’s tournament, with the winner pocketing a whopping $1,530,000, and of course, Dubai points. The top 70 players will share the remainder of the prize pot, with second place bagging $990,000, while 70th place gets $17,100. 

Want to get in on the early betting markets? Check out the latest odds for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic on Bet365 and lock in your wagers!

Tournament Favourites and Betting Odds

Rory McIlroy 

Ahead of tee-off, the outright favourite to win, and in this case defend the title, is top-ranked Rory McIlroy who will be making his 14th appearance at the Dubai Desert Classic since his debut at just 16 years old. The 35-year-old has won this competition four times - more than any other player in the event’s history - and he could become the first to ever lift the trophy three times in succession. McIlroy is currently priced at 4.00 to win the 2025 Dubai Desert Classic with Bet365. 

Jon Rahm

Bookmakers feel that McIlroy’s biggest challenge this year will come from two-time Major champion Jon Rahm, who is inserted as the second-favourite at odds of 5.50. Rahm is making his Dubai Desert Classic debut this year but has won the DP World Tour Championship in 2017, 2019 and 2022. The 30-year-old also finished inside the top 10 at the Olympic Games in France last year and is sure to be a big draw as he joins fellow Ryder Cup teammates and opposition at the $9m event. 

Tyrrell Hatton

Installed at 9.00 is Tyrrell Hatton, who is perhaps carrying the best form of any player into the competition, having won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, come second at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, and finished in the top-six at the Saudi International and DP World Tour Championship. Hatton also secured 3.5 points from a possible four at last week’s Team Cup, showing off his impeccable control with the longer irons and a silky-smooth touch on the green. If anyone can topple the top two in the betting market, it’s Hatton.

Tommy Fleetwood

Rounding out the bookies' top selections for this year’s Dubai Desert Classic is Tommy Fleetwood, who enters the competition off the back of an excellent showing at the Team Cup, where he triumphed in all four of his matches for GB&I. The Englishman, who now resides in Dubai, has notched up three career victories in the Middle East and has been inside the top 17 at Emirates GC in all but one of the last seven years. While he has never cracked the top-five, Fleetwood looks in great form this year following on from an incredible 2024, which included four top-three finishes and one title. You can look forward to odds of 11.00 for Tommy Fleetwood to win this year’s Dubai Desert Classic. 

Odds taken from Bet365

• Rory McIlroy - 4.00
• Jon Rahm - 5.50
• Tyrrell Hatton - 9.00
• Tommy Fleetwood - 11.00
• Viktor Hovland - 16.00
• Rasmus Hojgaard - 20.00
• Robert MacIntyre - 22.00
• Adam Scott - 22.00
• Thorbjorn Olesen - 30.00
• Akhshay Bhatia - 35.00
• Min Woo Lee - 35.00
• Dean Burmester - 35.00
• Matt Wallace - 40.00
• Patrick Reed - 40.00
• Nicolai Hojgaard - 40.00

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