The Dubai Desert Classic marks the opening Rolex Series event on the DP World Tour’s 2026 schedule and follows on from the Dubai Invitational as the second successive tournament held in the UAE.
However, some big names and notable faces fell at the halfway stage and are no longer in the running for the historic title or any prize money.
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And that is a great shame for those players because – for the fourth year in a row – the Dubai Desert Classic is putting up a $9 million prize purse to be shared out among those who play all four rounds.
Raised from $8 million in 2023, McIlroy has twice won the top prize of more than $1.5 million while Tyrrell Hatton scooped the biggest check on offer here 12 months ago. Neither are likely to repeat in 2026, however, with Patrick Reed four strokes clear heading into the final round.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Unlike last year, though, the Dubai Desert Classic cannot boast the largest prize purse in pro golf this week because the PGA Tour’s American Express has increased its own pot of cash from $8.8 million to $9.2 million.
Regardless, the player who finishes solo second in Dubai is set to land just under $1 million. Although, given the number of takeaways pros have to deal with, the amount of money all pro golfers will actually see after the checks drop is far less.
Due to the Dubai Desert Classic’s status as Rolex Series event, there is also an increased number of Race To Dubai points on offer. So far this season, tournaments have offered 3,000-4,000 RTD points, but this week’s tournament will give out 8,000.
Below is the complete prize money breakdown for the 2026 Dubai Desert Classic, with the maximum payout listed for each position based on no ties and a total of 70 players making the cut.
DUBAI DESERT CLASSIC PRIZE MONEY BREAKDOWN
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Position
Prize Money
1st
$1,530,000
2nd
$990,000
3rd
$567,000
4th
$450,000
5th
$381,600
6th
$315,000
7th
$270,000
8th
$225,000
9th
$201,600
10th
$180,000
11th
$165,600
12th
$154,800
13th
$144,900
14th
$137,700
15th
$132,300
16th
$126,900
17th
$121,500
18th
$116,100
19th
$111,600
20th
$108,000
21st
$104,400
22nd
$101,700
23rd
$99,000
24th
$96,300
25th
$93,600
26th
$90,900
27th
$88,200
28th
$85,500
29th
$82,800
30th
$80,100
31st
$77,400
32nd
$74,700
33rd
$72,000
34th
$69,300
35th
$66,600
36th
$63,900
37th
$62,100
38th
$60,300
39th
$58,500
40th
$56,700
41st
$54,900
42nd
$53,100
43rd
$51,300
44th
$49,500
45th
$47,700
46th
$45,900
47th
$44,100
48th
$42,300
49th
$40,500
50th
$38,700
51st
$36,900
52nd
$35,100
53rd
$33,300
54th
$31,500
55th
$30,600
56th
$29,700
57th
$28,800
58th
$27,900
59th
$27,000
60th
$26,100
61st
$25,200
62nd
$24,300
63rd
$23,400
64th
$22,500
65th
$21,600
66th
$20,700
67th
$19,800
68th
$18,900
69th
$18,000
70th
$17,100
