Matt Fitzpatrick said he would not feel comfortable traveling to Dubai to defend his title at the DP World Championship in November unless the conflict in the Middle East subsides.
Fitzpatrick, 32, splits his time between residences in the United States and his native England. What he has read on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean would make him uneasy about playing in the DP World Tour’s season-ending events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
“Being completely honest as things stand right now, I would say I’m not that comfortable. No, I wouldn’t be that comfortable,” Fitzpatrick said Wednesday ahead of this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club in England. “I know the news, where you get your news isn’t always — can be very one-sided, particularly in the U.S.
“But I think for me, as things stand right now, it would feel a little bit weird, given what I’m reading elsewhere.”
Spain’s Jon Rahm also has alluded to the uncertainty around the final two events on the DP World Tour calendar. And Fitzpatrick admitted frustration that a final decision has yet to be communicated to players, saying his agent was told in April that a decision would be made by June.
However, a spokesperson confirmed in a statement obtained by bunkered.co.uk that the tour intends to hold the events as planned.
“We are in constant dialogue with our members and their management teams about the tournaments they play in, but ultimately players’ individual schedule choices are a matter for them to decide,” the statement read.
“As far as our playoffs are concerned, it remains our intention to play as scheduled in the UAE but we continue to monitor the situation and take advice from our international travel advisors.”
While the statement said the decision to play or not is ultimately the choice of the players, there is a lot at stake. In addition to becoming a father last month, Fitzpatrick alluded to the minimum number of tournaments he’s required to play to retain tour membership.
Ranked No. 4 in the world, Fitzpatrick is a full-time member of the PGA Tour, where he has won three times this year in addition to runner-up at The Players Championship in March and the RBC Canadian Open in June.
For now, Fitzpatrick is taking a wait-and-see approach. At No. 56 in the Race to Dubai Rankings, he’s at Wentworth Club this week looking to improve his position ahead of the playoffs.
Fitzpatrick said he has spoken to other players who share similar concerns about traveling to the Middle East under the current circumstances. He also has heard rumors that the tour is still considering not staging or moving the Abu Dhabi and Dubai events — a similar situation that Formula 1 also is weighing.
“It’s a difficult subject,” Fitzpatrick acknowledged. “I’m sure the Middle East, particularly Abu Dhabi and Dubai, want the DP World Tour to go there badly because it’s a great event for two weeks. It’s great for the tourism and all that sort of stuff with it.
“But I wouldn’t say that I have had regular contact (with the tour). I feel like it’s been very vague the whole time and they have not necessarily kind of had open communication.”
That leaves Fitzpatrick among the players keeping abreast of developments in the Middle East before making any firm commitments for their fall schedules.
“Things can change overnight, I’m sure,” he said. “I think it seems to be going down that path of things are getting better. I’ve sort of looked on the U.K. website, I know they have changed from essential travel only to one step better than that.
“I think if the tour does go, I’m sure they have had the best advice possible on what that looks like. As things stand right now, I wouldn’t necessarily be too keen on going.”
