Following last week’s Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour, where controversy in the build-up surrounding Rory McIlroy and LIV Golf player Patrick Reed was followed by drama on the course as the two battled for the title, a more low-key affair is expected this week.
The Ras al Khaimah Championship at Al Hamra Golf Club, again in the United Arab Emirates, is a relatively new tournament on the circuit, having only been played once before, last year. Then, Dane Nicolai Hojgaard beat Jordan Smith by four shots to record his second DP World Tour victory. Hojgaard has yet to win another tournament, but considering his relative dominance in last year's event, he’ll expect to finish towards the top of the leaderboard again.
Last week’s Dubai Desert Classic field was predictably bolstered by the appearance of several LIV Golf players as they went in search of Official World Golf Ranking points. The majority are elsewhere on the Arabian Peninsula this week for the Saudi International at Royal Greens Golf and Country Club. Still, there are some players in the field who have teed it up on the Saudi-funded circuit, including Spaniards Pablo Larrazabal and Adrian Otaegui.
The latter, in particular, created headlines on the DP World Tour last year with a dominant victory in the Andalucia Masters at Valderrama. His two 2023 appearances, both in the UAE at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and last week, have resulted in ties for 28th. He’ll be hoping to recapture his best form.
Other players to look out for include the highest-ranked player in the field, World No.30 Ryan Fox. The New Zealander triumphed in last year’s Ras al Khaimah Classic at the same course and will be confident of repeating that achievement this week. Spaniard Adri Arnaus is another to taste victory at Al Hamra Golf Club, having done so in the 2018 Ras al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final. The year before that, Swede Jens Dentorp also won there in the Ras al Khaimah Golf Challenge, and both play this week.
Several winners on the DP World Tour in the 2023 season are also present – Joburg Open champion Dan Bradbury, South African Open winner Thriston Lawrence, ISPS Handa Australian Open victor Adrian Meronk, Alfred Dunhill Championship winner Ockie Strydom and Victor Perez, who won his maiden Rolex Series tournament in Abu Dhabi two weeks ago. One of the other standout performances in that tournament came from Irish veteran Padraig Harrington, who finished fourth, and the three-time Major winner also plays this week.
Players are competing for a purse of $2m, with $340,000 on offer to the winner. Below is the breakdown of the prize money and field for the 2023 Ras al Khaimah Championship.
Ras al Khaimah Championship Prize Money 2023
| Position | Prize Money |
|---|---|
| 1st | $340,000 |
| 2nd | $220,000 |
| 3rd | $125,000 |
| 4th | $100,000 |
| 5th | $84,800 |
| 6th | $70,000 |
| 7th | $60,000 |
| 8th | $50,000 |
| 9th | $44,800 |
| 10th | $40,000 |
| 11th | $36,800 |
| 12th | $34,400 |
| 13th | $32,200 |
| 14th | $30,600 |
| 15th | $29,400 |
| 16th | $28,200 |
| 17th | $27,000 |
| 18th | $25,800 |
| 19th | $24,800 |
| 20th | $24,000 |
| 21st | $23,200 |
| 22nd | $22,600 |
| 23rd | $22,000 |
| 24th | $21,400 |
| 25th | $20,800 |
| 26th | $20,200 |
| 27th | $19,600 |
| 28th | $19,000 |
| 29th | $18,400 |
| 30th | $17,800 |
| 31st | $17,200 |
| 32nd | $16,600 |
| 33rd | $16,000 |
| 34th | $15,400 |
| 35th | $14,800 |
| 36th | $14,200 |
| 37th | $13,800 |
| 38th | $13,400 |
| 39th | $13,000 |
| 40th | $12,600 |
| 41st | $12,200 |
| 42nd | $11,800 |
| 43rd | $11,400 |
| 44th | $11,000 |
| 45th | $10,600 |
| 46th | $10,200 |
| 47th | $9,800 |
| 48th | $9,400 |
| 49th | $9,000 |
| 50th | $8,600 |
| 51st | $8,200 |
| 52nd | $7,800 |
| 53rd | $7,400 |
| 54th | $7,000 |
| 55th | $6,800 |
| 56th | $6,600 |
| 57th | $6,400 |
| 58th | $6,200 |
| 59th | $6,000 |
| 60th | $5,800 |
| 61st | $5,600 |
| 62nd | $5,400 |
| 63rd | $5,200 |
| 64th | $5,000 |
| 65th | $4,800 |
Ras al Khaimah Championship Field 2023
- Hassin Al Musharrekh
- Adri Arnaus
- John Axelsen
- Nick Bachem
- Matthew Baldwin
- Elyes Barhoumi
- Oliver Bekker
- Wil Besseling
- Alexander Björk
- Thomas Bjørn
- Dan Bradbury
- Christoffer Bring
- Daniel Brown
- Julien Brun
- Rafa Cabrera Bello
- Jorge Campillo
- John Catlin
- Ma Chengyao
- Todd Clements
- George Coetzee
- Asaf Cohen
- Nicolas Colsaerts
- Jens Dantorp
- Louis De Jager
- Alejandro Del Rey
- Victor Dubuisson
- Bryce Easton
- Tobias Edén
- Nacho Elvira
- Jens Fahrbring
- Ewen Ferguson
- Pedro Figueiredo
- Ross Fisher
- Grant Forrest
- Simon Forsström
- Ryan Fox
- Jeremy Freiburghaus
- Manu Gandas
- Alfredo Garcia-Heredia
- Daniel Gavins
- Deon Germishuys
- Julien Guerrier
- Chase Hanna
- Padraig Harrington
- Marcus Helligkilde
- Angel Hidalgo
- Kazuki Higa
- Calum Hill
- Daniel Hillier
- Ryo Hisatsune
- Nicolai Højgaard
- Rasmus Højgaard
- David Horsey
- Rikuya Hoshino
- Daan Huizing
- Oliver Hundebøll
- Gary Hurley
- Sam Hutsby
- Scott Jamieson
- Kristian Krogh Johannessen
- Andrew Johnston
- Matthew Jordan
- Maximilian Kieffer
- Nathan Kimsey
- Alexander Knappe
- Jeong Weon Ko
- Gudmundur Kristjansson
- Romain Langasque
- Pablo Larrazábal
- David Law
- Thriston Lawrence
- Joshua Lee
- Niklas Lemke
- Alexander Levy
- Mikael Lindberg
- Zander Lombard
- Hurly Long
- Mike Lorenzo-Vera
- Joost Luiten
- Richard Mansell
- Tom Mckibbin
- Adrian Meronk
- Guido Migliozzi
- Edoardo Molinari
- James Morrison
- John Murphy
- Lukas Nemecz
- Niklas Nørgaard
- Shaun Norris
- Thorbjørn Olesen
- Adrian Otaegui
- John Parry
- Yannik Paul
- Matthieu Pavon
- Eddie Pepperell
- Victor Perez
- Garrick Porteous
- Tapio Pulkkanen
- Richie Ramsay
- David Ravetto
- Jc Ritchie
- Adrien Saddier
- Ricardo Santos
- Marcel Schneider
- Freddy Schott
- Robin Sciot-Siegrist
- Jack Senior
- Callum Shinkwin
- Martin Simonsen
- Clément Sordet
- Matthew Southgate
- Gary Stal
- Joël Stalter
- Ockie Strydom
- Andy Sullivan
- Julian Suri
- Connor Syme
- Santiago Tarrio
- Hugo Mazen Trommetter
- Sami Välimäki
- Daniel Van Tonder
- Johannes Veerman
- Nicolai Von Dellingshausen
- Justin Walters
- Jeunghun Wang
- Marc Warren
- Dale Whitnell
- Gunner Wiebe
- Andrew Wilson
- Oliver Wilson
- Ashun Wu
- Fabrizio Zanotti
Who Is Playing In The 2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship?
Last year's winner, Nicolai Hojgaard, returns to defend his trophy. He is joined by his brother, Rasmus, World No.30 Ryan Fox and World No.52 Adrian Meronk. Several players who have claimed victories on the DP World Tour in the 2023 season also play, including Victor Perez, who won the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship two weeks ago.
What Is The Purse For The 2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship?
The purse for the 2023 Ras Al Khaimah Championship is $2m. That's an identical sum to last year's tournament. The winner will earn $340,000, while the runner-up will claim $220,000.
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