Jon Rahm's decision to skip DP World Tour Championship explained

Jon Rahm has opted out of the 2024 DP World Tour Championship, the final event of the season. He was ranked 38th in the standings but decided not to play this week.

The 2024 DP World Tour Championship will be played from Thursday, November 14, to Sunday, November 17, at Jumeirah Golf Estates - Fire Course in Dubai. The top 50 players in the Road to Dubai standings will compete this week for the season-ending championship.

Rahm, a three-time winner of the DP World Tour Championship, will miss the event for the first time in three years. He had also skipped the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship last week despite being eligible for both playoff events.

According to reports, the Spaniard is content with playing just four events on the European Tour outside the LIV Golf circuit. For the uninitiated, a player must play at least four events per season to maintain DP World Tour membership. Jon Rahm played at the Olympics, the Open de España, the Dunhill Links, and the Andalucia Masters keeping his hopes alive for the Ryder Cup next year.

Rahm's third win in Dubai came two years ago when he beat Tyrrell Hatton and Alex Norén by two strokes, becoming the winningest player at the event. While the two-time major champion is not playing in the DP World Tour Championship, the field will feature Hatton, Joaquin Niemann, and Adrian Meronk from the LIV Golf circuit.

Besides Rahm, Ludvig Aberg has also opted out of the event as he is still recovering from a knee injury. Following the FedEx Cup, he underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus and hasn't been in action since.

Two players gain from Jon Rahm and Ludvig Aberg's withdrawal from the DP World Tour Championship

With Jon Rahm and Ludvig Aberg pulling out of the DP World Tour Championship, Connor Syme (51st) and Francesco Laporta (52nd) have made it into the field. Billy Horschel, who skipped the first playoff event in Abu Dhabi, will be back in action this week.

Here's a look at the updated playing field for the DP World Tour Championship:

Rory McIlroy
Thriston Lawrence
Rasmus Højgaard
Billy Horschel
Paul Waring
Tyrrell Hatton
Tommy Fleetwood
Niklas Norgaard
Robert MacIntyre
Matteo Manassero
Jesper Svensson
Thorbjørn Olesen
Rikuya Hoshino
Matt Wallace
Sebastian Söderberg
Adam Scott
Jordan Smith
Tom McKibbin
Guido Migliozzi
Romain Langasque
Julien Guerrier
Antoine Rozner
Angel Hidalgo
Laurie Canter
Jorge Campillo
Dan Bradbury
Frederic Lacroix
Shane Lowry
Justin Rose
Ugo Coussaud
Ewen Ferguson
Joaquin Niemann
Joe Dean
Nacho Elvira
Adrian Otaegui
Matthew Jordan
Alex Fitzpatrick
Sam Bairstow
Daniel Brown
Johannes Veerman
Adrian Meronk
Min Woo Lee
Darius Van Driel
Yannik Paul
Keita Nakajima
Andy Sullivan
Aaron Cockerill
David Ravetto
Connor Syme
Francesco Laporta