Unrest in the Middle East has DP World Tour Championship defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick debating whether he will make a title defense.
“Being completely honest as things stand right now, I would say I'm not that comfortable,” Fitzpatrick said on Wednesday during a press conference ahead of the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship.
The final two DP Tour events — the Abu Dhabi Championship and DP World Tour Championship — are scheduled to be held during the first two weeks of November in the United Arab Emirates. But there have been rumors for months that the circuit could have to shift the location due to the conflict in the Middle East affecting the larger region, including in February when Dubai’s airport was closed after being struck by
ballistic missiles.
Fitzpatrick is a three-time winner of the DP World Tour Championship, including a playoff victory a year ago. But being married and having the couple have their first child in August have led him to take a more cautious approach.
“That obviously kind of changes things, I guess, a bit more,” he said. “I think for me, as things are right now, it would feel a little bit weird, given what I'm reading elsewhere. Things can change overnight, I'm sure. 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 changed from essential travel only to one step better than that.”
The U.S. Department of State maintains a Level 3: Reconsider Travel advisory for the United Arab Emirates, which includes Dubai, due to risks of armed conflict, terrorism, and drone or missile threats.
“Obviously I know the Tour has been on this for a long time. It's obviously frustrating that the decision hasn't been made so you can plan what's going on. But I understand there's obviously a lot of moving parts to that, and it's obviously difficult to make these decisions,” said Fitzpatrick, who noted speaking to DP World Tour executive director Guy Kinnings on the matter last week. “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.
“I know there's been discussions on what Formula 1 is doing. I don't know the rumors that side but I've heard they might not be going there, so it begs the question, would we, I guess. I spoke to Guy last week about it because I have some decisions to make on my own minimums that I need to play and whatnot. For me, I know people close to me would — my agent and a few other people on tour, it was like, yeah, we are going to make a decision by June, they were told in April.”
Fitzpatrick said he plans to play the Dunhill Cup and is contemplating adding the French Open to his schedule as the situation in the Middle East plays out.
“I feel like it's been very vague the whole time and they have not necessarily kind of had open communication, I would say,” Fitzpatrick added. “And that's not like having a go. I just think it is a difficult topic for them to obviously make a decision on.”
Adam Schupak is a senior writer for Golfweek, covering the PGA Tour.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Will Matt Fitzpatrick defend his golf title in the Middle East? It's 'iffy'
