Tommy Fleetwood & Shane Lowry could feature in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship as a major loophole comes to light

Weeks ago, Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry were celebrating with their European teammates following the Ryder Cup win at Bethpage. Now it seems that the duo might get one more chance to celebrate.

Next month, golfers will get a golden chance to participate in the 2025 Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. The tournament's field is usually set for the top 70 golfers on the DP World Tour following the completion of the Korea Championship. This year, Tommy Fleetwood and Lowry rank 94th and 155th on the list, respectively.

This comes after both of these golfers have played most of their 2025 golf tournaments on the PGA Tour. Although it seems impossible, they can still be a part of this year's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Both Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood can bypass the top 70 list following one major loophole in the rule book.

According to a clause, there's a separate exemption category for the members of the European Ryder Cup squad. This makes Lowry and Fleetwood eligible to compete in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. What makes this more lucrative for both the Irish Golfer and Tommy Fleetwood is the massive prize pool of this tournament.

The DP World Tour event at Yas Links, Abu Dhabi, holds a prize purse of $9,000,000. Last year, Paul Waring won this tournament and ended up taking home a massive paycheck of $1,530,000. The remaining $7,470,000 was available for the rest of the golfers on the leaderboard. This leaves a good payout opportunity for Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry.

Apart from this duo, there are other European Ryder Cup squad members eligible for exemption. As of now, Sepp Straka ranks 147th on the DP World Tour. Ludvig Aberg, who was the only European player to achieve a full point in the Ryder Cup Singles, ranks 72nd.

How much did Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry earn from last year's Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship?

In 2024, Fleetwood showcased a commendable performance at Yas Links Golf Club in Abu Dhabi. The seven-time European Tour winner opened the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship with a low round score of 62, followed by a 68 in the second round.

Over the weekend, Tommy Fleetwood recorded a 71 on Saturday. In the final round, the pro concluded with a 67, finishing the DP World Tour event with a total 20 under par 268. This helped Fleetwood secure the sixth spot in the tournament leaderboard. The one-time PGA Tour winner earned a paycheck worth $315,000.

On the other hand, the 2019 Open Championship winner carded 69 over the first 18 holes of play in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Lowry secured 66 in both the second and third rounds of this DP World Tour event. The final round at Yas Links GC saw Lowry score 69. With a four-round total of 18 under par 270, Lowry secured the 13th spot in the leaderboard. He ended up earning $128,400 from this event.

Edited by Pravashis Biswas