Wiesberger Slams Dubai Greens as the Worst on Tour After a 75 at the Season Finale

Bernd Wiesberger called the greens at the DP World Tour Championship the worst on tour in a long time, and he said it on Instagram minutes after signing for a three-over 75 in the opening round at Jumeirah Golf Estates. The 41-year-old Austrian is 41st in the 50-man field after a round that included a double bogey from the middle of the fairway and a three-putt from 30 feet, and his playing partner Tyrrell Hatton had his own moment on the same greens when a short par putt slid past on the 14th.

What did Wiesberger say about the greens?

He posted the verdict on his Instagram story shortly after his round, and he did not soften it. “Average golf + tricky conditions + worst greens on tour we have had in a long time = 75. Onwards to tomorrow to try and get a few back,” Wiesberger wrote, bunkered reports, and GolfMagic confirms the same wording. The post was his own, on his own account, and it landed within hours of the round ending. For a tour event, that is as direct as player criticism gets: a veteran, in public, naming the surface.

What went wrong in Wiesberger’s round?

The scorecard backs up the frustration. Wiesberger made three birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey on the par-four ninth, where he found trouble from the middle of the fairway, bunkered reports. He also three-putted from around 30 feet. The 75 left him 41st in a 50-man field at the season finale, a position that matters because this week is not about the title for him. He is chasing one of 10 PGA Tour cards on offer to the top finishers in the Race to Dubai, GolfMagic reports, and a 75 in the opening round has made that job harder with three rounds left.

What happened to Tyrrell Hatton on the 14th?

Hatton gave Wiesberger his visual evidence on the same day, in the same group. The Englishman missed a short putt for par on the 14th, pointed at the hole in disbelief, then looked back at Wiesberger and his caddie, Hugo Dobson, bunkered reports. The DP World Tour posted the clip on social media, which is how the moment travelled beyond the group: the tour’s own account amplified the miss that its critic had just pointed to. Hatton, ranked world No. 23, still shot a two-under 70, reaching four under through eight before three bogeys and a birdie at the 18th.

Who leads the DP World Tour Championship?

Joost Luiten leads on five under after an opening 67, Sky Sports reports. The Dutchman was the last man into the 50-man field, ranked 56th in the Race to Dubai, and he said he had nothing to lose after stringing together seven birdies and two bogeys. Rory McIlroy is two back after a three-under 69, in a share of third place, and Jacob Skov Olesen is second. McIlroy three-putted twice on the front nine and missed a 15-foot eagle putt on the 18th that would have moved him into a share of second, Irish Golfer reports.

What is the Race to Dubai situation?

Eugenio Chacarra leads the season-long standings by 533.93 points and opened with a level-par 72, tied 23rd, Irish Golfer reports. McIlroy is second and can finish as low as fourth and still win the Race to Dubai, which would be a record-equalling eighth title, matching Colin Montgomerie’s haul of Harry Vardon Trophies. Chacarra’s season has been defined by resilience, after he led the Spanish Open on a fractured toe, and the Dubai finale is the last stop of a year in which the tour has been fighting to keep its players. The tour has also warned its LIV players that they must choose a side for 2027, and the breakaway circuit’s funding has been under pressure all season.

Why does the complaint matter?

Because the greens Wiesberger is criticising are the stage for the biggest prize in European golf this week. McIlroy is chasing a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title on the same surfaces, and the tour’s own account posted the Hatton miss that supports Wiesberger’s case. Wiesberger is a former Ryder Cup player and a former LIV man, not a young player looking for attention, and his complaint is aimed at the condition of the course rather than the rules or the officials. Adrian Meronk tore up the Dunhill Links earlier in the season and then faced questions about his own LIV future, which is the other side of the same conversation: the tour’s players keep having to answer for the circuit they play on. Wiesberger goes again on Friday at 05:05 UK time, alongside Jeff Winther, and the final round is on Sunday.