Rory McIlroy has played down safety concerns about competing at the Abu Dhabi Championship this week, amid tensions in the Middle East that have impacted the sports calendar in the region.

It is the first of lucrative, back-to-back season-ending events in the United Arab Emirates over the next two weeks that will determine who wins the year-long Race to Dubai title, which crowns the No. 1 player on the European tour.

McIlroy is third in the standings, behind Eugenio Chacarra and Patrick Reed, as he chases a record-tying eighth season-long title.