What is the purse of 2024 Hero Dubai Desert Classic? Exploring tournament prize money, winners payout and more 

The Hero Dubai Desert Classic is the first Rolex Series event of the 2024 season on the DP World Tour. It is a series of five events with the highest purses and distributing the most points (after the Majors) for the Race to Dubai Standings.

The purse for the 2024 Hero Dubai Desert Classic is $9 million. The winner's share, meanwhile, is $1.53 million.The event also distributes 8,000 points for the Race to Dubai Standings, of which 1,335 go to the winner.

The Hero Dubai Desert Classic is the second highest purse tournament on the DP World Tour calendar, along with three other Rolex Series events (Scottish Open, BMW Championship and Abu Dhabi Championship) that have equal purse.

The fifth and final Rolex Series event is also the season-closing tournament on the circuit (DP World Tour Championship) and has the largest purse, at $10 million.

The 2024 edition of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic will be the second in a row with a $9 million purse. The event has become one of the most lucrative on the European circuit since it was added to the Rolex Series in 2022.

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How has the Hero Dubai Desert Classic purse changed throughout its history?

The tournament was first played in 1989 under the name Karl Litten Desert Classic. That first edition had a purse of $450,000 and the winner, Mark James, received $75,000.

The event purse reached $650,000 in 1992, but dropped to $500,000 a year later. Since then it has only grown. By 1994, the Desert Classic was being played for a purse of $700,000.

The event hit the $1 million prize barrier in 1996 and the $1.5 million barrier in 2001. It rose to $2 million in 2003 and $2.5 million in 2008. Ten years later (2018), it hit the $3 million purse.

The most radical jump in the Desert Classic purse came in 2022, when it was included in the DP World Tour's Rolex Series. The previous year the purse had been $3.25 million.

The purse in 2022 was $8 million, which marked a jump of nearly $5 million from the previous year. That year also marked the first edition in which the winner surpassed the $1 million barrier in winnings. That chance went to Viktor Hovland, who earned $1,333,330.

2024 is the 35th edition of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. The event was the first to establish the European tour in the Arabian Peninsula. It is played at the Emirates Golf Club in Dubai.

Since its foundation, the Desert Classic has always been very attractive for its high purses. The most important players of each generation have played and won there. This includes the likes of Sebe Ballesteros, Ernie Els, Fred Couples, Colin Montgomerie, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.