As the DP World Tour season enters its Back 9 portion, the battle for supremacy is heating up as players aim to end their year with some kind of success.
While a tournament victory is, of course, the immediate goal, pros are also jostling for position via high finishes in order to reach the DP World Tour Playoffs and give themselves a chance of succeeding Rory McIlroy as the Race To Dubai champion.
Even if no one manages it, players could land one of 10 PGA Tour cards on offer to the leading non-exempt DP World Tour members at the culmination of the season in Dubai.
Brought in before the 2023 campaign, the '10 Cards Initiative' was a byproduct of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour's strategic alliance which offers the leading group of European-based players the chance to play for significantly higher prize purses against many of the world's very best over the course of the following year.
Matthieu Pavon and Robert MacIntyre were among the first beneficiaries of the scheme, with both going on to secure maiden PGA Tour titles in their full debut rookie campaign.
However, the 2024 crop did not fare anywhere near as well, with zero wins between them and only one runner-up finish as none of the 10 made the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Tom McKibbin left to join LIV Golf ahead of the PGA Tour season anyway, and he was the only player to earn more money than the year prior.
Despite mixed results through two years of the initiative, many players remain desperate to obtain their shot at breaking through in the US - especially after the PGA Tour reduced the number of full cards for their own members to 100, down from 125, in order to increase playing opportunities for Korn Ferry Tour and DP World Tour pros.
Leading the way in Europe as it stands is Marco Penge, who is also within striking distance of Race To Dubai leader, Rory McIlroy.
Penge's rise to this position has been remarkable, with the young Englishman only promoted from the Challenge Tour in 2023 and having narrowly managed to keep his DP World Tour card via a strong finish in the final event of 2024 before the Playoffs.
Since then, he sat out several weeks after being banned for breaching betting regulations before returning to the circuit in white-hot form and going on to win the Danish Golf Championship.
With a considerable gap down to the 10th player in line for a PGA Tour card, it appears extremely likely that the monster-hitting Penge will be competing over in the US next season.
Another man who looks set to play PGA Tour golf in 2026 is Kristoffer Reitan. The Norwegian is third in the Race To Dubai after winning the Soudal Open and enjoying an excellent streak during the middle of the year.
He finished runner up at the Hainan Classic and the Austrian Open while also ending third at the Nexo Championship and fourth at the BMW International Open. The 27-year-old is now well inside the top-100 of the OWGR and primed to follow compatriot, Viktor Hovland onto the PGA Tour.
In a tight section of the Race To Dubai rankings, there are multiple DP World Tour winners bunched together. Haotong Li is just ahead of John Parry, Laurie Canter, Martin Couvra and Jordan Smith.
Li won the Qatar Masters back in February after Parry had triumphed at the Mauritius Open weeks prior. A few months later, young Frenchman Couvra lifted the Turkish Airlines Open title and went on to finish runner up at the Italian Open. However, Smith is yet to win in 2025 but has twice finished second.
Meanwhile, Canter reigned supreme at the Bahrain Championship to not only propel himself up the Race To Dubai standings but also ascend inside the top-50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.
That helped the former LIV golfer earn his first taste of the PGA Tour at The Players Championship and Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he will be aiming to return in 2026.
Adrien Saddier, Keita Nakajima and Daniel Hillier hold the final three places with more than two months of the campaign remaining, but the number of points between them and those chasing is so minimal that one week can still change so much.
Among those trying to force their way into the reckoning includes BMW International Open winner Daniel Brown, Alfred Dunhill Championship winner Jacques Kruyswijk and ex-LIV golfer, Eugenio Chacarra. They each sit within 210 points of a PGA Tour card as it stands.
Leading 10 DP World Tour Players In Line To Earn 2026 PGA Tour Card
Race To Dubai |
Player |
Points |
|---|---|---|
2nd |
Marco Penge |
2,618.92 |
3rd |
Kristoffer Reitan |
2,120.27 |
5th |
Haotong Li |
1,998.52 |
6th |
John Parry |
1,867.96 |
7th |
Laurie Canter |
1,699.70 |
8th |
Martin Couvra |
1,638.78 |
9th |
Jordan Smith |
1,609.66 |
12th |
Adrien Saddier |
1,307.58 |
13th |
Keita Nakajima |
1,293.00 |
15th |
Daniel Hillier |
1,259.24 |
