Heart warming DP World Tour "Comeback kids" for 2026

 It's New Years Eve day, December 31,2025, all the promise of 2026, 18 hours away, and wherever you are, and however you are feeling, I wish us all firstly a healthy new year, for without our health, all the rest doesn't matter. If you can have a prosperous one, that would be a bonus, but to have a loving one would be priceless.

Here's a look at 4 golfers and one honourable mention who will begin 2026 full of hope after crushing defeat who have made a comeback, and the loving support they have had is a big reason why.

There are few sports in the world that can take you from a soaring high to a crushing low in a career, a season or even a round like golf.

Years of hard work can be fulfilled or falter on one putt and here they are, having risen from the depths in the 2025 season and now have the opportunity to fly ever higher on the Race to Dubai in 2026.

Zander Lombard

A joint winner of Qualifying School Final Stage in 2018 and outright winner of the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit in 2019, Lombard had amassed seven runner-up finishes on the DP World Tour by the summer of 2024.

But during a three-a-side game of padel with his wife Kelsey, caddie and some friends, Lombard went up for a smash and when he came down his left knee “snapped – like a gunshot”.

An MRI scan and consultation with the doctor of Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich revealed an anterior cruciate ligament rupture and medial meniscus tear - Lombard's season was over in June and he would not return for seven months.

“My wife had to get me dressed for at least six weeks, I was in a brace and two crutches," he said. "Then on crutches until 12 weeks and then one crutch for another four. So it was 15, 16 weeks of constant nurturing from her and your mind just blanks out the bad memories.

“It was tough on the whole but there were some highlights in between. Little goals of getting off the crutches, learning how to walk again. Those little things keep me going."

An understandably difficult 2025 season saw him heading back to the Q School but once there he would win it for the second time in his career in spectacular fashion.

He broke 65 four times in Tarragona en route to a -37 under par total and remarkable 13-shot victory, sealing his place back on Tour.

James Morrison

A Challenge Tour graduate in 2009 who won in his rookie season, 2025 is not the first time that the Englishman has had to stage a big comeback.

He lost his card in 2013 but gained it straight back at the Qualifying School and then spent 11 consecutive years on Tour, winning again in 2015 and missing a chip for a 59 at the 2021 Omega European Masters as he fired a scintillating opening 60.

He would card just three top tens over the next three seasons, however, and ever-candidly admitted he was maybe looking to new avenues in broadcasting, even getting behind the mic on a few occasions while still playing.

Anyone who saw his crestfallen walk off the 18th after missing the cut at the the 2024 Q School may have suspected he had hit his last professional shot but Morrison, having only just turned 40, went back to the HotelPlanner Tour - missing nine out of ten cuts to start 2025.

A spectacular return to form saw him then claim a win out of nowhere - his first professional victory in just over a decade - at the BlotPlay9 but he was on the outside looking in at the graduation places when he arrived at the Rolex Grand Final supported by the R&A for what he thought would be his last event.

But with 13-year-old son Finley on the bag, he claimed a three-shot victory for an emotional second win of the season and a spectacular return to the DP World Tour for 2026.

Eddie Pepperell

Another popular Englishman, Pepperell's overarching story mirrors Morrison's in some ways, although he has taken a different route back to the DP World Tour.

A 2012 Challenge Tour graduate, Pepperell narrowly lost his card in 2016 but bounced straight back at the Qualifying School and went on to enjoy the two most fruitful years of his career so far, racking up two wins, two seconds, two thirds and eight other top tens across 2017 and 2018.

Another Race to Dubai top 50 came in 2022 but in 2024 he once again narrowly lost his card and heartbreak followed at Q School as he missed a seven-foot putt for eagle that would have seen him bounce straight back again.

But Pepperell, who has always been open about his struggles with both the technical and mental side of his game, admitted he was becoming frustrated and walked off the course at this year's Turkish Airlines Open, taking a month off from the game.

In his second event back he shared the lead after three rounds of the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour, only to have to withdraw through injury and he would finish the season 166th on the Race to Dubai and 79th on the Road to Mallorca.

Ever the entertainer, however, Pepperell had one more trick up his sleeve, birdieing the final four holes at Q School to catapult himself into the top 20 and back onto the DP World Tour for 2026.

Ashun Wu

In 2015, Wu did not have a card on the DP World Tour but secured one by winning the Volvo China Open - six days short of ten years later he did the same thing again.

The Chinese had already tasted success on the Japan Golf Tour when he won his home open and maintained momentum on the DP World Tour, winning again in 2016 and 2018.

He then finished outside the top 100 on the Race to Dubai Rankings for the next three seasons but was back in the winner's circle in 2022 in Kenya.

For the second time in his career, his winner's exemption was needed to keep hm on Tour in 2023 but there was heartbreak a year later as he missed out on keeping his card via the Race to Dubai by one spot.

He was on course for an instant return after five rounds at Q School but a closing 73 sent him tumbling down the leaderboard, severely limiting his opportunities in 2025.

Hearts made two starts in each of the Opening and International Swings but come the start of the Asian Swing, he capitalised on his previous winner's exemption to come home in 31 on Sunday, overturn a four-shot deficit and win the Volvo China Open for the second time to return to the DP World Tour for 2026.

Honourable mention : Aaron Cockerill

   DP World Tour : Q School Final Stage.  Leaderboard Tee Times

With the week of his entire year, Aaron Cockerill who only managed one top 10 all season has turned the whole season right on its head with rounds of 69 66 70 67 67 65 -24 to T2 at this Final Stage of the DP World Tour Q School to regain his card for 2026.

In 29 starts he missed 12 cuts, with just the one T10, finishing 120th in the Race to Dubai after being 49th in 2024, he admitted he " just didn't play well enough for 4 rounds all year" and in a candid interview "golf is such a crazy game, I can hit it so well one day, and so very poorly the next"

 

 This is absolutely fantastic for the popular Canadian, now 34, his wife Chelsea, daughter Addison and all his sponsors, who were staring a year on the Challenge Tour (now Hotel Planner) squarely in the face.

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

India has 3 of the top 10 toughest holes this year's DP World Tour..

 It’s that time of year again with Christmas over and the New Year upon us, where we turn to the Fortinet Threat Score to reveal which holes on the DP World Tour proved the biggest challenge across the season.

The Fortinet Threat Score measures the average score to par for the entire field, giving fans a real‑time window into just how demanding each hole played throughout the season.

In 2025, two newcomers to the schedule - Fureso Golf Klub and Enhance Anting Golf Club - produced the toughest holes across the season. Yet it was once again the challenge of DLF Golf & Country Club which stood out with three holes inside the top ten, more than any other venue on the schedule.

Here are the ten toughest tests from the 2025 DP World Tour campaign.

Difficulty Rank: 1st

Furesø Golf Klub – Hole 10

Danish Golf Championship
Par: 4 Length: 534 yards
Scoring average: 4.68

The toughest hole on the DP World Tour in 2025 belonged to Furesø Golf Klub in its first appearance on the schedule for the Danish Golf Championship. 

This demanding par four yielded just eight birdies all week and a staggering 238 scores over par, including 56 double bogeys or worse.

Champion Marco Penge made his opportunities count here, going par–birdie–par–par across the four rounds. He was one of only two players to finish the week under par on the tenth, the other being Mats Ege.

It was also the hole where Penge seized control on Sunday: Rasmus Højgaard overshot a lengthy putt and was unable to save par from eight feet, allowing Penge to move ahead on his way to victory.

2nd

Enhance Anting Golf Club – Hole 6

Volvo China Open
Par: 4 Length: 488 yards
Scoring average: 4.58

The Volvo China Open made its first appearance at Enhance Anting Golf Club, where Ashun Wu claimed his fifth DP World Tour title — ten years after his maiden victory at the same event. While Wu produced a flawless record on the sixth, parring it in all four rounds, the demanding par four allowed just 31 birdies across the week.

Joel Moscatel delivered the hole’s only eagle, but the overall scoring told the real story: 207 bogeys and 64 double bogeys or worse made this one of the most punishing tests of the 2025 season.

3rd

Carnoustie Golf Links – Hole 18

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship
Par: 4 Length: 499 yards
Scoring average: 4.57

With the Barry Burn guarding the approach, the iconic closing hole at Carnoustie lived up to its reputation as one of the most demanding finishers on the DP World Tour. Robert MacIntyre parred the 18th during his round there as players across the field battled tough conditions during a weather‑affected Alfred Dunhill Links Championship that was reduced to 54 holes. Just eight birdies were recorded all week, while 42 players made bogey and 25 made double bogey or worse.

4th

DLF Golf & Country Club – Hole 14

Hero Indian Open
Par: 4 Length: 535 yards
Scoring average: 4.54

With just three players under par for the week at DLF Golf & Country Club, it's unsurprising that the second hardest hole of 2024 once again makes the top five on the hardest holes on the DP World Tour. 

A dogleg-left hole where second shots are played to a green which has several run off areas, there were just 21 birdies for the week on this hole. Winner Eugenio Chacarra had two of them, which included a chip-in for birdie during the final round. He also made up two of the 193 pars, with the course seeing 153 bogeys and 39 double bogeys or worse.

5th

DLF Golf & Country Club – Hole 17

Hero Indian Open
Par: 4 Length: 414 yards
Scoring average: 4.51

Back‑to‑back holes in the top five come from DLF Golf & Country Club, although the 17th presented an entirely different challenge. Short on paper, the penultimate hole still gave up just 23 birdies, while producing 210 pars, 127 bogeys and 46 double bogeys or worse.

It proved to be one of Eugenio Chacarra’s tougher tests as well. He made a double bogey in round two and a bogey in the final round, the only hole on the back nine where he dropped shots at any point during the week.

The hardest par five?

With the hardest par four (Hole 10, Furesø Golf Klub) and hardest par three (Hole 7, Leopard Creek CC) both in the top ten, it begs the question about what the hardest par five on Tour was during the 2025 season.

The answer was the par five 18th at Trump International Golf Links, which played host for the first time to the NEXO Championship and averaged 5.27 across the four days. Incidentally, eventual winner Grant Forrest made a seven on the 72nd hole yet still did enough for a four stroke victory.

10 Toughest Holes on the DP World Tour in 2025

1	Furesø Golf Klub	10	4 (534 yards)	4.68		8	196	182	56
2	Enhance Anting GC	6	4 (488 yards)	4.58	1	31	216	143	64
3	Carnoustie Golf Links	18	4 (499 yards)	4.57		8	93	42	25
4	DLF G&CC	14	4 (414 yards)	4.54		21	193	153	39
5	DLF G&CC	17	4 (535 yards)	4.51		23	210	127	46
6	Leopard Creek	7	3 (194)	3.51		32	247	95	66
7	Laguna National	9	4 (488 yards)	4.45		20	180	95	34
8	DLF G&CC	6	4 (446 yards)	4.44		39	204	116	47
9	Hurstbourne CC	1	4 (515 yards)	4.43		38	227	139	43
10	Houghton Golf Club	15	4 (536 yards)	4.43	1	44	234	139	47

A behind the scenes look at the European/DP World Tour with retiring referee Mike Stewart..

 After a career in rules and tournament administration spanning more than four decades, few are better known in European golf than Mike Stewart.

Respected by colleagues and players alike spanning several generations, the Scot is retiring at the end of December following almost 40 years of service with the European Tour group.

Since joining the European Tour, now known as the DP World Tour, in 1986, Stewart has overseen close to 600 tournaments and refereed at the Major Championships and multiple Ryder Cups.

Across that time, he has served as a referee and then as a tournament director – most notably at the Dubai Desert Classic and Scottish Open – and was most recently the Director of Qualifying School.

Such was his standing not only at the Tour but among other organisations, Stewart was given the honour of being the walking official for Woods’ group in his final appearance working at The Open Championship at St Andrews in 2022.

Modest about his achievements, he departs as the longest-serving member of the Tour staff.

How did you first get involved in golf officiating?

I started with the PGA of Scotland in 1984. I got a job there working under Sandy Jones, who went on to become the chief executive of the PGA for many, many years. I had that role for two years. I was then lucky enough to secure a position with the European Tour. It was an opportunity that arose and I thought I might as well have a go, and it was really just my good fortune that Ken Schofield [the then European Tour’s Executive Director] decided to offer me a job in our Tour Operations department as a referee.

What did it mean to get the role at the Tour?

I've played golf for most of my life. I've never been a professional or played at an elite level but I just had a passion for the game. If you've got any sporting inclination at all, the thought of being involved in sport is quite appealing. I didn't aspire to get into golf. It was just a case of there's an opportunity, let's try that and then my role with the Scottish PGA turned into a role with the European Tour. At that time, I think I was about the 20th employee of the company.

Who did you work alongside when you joined the Tour?

First of all, in the early days, the three key people I was working with and under were Tony Gray, John Paramor and Andy McFee. All were fantastic tournament directors, all very highly thought of in the world of golf. I was lucky enough to learn a lot from them. I was also mentored as a referee by the late, great Keith Williams

What are your memories of your first event?

My first event was the Spanish Open at La Moraleja in May 1986. Andy McFee was the tournament director, and I went out there as a referee. Like anybody who suddenly finds himself heading off to a big tournament in another country, it was a whole new experience. Going out to Spain and working with the Spanish Golf Federation and the tournament promoter, Amen Corner was a very steep learning curve for someone more used to running one day pro-ams in Scotland. 

That week, I think it was on Tuesday, I can remember exactly where I first met Seve Ballesteros under the steps of the La Moraleja club house, having been introduced by Andy.

How did your role at Qualifying School first come about?

Well, the end of that season (1986) was my first encounter with the Qualifying School, which was played at La Manga at the time. I can remember being down in Spain working on the event.  It was run by Andy McFee, the then Qualifying School director.

How did your role come to evolve at the Tour?

Becoming a tournament director was just something you gradually moved into as you gained experience and opportunities arose. So, I started to do a few events as a tournament director, while also refereeing at the same time and that just evolved over a few years to the point, as we took on more staff, where I pretty much became a full-time tournament director. It was also around the early 1990s that we as a group of tour referees started to get invited by other organisations to officiate at the Major Championships. First of all, at The Open and then subsequently Augusta, U.S. Open and the US PGA Championship.

 I went to countless Open Championships. I think it was about 27 I've worked at with my final one being the 150th at St Andrews in 2023

A key part of your work are the dealings with some of the world’s best-known players. What was the first such encounter that sticks with you?

Meeting Seve for the first time was pretty memorable. At the time he was the great big superstar of European golf. I think everybody was a bit in awe of him as I probably was at La Moraleja. That was my first meeting and as I got to know him over the years he was always really nice to me. 

He had this incredible way of using the rules to his advantage. He could be very persuasive and could often talk referees into seeing things from his perspective. You’d say, ‘oh well, he's got a point there and maybe he should get a drop after all’. I think we all succumbed to Seve’s powers of persuasion at some point.

Any standout encounters with Seve?

While I was getting quietly prepared for the presentation in Dubai in 1993, my colleague was giving Seve a ruling on the last hole. Anyway, Seve decides he doesn’t like the answer, so the referee said ‘OK, I'll give you a second opinion’.

Well, I'm currently getting ready for the prize presentation, getting my notes ready, what I'm going to say, who's going to be where, etcetera, etcetera. Then I’m suddenly called out to go to give this second opinion and my heartrate goes into overdrive.

And Seve tried everything under the sun to convince me that he should get relief from a ball that was embedded in sand in one of the sandy waste areas left of the 18th.

 Everything he requested, I declined. As the sand was wet, he asked about casual water. No, Seve, you don't get that. He asked about unusual crowd damage. No, you don't get that here. And then he said, well, surely it just must be ground under repair. No, you don't get that either. In the end, he had to play the ball as it lay, and he just lost out after realistically needing an eagle to stand a chance of winning.

At the presentation afterwards, he wasn't angry or anything. He just came over and said, ‘by the way, Mike, I think you were wrong there. I should have had a free drop."

Is it a source of great pride for you that you have worked with so many of the game’s greats?

I was lucky to come across golf’s ‘big three’ of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Arnold Palmer at the tail end of their careers. I did the first two or three Senior Opens at Turnberry, helping to get that event off the ground and Arnold and Gary played in them. Indeed, Gary won the second edition in 1988. I then met Jack for the first time playing in the Austria Open at Gut Altentann in 1990 on a course he designed. It was great to be involved with that generation, some of whom are true legends of the game.

 I was fortunate to witness an incredible era for European golf which  began with the likes of Sandy Lyle, Nick Faldo, Seve, Bernhard Langer, Ian Woosnam, José María Olazábal. To be around them and work with them was just absolutely brilliant. It's probably even more amazing now to look back on this golden generation of European golfers because at the time it just seemed normal.

Which event are you most proud of?

Well, I think it's 35 countries I've worked in for the Tour. The one tournament that stands out obviously is the Dubai Desert Classic for various reasons. It's worth knowing that I was the very first person from the European Tour ever to go to Dubai in 1988.

Apart from one year in 1991 when the event was cancelled due to the Gulf War, I was involved in every single edition. It was after 34 editions that I decided to step down, and it was the perfect place for me to end my career as a tournament director on the Tour because I've been so closely linked to that event for so long.

 The event has continued to evolve from day one. It was always called the ‘jewel in the crown’ of our early season on Tour from the early days because it was a great place to go to. Most of the top players have been there at some stage. Simply, a terrific event played at a great time of the year on a great golf course at an iconic venue. 

Part of what makes Qualifying School great is the platform it gives to players – how do you reflect on that as an event over the years?

It was originally the only way of really getting onto the Tour because there weren't many other options. Any player who wanted to establish themselves back in the 70s and 80s had to go to Qualifying School.

The emergence of the Challenge Tour now HotelPlanner Tour in 1989 changed that, because performance over the course of a season became more important than performance over one week at Q-School.

There are now even more avenues to get onto the Tour. We never had co-sanctioned events back in the day but those, such as with the Sunshine Tour, have become quite significant. Those pathways give a huge opportunity for the southern hemisphere players to play their way onto our Tour without coming to Q-School or playing on the HotelPlanner Tour.

I have a picture somewhere and it appears on one of the yearbooks of the Q-School graduates from 1989 and if you look back at that picture, there's so many well-known faces who went on to have great careers in golf in some respect. You had Vijay Singh, Jesper Parnevik, Paul Broadhurst, Jean Van De Velde, Carlos Franco but then others like Andy Stubbs who went on to run our Legends Tour for a while.

There were plenty of people like that that were playing Q-School at the time and made a name for themselves in other ways, like Pete Cowen, the world-renowned coach. In my first year [as Q-School director] Nick Dougherty finished third at Final Stage at San Roque. I think it was his first Q-School having turned professional that year. He started to have a great playing career but then things went in a different direction for him, and he’s become an outstanding broadcaster.

Not everything is plain sailing as a tournament director, so what’s been the biggest logistical challenge?

Well, it was coincidentally at my final Desert Classic in 2023. It was an absolute nightmare because the weather was horrific during the week. Heavy overnight rain on Wednesday night and Thursday meant severe flooding and we lost over eight hours of play on the first two days and  ended up running into Monday to complete the golf tournament.

It was so bad that the golf club was closed on Thursday morning and no-one was allowed in and it was virtually impossible to get there anyway. When play eventually started it was ‘behind closed doors’ due to spectator safety concerns. 

In these extreme situations you are constantly working on a strategy and contingency plans to deal with all possible eventualities. It's not just about having the golf course playable, but can players actually get to the golf course to play? Are the structures safe? Can we let people into the structures? Do we reduce the event to 54 holes?  Those are all the sort of conversations we had.

The other one, which was equally as bad in many ways, was at the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart in 2011 where on the Saturday morning we arrived at the course to find  a landslide  across the first fairway and a further smaller one on the 12th hole.

We’ve not really touched upon the Ryder Cup. What is a standout memory for you?

Well, my first one was in 1989 at The Belfry refereeing there. My recollection is that he atmosphere between the players was pretty intense. I have to say there is nothing else in golf like it. Having worked pretty much all the major golf events around the world, it’s above and beyond anything I've ever been involved with. It's just an incredible experience to be involved in something like the Ryder Cup, especially being inside the ropes with the matches. That year, Faldo made a hole-in-one at the 14th, and I was the referee with him in that match and there’s now a plaque at the side of the tee. When I last saw him at The Belfry, I said "there’s something missing off that plaque. It doesn't tell you who the referee of the group was!"

And lastly, how do you reflect on your time working for the Tour?

I'm incredibly proud of it. As I said earlier, there were 20 of us when I started. Now, we are well over 300. So, it gives you an indication of the growth of the whole organisation which is quite incredible and I feel privileged to have been involved as part of Ken Schofield’s team, building the foundations for what we have today.  Nowadays, everything that we do in the business is so much more professional and that's been great to see. I think I'm leaving it in a much better place than when I started. But maybe it’s not as much fun. We had a lot of fun in those good old days!

Mike Stewart was speaking to the DP World Tour's Digital Editor Mathieu Wood

Bryan Angus (edit)

The 5 brightest new DP World Tour stars of 2025...

 The 2025 DP World Tour season highlighted a new wave of talent making their mark at the highest level.

Across the full campaign, and into the early events of the 2026 season played in December, a number of players delivered breakthrough victories, consistent performances and significant steps forward in their careers.

From Marco Penge’s three‑win season that carried him to second place on the Race to Dubai Rankings to Jayden Schaper’s back‑to‑back triumphs in South Africa and Mauritius at the end of the year, these five players produced performances that shaped the narrative of the season and confirmed their status as standout breakthrough stars.

Marco Penge

The ultimate breakthrough season belonged to Penge, who won three times on his way to finishing second on the Race to Dubai in just his second full year on the DP World Tour. Rising from outside the world’s top 400, the Englishman delivered one of the most consistent campaigns of the year, highlighted by victories at the Hainan Classic, Danish Golf Championship, and Open de España presented by Madrid. Those wins, combined with a steady run of five other top tens, lifted him into the world’s top 30 by the end of the season and marked a remarkable turnaround for a player who had only narrowly retained his card in 2024.

His performances also earned him Dual Membership on the PGA TOUR, underlining the scale of his progression.

Martin Couvra

The 2025 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award went to Couvra after a season in which he earned six top‑ten finishes and a maiden victory. The Frenchman arrived from the HotelPlanner Tour with momentum and quickly showed he was ready to compete at the highest level. Three top tens in his first five starts set a strong early benchmark, and his composed performance at the Turkish Airlines Open in May delivered his first DP World Tour title, which helped propel him into the top 15 of the Race to Dubai.

By the close of the season, he had established himself as one of the Tour’s most reliable young players.

Rasmus Neergaard‑Petersen

The 2024 Road to Mallorca champion was winless on the 2025 Race to Dubai, yet he very much announced himself as a player to watch at the top of leaderboards, notching 11 top‑ten finishes before breaking through in the early stages of the 2026 season.

His consistency kept him in the mix at several big events, and one of his standout moments came at the DP World Tour Championship, where he earned a place in the final group alongside Rory McIlroy.

 His breakthrough arrived just a few weeks later when he won the 2026 Crown Australian Open.

Jayden Schaper

Schaper’s rise from promising South African talent to genuine DP World Tour star saw him finally reach his potential in impressive style.

A player who would have already made this list due to a year where he collected nine top tens from 27 starts on the 2025 season, Schaper now confidently sits on it after breaking through in spectacular fashion at the start of the 2026 season.

After years of knocking on the door, he finally claimed a maiden victory at the 2026 Alfred Dunhill Championship, producing a chip‑in birdie at the 16th and an eagle at the first extra hole to defeat defending champion Shaun Norris

That victory unlocked something deeper: a surge of belief that carried him to another play-off triumph just a week later at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, where he holed out for eagle on the second extra hole to secure back‑to‑back wins and close out the year as one of the Tour’s most in‑form players.

Kristoffer Reitan

Returning to the DP World Tour for the first time since 2018,  Reitan graduated from the HotelPlanner Tour and wasted no time making an impact, winning twice in 2025 — once on the 2025 Race to Dubai and once already on the 2026 season.

His first victory came at the Soudal Open, where he overturned a nine-shot defecit with a final round course record 62 and went on to triumph in a play-off. 

With five further top tens, he finished eighth on the Race to Dubai Ranking to secure his Dual Membership on the PGA TOUR.

A wire-to-wire triumph at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player underlined his current place in the game, moving him up to 31st on the Official World Golf Ranking and joining Viktor Hovland  in leading a new era for Norwegian golf.

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

Wrapping up the DP World Tour at Christmas...

With Christmas upon us, and quickly I might add, I want to wish all of you who have followed me all my 22+ years at the #Fan590 radio, and my #Fairways golf show every Saturday morning with guys like Bob Weeks and Scott Metcalfe a very happy and healthy Christmas, and a peaceful, safe 2026.

I have since written 6104 posts on this sight, none for profit, just to stay in touch with you and the game I love. A lot of those posts cover the European Tour / DP World Tour, which I believe is the real test of a golf pros mettle, 42 events or so every year, 27 countries, food, travel, weather, language, topography from the Alps in Switzerland,Austria to the seaside links and all for half the money on the PGA Tour...

The Epic Ryder Cup victory amidst all the vulgarity at Bethpage, towers over the storylines of 2025, topped only by Justin Rose and Rory battling out the 2025 Masters with Rory pipping Rosey in the playoff for the Grand Slam.

Since Rory went on to win his 7th Order of Merit back in November, so much has happened as the 'beat goes on' with this Tour, especially while the PGA Tour is on holiday.

For me Final Stage a Q School doesn't have a particular interest however with Canadian Aaron Cockerill struggling in 2025, his bounce back T2 to regain his status was an unexpected highlight, with the 2026 season all set to begin 2 weeks later.

Starting in Australia and finishing in Mauritius with stops in South Africa in between, the 2026 Race to Dubai campaign began with the Opening Swing.

 The new campaign began Down Under last month with the BMW Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane then some made the journey to Melbourne for the Crown Australian Open, while others teed it up in South Africa for the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player.

After that double header of events, the first of five Global Swings continued with the Alfred Dunhill Championship in Johannesburg before the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open brought the calendar year to a close.

BMW Australian PGA Championship

Royal Queensland Golf Club played host to the first of 42 events on the 2026 Race to Dubai, with local star Elvis Smylie returning to defend his crown.

At the close of the third round, there was a three-way tie for the lead held by Ricardo Gouveia, David Puig from Spain and Anthony Quayle, with past champions Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott among those in close pursuit.

However, it was Puig who secured his maiden DP World Tour title as he carded a flawless closing 66 in the final round to claim a two-shot victory.

Crown Australian Open

After a 20-year wait, the second of back-to-back events in Australia saw the DP World Tour return to the renowned Royal Melbourne Golf Club for the fifth time with Rory in attendance  the fairways were lined with spectators and greens surrounded as the tournament took on greater prestige with a place in next year's Masters Tournament on offer for the winner and three places at The Open Championship also up for grabs.

 Denmark's Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen claimed a dramatic one-shot victory over LIV Cam Smith to become the second first-time winner in as many weeks on Tour.

Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player

In the same week as the Crown Australian Open, the DP World Tour continued its global odyssey with a first visit of the season to South Africa at Sun City.

A limited field of 66 players, teed it up over the Gary Player Country Club, which featured key strategic and aesthetic changes to the layout.

Kristoffer Reitan flew out of the starting gates with a 63 in the first round and the Norwegian opened up a five-shot lead heading into the final round. However, it was to be far from a procession to the finishing line as he required a par on the 72nd hole to card a level-par 71 to hold off final-round playing partners Dan Bradbury and Jayden Schaper and claim a one-shot victory.

Alfred Dunhill Championship

Schaper is the first player to win back-to-back events on the DP World Tour since Louis Oosthuizen, who also won the Alfred Dunhill Championship and AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open during the Opening Swing of the 2024 Race to Dubai season

With the course at long-time venue Leopard Creek undergoing a period of recovery, Royal Johannesburg took on staging duties for the Alfred Dunhill Championship a week later.

Heavy rain to forced the third round to be suspended and the tournament to be decided over 54 holes. 

With Shaun Norris setting the clubhouse target after a stellar closing 62, countryman Jayden Schaper finished with two birdies in his closing three holes to also finish at -16, before sealing his maiden DP World Tour triumph with an eagle on the first play-off hole after a brilliant approach shot from a fairway bunker.

AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open

And, so, it was on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius that the action on the DP World Tour came to an end for another year. where the Heritage La Réserve Golf Links was again the scene for the co-sanctioned DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour event.

After strong winds made scoring a challenge over the opening round, Casey Jarvis rose to the summit at the halfway point before the South African was joined at the top of the leaderboard by American Ryan Gerard with one round to play.

The in-form Schaper finished with a second consecutive 64 to set the target at - 22 before Gerard - playing in the final group - closed with an up-and-down birdie to force a play-off.

For the second week running, Schaper celebrated success as he produced a remarkable chip-in eagle to claim his second win in as many weeks, with Gerard left to console himself with the reward of his runner-up finish securing him an invite to next year's Masters after climbing into the world's top 50 before the end of the year.

With it, Schaper earned entry into the Hero Dubai Desert Classic - the first of five Rolex Series events - and all of the DP World Tour's Back 9 events, along with a US$200,000 bonus.

With the festive period beginning for many, there is now a break in the DP World Tour schedule, with the action set to resume with the return of the Dubai Invitational from January 15.

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

DP World Tour...Schaper completes a career 3 weeks...Final Results from Mauritius

   DP World Tour : AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open  Weather  Tee Times 

• Results

Jayden Schaper's fairy-tale start to the 2026 season continued as he produced a hole-out eagle at the second play-off hole to see off Ryan Gerard and claim his second DP World Tour title in as many weeks at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.

The South African started the final round two shots off the lead but fired an eagle and six birdies in a flawless 64 to set the clubhouse target at -22 and put the pressure on American Gerard, who needed a birdie on the last to force a play-off.

And Gerard produced a shot-of-the-week contender on the 18th to make that possible, getting up and down from a tricky spot to take the contest to extra holes.

There was nothing to separate the pair at the first extra hole but Schaper chipped in for an eagle on the next in a grandstand finish to enter the winner's circle for the second week in a row following last Sunday's Alfred Dunhill Championship triumph.

Having also finished in a tie for second at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player prior to his two wins, Schaper comfortably came top of the Opening Swing standings.

Gerard, who finished alone in second after making six birdies in his closing 66, has the consolation prize of finishing the year inside the top 50 on the Official World Golf Ranking from 57th and securing an invitation to the 2026 Masters Tournament.

The 2025 Barracuda Championship winner had taken the long trip to Heritage La Réserve Golf Links with the aim of punching his ticket to Augusta National and achieved his goal with a fine performance throughout the week.

Casey Jarvis was alone in third, five shots further back -17 after his final-round 71.

Schaper said: "The last three weeks have been incredible.

"I don't even know what to say. That's just such an insane way to finish a tournament.

"It's been such a great week, such an awesome place, the support, the golf course. From start to finish.

"I could not have asked for anything better. Christmas is going to be good this year, and New Year. It's just unreal.

"I wait five years for the first (title) and then the following week (to get the second) is so cool."

europeantour.com

Bryan Angus (edit)

Schaper chips in to beat Gerard in a playoff, AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open...Live scoring..

   DP World Tour : AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open  Weather  Tee Times

Red hot 24 year old South African Jayden Schafer who has finished 2nd, 1st in his last 2 events, and American Ryan Gerard ranked #57 in the world who has spent 25 hours flying to Mauritius to try to make the top 50 for the Masters shot bogey free 64,66's respectively, separated themselves from the field at -22 to force a playoff at this year's AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, the week before the Christmas break.

Their first trip down the 617 yard par 5 18th resulted in par 5's. 

Then with the second shot of the season on the DP World Tour, Schafer chipped in from 60yds for eagle 3 for his 2nd win in a row, with Gerard up against the face of the front greenside bunker.

The 2nd place result for the American, Gerard will also be enough to move him inside the top 50 for the Masters. 

The Tour is now off until 2026, Dubai Invitational on January 15th.

more to follow...

Bryan Angus