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
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
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)
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