The emergence of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League and its fierce competition with the PGA Tour and, to a lesser extent, the DP World Tour has shaped the professional golf landscape over the past four years. To help stave off a rising wave of competition and defections, the PGA Tour and DP World Tour formed a strategic alliance in November 2020. The strategic alliance includes providing top DP World Tour players with a path to a PGA Tour card for next season, allowing them to compete on the PGA Tour and DP World Tour.
The DP World Tour Linkage Program is launched in 2023, and the top 10 players in Dubai (who have not yet qualified for the PGA Tour) will receive the right to participate in the 2024 PGA Tour event.
Historically, players coming to the United States from the DP World Tour to compete on the PGA Tour have had mixed success and failure results. Players like Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Luke Donald have won majors, become top players in the world and have triumphs on the PGA Tour. Others, such as Colin Montgomery, failed to achieve the same success in Europe, and Montgomery never won on the PGA Tour.
The inaugural DP World Tour Pathway Course in 2024 saw a par score on the course – a great moment of victory for some, while others struggled to adjust to a different style of golf, being away from home and family and Better competition.
Matthieu Pavon of France got off to an early start in the season with a win at the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. Scotland's Robert MacIntyre won the RBC Canadian Open and Scottish Open (a tournament sanctioned by the PGA Tour and DP World Tour) in June.
For others, the struggle is real – DP World Tour veteran Ryan Fox, who turned pro in 2011, has missed seven cuts in 22 cuts, while Finland's Sami Sami Välimäki – a promising talent on the DP World Tour – missed the cut 12 times out of 20 and set a record. By 2024, only two will be in the top 25.
Players ready for final push for their PGA Tour cards
With only one regular season game and two playoff games left in the DP World Tour season, players are sprinting towards the finish line. Postseason events carry more Tour to Dubai ranking points, so those who qualify for a PGA Tour card can make the move if they perform well over the next month.
Among the players currently in the top ten of DP World Tour qualifiers is 31-year-old Italian Matteo Manassero, who has enjoyed a resurgence in his career this season, including at Jonsson Overalls in South Africa. Won the Jonsson Workwear Open and finished third. Finished first at the Amgen Irish Open last month. Manassero finished eighth in R2DR.
Despite not recording a win this season, 21-year-old rising star Tom McKibbin from Northern Ireland is currently ranked 14th in R2DR and 8th in the DP World Tour Bridge Program. McKibbin has 21 wins in 25 promotions, two top-5 finishes and 13 top-25 finishes. This consistent play puts him in good position to earn one of the coveted 10 PGA Tour cards.
Still, others have a lot of work to do if they want to advance and finish in the top ten. That includes England's Jordan Smith, who is just 16.93 points behind, and Dan Bradbury, fresh off his French FedEx Open win, moving up 73 spots on R2DR to Route 25, not far from his PGA Tour card .
With so much at stake over the next month, every shot will have extra meaning for players. Those players with a chance to qualify for the 2025 PGA Tour season will face the most intense pressure of their careers, making this a great viewing opportunity for both PGA Tour and DP World Tour fans.
