There will be a week’s break from the current closing event (the final of five global swings leading up to the Race to Dubai 2024), during which we will review the first four swings of the season.
As part of the new look of the Race to Dubai, this season includes three new and unique stages – comprised of five innovative 'Global volatility' From November 2023 to August 2024; historic “Return 9” from September 2024 to October 2024; and two “DP World Tour Play-offs” November 2024.
Four of the events, namely the first event, the international event, the Asian event and the European event, have concluded, with each champion receiving a prize of $200,000.
Additionally, the winner of the swing thus far has qualified for every upcoming Back 9 event, with our top four winners also receiving exemptions to the next Rolex Series event. For the Final Swing, that means a chance to earn exemptions to the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
Here's how the first four swings went.
Opening Swing
There were four different winners in the six Opening Swing events, with Min Woo Lee taking home the title of Opening Swing Champion.
Coming just days after the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship (jointly sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the ISPS HANDA PGA Tour of Australasia) marks the opening of the first of five global swings that run through August.
Lee, widely regarded as one of the most talented and engaging players of his generation, was given a standing ovation by fans at the Royal Queensland Golf Club in the first of two of Australia's most high-profile tournaments.
The local darling shot a 7-under 64 to fall one shot behind after the opening round, then followed it up with consecutive 66s to aim for his third DP World Tour title.
Although Lee Chong Wei lost a three-shot lead after two holes in the final round, he found his groove and shot 68, including a stunning chip-in eagle, to beat Japan's Rikuya Hoshino by three shots. The 25-year-old lived up to the hype and interacted with the home crowd on several occasions, including donning a chef's hat to go with his famous “Let him cook” line and leading the applause.
On the opening weekend of the season, just hours after Lee’s success in Australia, Dean Burmester won the Joburg Open, another win for a local player.
The South African finished with a bogey-free 64 to overturn a three-shot deficit overnight and win by three shots at Houghton Golf Club.
Burmeister’s victory was his third on the DP World Tour and first in two and a half years, but he won again soon after.
On the same day that Joaquin Niemann reached his first DP World Tour winner's circle at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, Burmester won the Investec South Africa Open for the second year in a row.
But he is not the only South African to win back-to-back titles.
After winning the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek, the third of four events sanctioned in South Africa in association with the Sunshine Tour, Louis Oosthuizen followed up with success at the last tournament of 2023, the Afrobank Mauritius Open.
International Swing
Like Lee, Rory McIlroy’s performances in the first two events of 2024 set the tone, making him the most worthy person to chase because of his International Swing Ranking.
The International Tour kicked off in the Middle East as two European Ryder Cup stars faced off at the inaugural Dubai Invitational. Tommy Fleetwood led McIlroy for much of a thrilling final day and although the Northern Irishman briefly took the lead, Fleetwood closed out the match with a fine birdie to claim his first DP World Tour title since the 2022 Nedbank Golf Challenge.
A week later it was Rory's turn, and he made history at the Dubai Desert Classic. McIlroy was 10 shots behind after 36 holes, but he shot a bogey-free 63 on Saturday and finished with a 70 to beat Adrian Melonc by one shot and become the first player to win the Dubai Desert Classic four times.
Then, Torbjorn Olsen claimed his eighth DP World Tour title at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, the Dane’s third in three years. He won by six shots, including a record 62 on Friday at Al Hamra Golf Club, and withstood pressure from compatriot Rasmus Hogaard on the final day to regain control with a stunning eagle and ultimately win with ease.
The DP World Tour returned to the Kingdom of Bahrain for the first time in 13 years, and South African Dylan Frittelli finally returned to the winner's circle. After a difficult 2023, Frittelli started the final round with a two-shot lead and made three consecutive birdies in a four-hole stretch on the back nine, which was enough to help him shoot a final-round 71 and win his first DP World Tour title in six years.
First-time champion Hoshino followed up his success with two runner-up finishes in Australia at the start of the Race to Dubai 2024. The 27-year-old pulled off a stunning performance to avoid a playoff and become the fourth Japanese champion in DP World Tour history at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.
A week later, Darius van Driel became the latest first-time winner at the historic Kenya Open. The 34-year-old had previously abandoned the tournament but regained his place in the qualifying round and birdied the final round to win by two shots in his 112th appearance.
The DP World Tour welcomed its third first-time champion at the SDC Championship in a tight playoff between American Jordan Gamberg and local hope Robin Williams. The American, who has played in just 14 tournaments, holed a birdie putt from about 15 feet on the second extra hole to win for the first time.
The International Swing ended with the greatest comeback story of the year as Matteo Manassero ended his nearly 11-year wait for a fifth DP World Tour title with a thrilling victory at the Johnson Overalls Open. The Italian, who has experienced all the highs and lows of golf since Costa Azahar became the youngest DP World Tour winner at 17 years, 188 days old at the 2010 Castello Masters, shot a career-low 61 on Friday. With a two-shot lead on the final hole, Manassero holed an 8-foot putt on the 18th green for his fourth straight birdie and a comfortable 26-under victory.
Asian volatility
Sweden's Sebastian Söderberg finished in the top five three times in the four scoring events of the Swing and remains at the top of the Asian Swing despite not winning in the third edition of the Global Swing.
The Asian Swing features only four scoring events (Grand Slams do not count towards the Swing rankings), but with three first-time DP World Tour champions, the action was full of drama.
The first to break through was European Challenge Tour graduate Jesper Svensson, who captured his first DP World Tour title by defeating Kiradech Aphibarnrat in a play-off at the Porsche Singapore Classic in March.
The Swede, in just his 14th tournament on the DP World Tour, finished with a 63 to tie the course record at Laguna National Golf Resort Club before Aphibarnrat made eagle on the final hole to cap off a dramatic regular season climax.
A week later, another first-time champion emerged as former amateur world number one Keita Nakajima won the Hero Indian Open by four strokes. This was the amateur history maker's 11th appearance on tour and his eighth since turning professional in 2022, becoming the fifth Japanese champion in tour history, joining Isao Aoki, Hideki Matsuyama, Ryo Hisaki and Hoshino.
After Scottie Scheffler's victory at the US Masters, which solidified his position as world number one, the Japanese player had more success at the ISPS Handa Championship.
On home soil, following Hoshino’s win at the Doha International Tour, Yusuke Katsuragawa became the sixth Japanese champion in DP World Tour history and the third of the season.
Adrian Otaegui, who won two each for Europe and Asia in the swing, became the first Spaniard to win on tour this season, finishing with a bogey-free, five-under-par 65 in the final round and helping the Spaniard win his fifth DP World Tour title at the Volvo China Open.
Yet, Soderberg came out on top and earned a spot in the PGA Championship, where Xander Schauffele won his first major championship and the 152nd British Open later this summer.
The European War
this Euro Swing The competition was full of drama, with Guido Migliozzi coming out on top to become the penultimate Global Swing Champion.
Nacho Elvira opened the swing with a win in his 275th appearance on the DP World Tour and claimed his second DP World Tour title after a tense final at the Belgian Speed Open.
On a dramatic afternoon at Linkowen International Golf Club, the Spaniard – who had a four-stroke advantage overnight – played par on the final seven holes to win by one stroke.
A week later, Lauri Kanter reached the winner's circle for the first time in his 142nd DP World Tour appearance at the European Open in Germany.
Despite a top-10 finish at the Speedy Open, the English player used a new set of irons at Green Eagle Golf Links, and the decision paid off for the three-time Q-School graduate.
But what followed was one of the most exciting finales of the season so far, with Linn Grant making history in more ways than one.
Two years ago, Grant became the first female winner in DP World Tour history at the Volvo Cars Scandinavian Mixed, and then she won silver for the second time on home soil, becoming the first (and still the only) woman to win the DP World Tour twice.
She did it in spectacular fashion, catching overnight leader and compatriot Soderberg from 11 shots behind and setting a DP World Tour record in the process, thanks to a flawless final-round 65 in her hometown of Helsingborg, which included a final-round birdie.
Bryson DeChambeau then won his second U.S. Open title by defeating McIlroy in a dramatic finale. A week later, the DP World Tour returned to continental Europe for the KLM Open in the Netherlands, where Migliozzi won his fourth tour title.
The Italian defeated Joe Dean and Marcus Kinhult in the International play-offs, a victory that ultimately helped him become the Swing Champion.
Marcel Simm birdied the final hole of regulation to move into joint first place at the Italian Open in Emilia-Romagna with Tom McKibbin. The German repeated the feat shortly afterwards, winning his sixth DP World Tour title and moving up the rankings in the Race to Dubai in partnership with Rolex.
With one tournament remaining in the swing, Ewen Ferguson claimed an impressive third DP World Tour title after recently returning from illness at the BMW International Open.
The Scot was due to play in the Open Qualifying Tournament on Tuesday of tournament week, but with two top-30 finishes since withdrawing from the European Open due to vertigo and with qualification available via the Race to Dubai and Genesis Scottish Open, he decided to go all-in on the 152nd Open this season through tournament golf.
