The first of five global swing events at the Battle of Dubai 2025 has come to an end, with John Parry claiming victory at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. That's all you need to know.
Parry wins
Not long ago, Parry was fighting for promotion on the European Pro Tour. Now, after four wins in less than ten months, he has a chance to regain his footing on the DP World Tour. He first qualified for the Challenge Tour in 2009 and won the Vivendi Cup in his rookie season, but while he established himself as a regular on the DP World Tour, it took him three successful trips Qualifying schools can continue to participate in the tour until they lose their eligibility. Got the card in 2017. He played only one European Tour team event between 2019 and 2021, but a victory on the EuroPro Tour helped him regain eligibility for the Challenge Tour in 2022 and won the DP World Tour graduation, but in Lost his card again in 2023. However, he made a splash in 2024, racking up three Challenge Tour wins and an immediate promotion that took him to the DP World Tour. He ended the 2024 season with three consecutive cuts and started the 2025 season with a top-10 finish at the BMW Australian PGA Championship. He failed to make the cut the following week, but a top-10 finish at the Alfred Dunhill Championship put him in contention for the Open Swing Championship, while his victory at the Golf de Mont Choisy moved him above Johannes Wellmann , replacing Lee Min-woo as the open swing champion.
What does this mean?
As the winner of the Opening Swing, Parry is guaranteed entry into all nine events following Stage 2 of the season and takes home a $200,000 bonus.
The leading player in the opening swing who does not receive an exemption will also qualify for the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, which will be confirmed on January 2.
Wellman, Elvis Smiley, Regus Johnston and Sean Norris have now also secured their place on the field at Emirates Golf Club with victories in the opening swing.
Although Jacob Skov Olesen (Jacob Skov Olesen), Corey Shaun (Corey Shaun), Ben Schmidt (Ben Schmidt) and Daniel Gale (Daniel Gale) are not guaranteed to be in this A spot in the season-opening Rolex Series event, but their re-ranking in Category 18 could boost their chances throughout the season.
how things unfolded
BMW Australian PGA Championship
The opening swing and the 2025 DP World Tour season kicks off in Australia with home hero David Micheluzzi teeing off at the Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane. There are a host of high-profile Australian players, including defending champion Min Woo Lee and major champions Cam Smith and Jason Day, but little-known Smiley Smylie took home the award on the final day, beating out partner Smith and Marc Leishman. Claiming first win in online vs. online fashion.
ISPS Handa Australian Open
We head south to Melbourne for the second week of the Australian Doubles, where the Victoria Golf Club and the famous Kingston Heath will host the National Open for men, women and players of all abilities. Once again there was a high-level field but for the second week in a row we had our first winner, USQ School graduate Ryggs Johnston taking a three-stroke advantage in his second DP World Tour appearance. Win the championship. Jiyai Shin won the women's category and Simon Seungmin Lee won the all-abilities title to win his first G4D Tour title of the season. Smiley continues his good form as we head to South Africa, holding the lead in the Battle of Dubai and Opening Swing rankings.
Lower Shore Golf Challenge
The next event in the Africa Major will be at Gary Player Country Club, another elite venue with many players making their first start of the season. Defending champion Max Homa takes the lead after the first day, while emerging home hero Aldrich Potgieter leads by three shots on Sunday with Veerman in the opening Finished with a 69 after trailing by five shots and winning by one shot. The points on offer moved the American to the top of the leaderboard, while Smiley and Johnston remained in second and third place, with Roman Langeske and Matthew Jordan in Sun City tied for second. Top five.
Alfred Dunhill Championship
We stayed in the rainbow country and headed to our next tournament at the stunning Panther Creek Country Club, which produced our second home winner of the season. Andy Sullivan, a specialist with two wins in South Africa, took the lead in the first round but Swede Marcus Kinhult was two ahead going into the final 18 holes. Rod. He held a six-shot lead over Shaun Norris, but the home favorite closed with a 67 and then waited to see if he had done enough to win by one shot at 13 under. Veerman remains at the top of the standings, but Kinhult, Ryan van Velzen and Parry all crack the top 10 after tying for second, with Angel A Angel Ayora was still able to win the grand prize in the previous game.
AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open
The calendar year came to an end in the paradise paradise of Mauritius as Parry continued his momentum towards an Open Swing title and won his first DP World Tour title in 14 years. Eddie Pepperell missed a seven-foot putt for eagle to regain eligibility for Q-School but was in good position all week to earn his third DP World Tour victory. He took the lead after an opening 66 and was tied for first after 54 holes, with Parry five holes back on Sunday. But the 38-year-old ended up with a brilliant 64, shooting five of the last seven holes to win by two strokes at 14 under.
Read more
• Elvis Smylie musters up courage to win maiden DP World Tour title in Brisbane
• Ryggs Johnston wins in his second DP World Tour start
• Johannes Veerman beats Aldrich Potgieter to win Nedbank Golf Challenge
• Shaun Norris charges ahead to win Alfred Dunhill Stakes
• John Parry ends Mauritius' long wait for second DP World Tour title
What to do next?
Following the Team Cup in Abu Dhabi, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic kicks off the International Swing, the second of five global swing events this season. After the Rolex Series opener of the season, we will stay in the United Arab Emirates for the Ras Al Khaimah Championship before heading to the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship and the CommBank Qatar Masters. We travel from the Middle East to Africa for the magical Kenya Open, before finishing with a South African double-header at the Investec South Africa Open and the Joburg Open. The winner of the Swing event will once again receive immunity to all Back 9 events and a $200,000 bonus, with the highest-ranked player also qualifying for the Genesis Scottish Open. Then, before the top nine, we have Asia, Europe and the finale, and at the end of the second stage, the top 70 players will compete in Dubai to enter the DP World Tour play-offs. After the Abu Dhabi Championship, the top 50 players will advance to the end-of-season DP World Tour Championship.