The top three finishers of the Asian Swing will play the PGA Championship at Aronimink from 14 to 17 May. With the halfway point of this DP World Tour mini swing reached, American Jordan Gumberg, Englishman Alex Fitzpatrick and Spaniard Jorge Campillo occupy those coveted spots.
The twentieth place secured by the man from Cáceres at the Hero Indian Open has allowed him to add a healthy haul of points which, together with the solo second place he achieved last week at the Hainan Classic, put him in that valuable third position on this mini order of merit. Ahead of him are only the two winners in China and India.
Campillo has a total of 429.42 points, around forty more than fourth‑placed fellow Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra, who was sole runner‑up this Sunday at the Indian Open. As things stand, a fierce battle between countrymen for that third spot is shaping up, although there’s still a long way to go.
The Asian Swing comprises four tournaments: the two already played (Hainan Classic and Hero Indian Open) and the two that will follow the Masters at Augusta, namely the Volvo China Open and the Turkish Airlines Open, in the last week of April and the first week of May.
Obviously, with two tournaments to go many things can still happen. Other Spaniards well placed after the first two rounds of this run to the PGA are Ángel Ayora, who is 19th, within striking distance of sole second place, Quim Vidal, 28th, or Sebas García Rodríguez, 31st.
Beyond those well placed, the reality is that everyone has a chance to qualify for the PGA Championship. After all, more than 1,600 points are still available and the leader of this Asian Swing is Gumber with a little over 600. There’s still a long way to go.
Aside from qualification for the second Major of the year, it’s worth highlighting the current state of the Race to Dubai. Ahead of the first Major of the year, we have five Spaniards inside the top 20: David Puig, Nacho Elvira, Eugenio Chacarra, Jorge Campillo and Ángel Ayora No country, not even England (which has four), has more representatives in this top tier. A good sign of the strong start to the season for the Spaniards. Remember that Spain already has two wins (Puig and Nacho Elvira) and two sole runner‑up finishes (Campillo and Chacarra).
Of the top 20 in the Race to Dubai, only Patrick Reed, Casey Jarvis, Kristoffer Reitan and Rasmus Neergaard Petersen are qualified for the Masters.
In the world ranking, Ángel Ayora is once again approaching 100th with his 11th place at the Hero Indian Open and Chacarra rises to around 135th. Remember that another route to qualify for the PGA Championship is to be among the world top 100 roughly one month before the tournament.
