The DP World Tour 2025 has just concluded and the DP World Tour 2026 is already on the starting ramp. The European circuit stops for only seven days. That’s how the global calendar works. Next week, the first tournament of the next season takes place, and we have seven Spaniards confirmed on the starting grid and a big surprise…
The DP World Tour 2026 will raise the curtain in ten days with the BMW Australian PGA Championship, an event that will serve as the starting signal and will be held at the Royal Queensland Golf Club. The list of confirmed participants for the tournament is already known. The most striking, without a doubt, is the presence of Marco Penge. Second in the Race to Dubai after Rory McIlroy and with the PGA Tour card in his pocket, the English golfer has decided to play the inaugural event of the DP World Tour. Beyond his fondness for Australia, it certainly shows a great commitment to the European circuit.
He does it for pleasure, nothing more, even if he might have received some compensation from the tournament. In no case would it be something irresistible. He doesn’t need points from the Race to Dubai because he has a two-year exemption as a champion. He also doesn’t need to secure the top 50 in the world ranking at the end of the year because he already has it secured (he is currently ranked 30th) and because he already has a place secured at Augusta with his victory in the Open de España. He plays because he wants to. Simply because he feels like it, and therefore, it is great news for the DP World Tour.
Additionally, there are seven Spaniards confirmed in this first Australian tournament. Josele Ballester will play with an invitation and then, as members of the European circuit, there will be Rafa Cabrera Bello and David Puig, the only ones who have retained their card through the Race to Dubai playing that week, Sebas García Rodríguez, Quim Vidal, and Rocco Repetto, coming from the HotelPlanner Tour, and Adri Arnaus, who comes from the Final Stage of the School.
Seven Spaniards are guaranteed, but we could still have one more. Alfredo García Heredia is tenth among the tournament reserves. The situation has changed a lot compared to last year. In 2024, all the Tour members who wanted to entered the tournament, whereas this year only one from category 20 has made it, at least for now. There are two explanations. The first is that players are increasingly expanding their schedules and like to play earlier to get the counter going as soon as possible. The second, and more important, is that last year this tournament coincided with the Joburg Open in South Africa, so there were two playing opportunities and golfers had no trouble competing.
Beyond the Spaniards and Penge, there will also be a good representation of LIV Golf players. Cameron Smith, Joaco Niemann, Sebastián Muñoz, Marc Leishman, Abraham Ancer, Sebastián Muñoz, or Carlos Ortiz will be there. Likewise, Adam Scott, Min Woo Lee, or Cam Davis will not be missing. Australians rarely fail their tournaments.
