One of the most intense battles that have taken place this week at the DP World Tour Championship has been to secure one of the ten cards for the PGA Tour. As you know, the top ten in the Race to Dubai who do not have the rights to the American circuit, achieve it for the next year. There were many candidates, although the last two spots were particularly contested, where there was more parity. Precisely, this is the shuffle that occurred in Jumeirah, two who were in have been left out and two who were out have come in. The ones who missed out were Jordan Smith and Sebastian Soderberg and the successful ones were Antoine Rozner and Tom McKibbin.
In this regard, Rozner’s tears at the end of his round and on the way to the scoring tent were a good demonstration of how much this goal meant to the French golfer. In fact, it reminded of those same tears shed by Matthieu Pavon just a year ago. Needless to say, he would sign up for a 2025 similar to his compatriot’s 2024. Rozner made it with great effort, finishing the tournament in third position, tied with Adam Scott and Shane Lowry.
Meanwhile, McKibbin struggled until the end to secure his place on the American circuit. Moreover, the Northern Irishman achieved it thanks to a birdie on the 18th hole. Had he made par, the spot would have gone to the Englishman Jordan Smith by just four points. It couldn’t have been tighter. By the way, McKibbin was waiting at the 18th tee to congratulate Rory McIlroy on his victory in the tournament and in the Race to Dubai, and the first thing Rory asked him was if he had managed to get into the PGA Tour, and as soon as his compatriot confirmed it, they shared a warm embrace.
The other eight players who will be in the PGA Tour next year are Rasmus Hojgaard, Thriston Lawrence, Jesper Svensson, Paul Waring, Niklas Norgaard, Matteo Manassero, Rikuya Hoshino, and Thorbjorn Olesen. Last year the classification closed at 17th place and this year it has reached 18th. Olesen is the only one repeating from one year to the next.
Of the ten who secured the card a year ago, a total of seven players have managed to retain it so far: Pavon, MacIntyre, Hisatsune, Valimaki, Perez, Fox, and Olesen, although the case of the Dane is special, as he retains it through the Race to Dubai, not the FedEx Cup. Campillo, Bjork, and Meronk, who hasn’t played anything after moving to LIV Golf, have lost it.
