Members of the DP World Tour have received excellent news related to the PGA Championship, the second major of the season, in the last few hours. The Asian Swing, a period of the European calendar that spans from the Porsche Singapore Classic at the end of March, to the Volvo China Open at the beginning of May, will offer three direct qualifying spots for the Major organised by the PGA of America where Brooks Koepka will defend his title this year. This is a significant news that TenGolf has had access to and we tell you exclusively.
Specifically, in a communication sent to the members of the DP World Tour, it is explained that the top three finishers of the Asian Swing, only the top three finishers, not the three who are not exempted by some other category, will receive an invitation to compete in the PGA Championship, which will take place in Valhalla from 16 to 19 May. This is the first time that the DP World Tour has access to this Major through one of its rankings, so in some way it is a historic measure. Until now, practically the only way a DP World Tour player could qualify for the PGA Championship was by getting into the top 100 in the world.
The Asian Swing is comprised of the following tournaments:
– 21/24 March: Porsche Singapore Classic
– 28/31 March: Hero Indian Open
– 18/21 April: Korea Championship*
– 25/28 April: ISPS Handa Championship
– 2/5 May: Volvo China Open
The top three finishers in this mini order of merit will receive a direct invitation to the PGA Championship. An extra incentive for a stretch of the season where players, mostly Europeans, make a larger outlay due to travel costs.
Between the Indian Open and the Korea Championship, the Masters of Augusta is held, a tournament that is also within the DP World Tour calendar, however, as with all the Majors of the year, it does not count for the rankings of the different swings of the European calendar. They do count, however, for the Race to Dubai.
The asterisk of the Korea Championship is due to it still appearing on the calendar on that date, although the news that has reached Ten Golf is that it is not clear that it will be held there. Moreover, according to sources from the circuit itself, the decision already made, pending official communication, is that the tournament will move to October, with the firm intention of having a date that allows the best Koreans from the PGA Tour: Tom Kim, Si Woo Kim, Sungjae Im, SH Kim… and company.
Be that as it may, with five or four tournaments in the Asian Swing, there is no doubt that they will offer three spots for the PGA Championship. The DP World Tour has been very grateful to the PGA of America for having had this consideration towards the circuit.
This decision of the PGA Championship comes just a couple of weeks after the Masters of Augusta announced the invitation to two players who are members of the DP World Tour, such as Ryo Hisatsune and Thorbjorn Olesen. The Augusta ones, however, as is usually the case, were discretionary, and not based on any ranking.
