Matteo Manassero and Jesper Svensson completed their magnificent season on the DP World Tour by securing dual membership with the PGA TOUR, just 12 months after graduating from the Challenge Tour.
For the second year running, as part of the Strategic Alliance between both tours, the top ten players on the final Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex who were not already exempt on the PGA TOUR for 2025 earned dual membership.
Manassero finished ninth on the Road to Mallorca Rankings with two victories last year to secure his long-awaited return to Golf’s Global Tour and he has not looked back since. The Italian ended an 11-year wait for his fifth DP World Tour title at the Jonsson Workwear Open and has continued to go from strength to strength.
The youngest winner in DP World Tour history qualified for his first Major start in eight years at the U.S. Open and then played at The Open a month later. Back-to-back top five finishes at the Irish Open and BMW PGA Championship highlighted that the Italian is back competing among the best at the top of the game as he finished 12th on the Race to Dubai Rankings to gain access to the PGA TOUR for 2025.
Svensson, who finished fifth on the Road to Mallorca Rankings in 2023, has been a revelation in his rookie season on the DP World Tour. After runner-up finishes in South Africa and Bahrain, the 28-year-old made his DP World Tour breakthrough with a play-off victory over Kiradech Aphibarnrat at the Porsche Singapore Classic in March.
He made his Major debut at the U.S. PGA Championship, with his form during the early part of the season earning him an invite from the PGA of America. Back-to-back top fives in the Czech Republic and England at the Betfred British Masters in the summer cemented his PGA TOUR card.
Past Challenge Tour members Tom McKibbin, Antoine Rozner, Thorbjørn Olesen, Niklas Nørgaard and Rasmus Højgaard also secured their PGA TOUR status through their finishing positions on the 2024 Race to Dubai.
The formalised pathway has proven a success, with former Challenge Tour graduates Matthieu Pavon and Robert MacIntyre each winning PGA TOUR titles in 2024. Pavon claimed the Farmers insurance Open, while MacIntyre won the RBC Canadian Open, before going on to fulfil a lifelong goal of winning the co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open on home soil.
