Six of the best: The Race to Dubai movers after the BMW PGA Championship 

There is more than one winner at events like the BMW PGA Championship and that proved to be the case once again at the third Rolex Series event of the season.

While Billy Horschel will rightly take most of the limelight after becoming the first American to win the BMW PGA Championship twice, there were several other players leaving Wentworth Club with reasons to be cheerful.

The fourth event of the Back 9 featured a world-class field, climaxing in a dramatic three-man play-off as Horschel edged out Rory McIlroy and Thriston Lawrence over the West Course.

With 8,000 points on offer on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex, along with European Ryder Cup qualification points to be won, there was plenty of incentive to produce a strong performance.

Here, we highlight some of the players who seized their chances and enjoyed results which will go a long way in helping them realise varying objectives.

Matteo Manassero

• Age: 31
• Race to Dubai Ranking: 5th
• Official World Golf Ranking: 86th

Even before his first start at the BMW PGA Championship since 2018, Manassero was the comeback story of the season. A winner on the DP World Tour for the first time in almost 11 years at the Jonsson Workwear Open in March, the Italian has enjoyed a consistent campaign – highlighted by his eighth top ten of the season at Wentworth Club, where he became the youngest ever winner of the BMW PGA Championship in 2013. By finishing tied fourth in Surrey, the 31-year-old has climbed back inside the top 100 on the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time since 2014 and risen to fifth on the Race to Dubai Rankings, with his qualification for the DP World Tour Play-Offs guaranteed. He has also further strengthened his likelihood of competing again on the PGA TOUR, with the five-time DP World Tour winner now lying third on the DP World Tour’s list of ten players who will earn dual membership status at the end of this season. After also returning to the Major Championship stage twice and representing Italy at the Olympic Games, there can be no doubting that his comeback from the golfing doldrums is complete.

Thriston Lawrence

• Age: 27
• Race to Dubai Ranking: 2nd
• Official World Golf Ranking: 47th

While he is without a win on the DP World Tour this season, there can be no denying that Lawrence has elevated his game to new heights this year. With back-to-back rounds of 65 over the weekend at Wentworth, the South African narrowly missed out on his maiden Rolex Series title. Still, it was his best finish in one of the DP World Tour’s prestige events. Coming on the back of his top five finish at The Open Championship and his runner-up finish in the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry, the 27-year-old is now inside the world’s top 50 for the first time in his career. That is a significant achievement, with the doors that can open to compete in the sport’s biggest events. His career progression is set to continue next year by competing on both sides of the Atlantic, with his ninth top ten of the DP World Tour campaign – the most by any player – taking him to the top of the list of those targeting dual membership on the PGA TOUR. Now a five-time runner-up in the 2024 season, it would be no surprise to see him pick up a win before the campaign draws to a close.

Matthew Baldwin

• Age: 38
• Race to Dubai Ranking: 54th
• Official World Golf Ranking: 261st

Much is made of prize money in golf, but here is an example of where it can truly be career altering. In one week, Baldwin has bettered the prize money he has won in all but one season since he turned professional in 2008. Two birdies in his last three holes in the final round lifted him into a share of fourth place – his best result at a Rolex Series event. Coming into the week, the 38-year-old was 99th on the Race to Dubai but after climbing 45 spots – the biggest jump by any player in the field – he is now thinking about reaching the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, an event where he made his only previous appearance in 2014. In four of his last five DP World Tour starts, he has finished in the top 20. Having revealed he turned to being an Amazon delivery driver before the 2022 Challenge Tour season, the confidence from his big performance on home soil should help him continue to climb the world rankings and potentially add to his solitary DP World Tour title which came last season at the SDC Championship in South Africa.

Ugo Coussaud

• Age: 31
• Race to Dubai Ranking: 29th
• Official World Golf Ranking: 223rd

The Frenchman is enjoying a rookie DP World Tour season to remember. In his debut appearance at the BMW PGA Championship, Coussaud carded four under par rounds at Wentworth to finish tied seventh and receive a prize cheque of more than €200,000. That is only bettered by his runner-up finish at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in February. After climbing 11 spots to 29th on the Race to Dubai, the 31-year-old is the second highest ranked French player on the season-long standings after fellow Challenge Tour graduate Fredric Lacroix (17th). The DP World Tour Play-Offs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai will provide a platform for Coussaud - who turned professional in 2010 - to cap a memorable season, but before then he will hope to challenge for a first DP World Tour title.

Marcus Armitage

• Age: 37th
• Race to Dubai Ranking: 92nd
• Official World Golf Ranking: 288th

His tied tenth finish on Sunday - which came quickly on the heels of a top 20 at the Amgen Irish Open - has gone a long way to ensuring he will retain his DP World Tour membership for the 2025 season. Now up to 92nd, he will now look to push towards the top 70 on the Race to Dubai at the conclusion of the Genesis Championship and thereby earn a place at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in November. After finishing tied fourth at the SDC Championship, Armitage then missed ten of his next 14 starts but has found form just at the right time when the rewards on offer were so meaningful. Affectionately known as ‘The Bullet’, the 37-year-old spoke openly in the Green Room about the importance of mental strength in ensuring he fulfils his potential, with his results in the last two weeks suggesting the Englishman can return to the form that saw him win the Porsche European Open in Germany in 2021. When you factor too that the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship - where he finished tied second last season - is still to come next month, things are looking up for Armitage.

Eddie Pepperell

• Age: 33
• Race to Dubai Ranking: 120th
• Official World Golf Ranking: 385th

Like countryman Armitage, Pepperell has struggled to produce the form that we all know he is capable of this year. While still searching for his first top ten of the campaign, his tied 12th finish at Wentworth has lifted the fan favourite 30 places to 120th on the Race to Dubai Rankings. Many will hope the two-time DP World Tour winner can find another strong result or two in the coming weeks to ensure he finishes inside the provisional cut off of 114th to retain his card for another season as he looks to return to the level he showed when he won twice in 2018.