The BMW Australian PGA Championship gets the 2025 DP World Tour season under way this week at Royal Queensland Golf Club. Here are your five things to know.
It all starts here
Here we go again. After seeing Rory McIlroy claim his sixth Race to Dubai title, the DP World Tour 2025 season gets started this week Down Under. Brisbane hosts the first event of the Opening Swing, with four more Global Swings to follow in Phase One, each with their own Rankings and champion. At the end of Phase One we move into Phase Two, the Back 9, with the top 70 players on the Race to Dubai Rankings after that moving on to the DP World Tour Play-Offs. Then, at the end of the Abu Dhabi Championship, the top 50 will head to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, where the Harry Vardon Trophy will be presented to Europe's Number One. Will McIlroy be in seventh heaven? Who will be the breakout stars? It is set to be yet another dramatic year on the DP World Tour.
Lee defends on home soil
Arms outstretched, chef's hat perched on his head - Min Woo Lee created one of the images of the season in the very first event last year as he won this title on home soil. Now he returns looking to repeat the feat, with his win here also helping him win the inaugural Opening Swing. "I've always thought I could win, but it took a while to get over the hump, but two wins in the last month or so," said Lee, who had won on the Asian Tour just weeks earlier. "Yeah, I'm really proud of my team and myself and yeah, I made it interesting early on and through the middle, but ended up hanging on, so I'm really proud." Wild celebrations and thunderclaps were the order of the day 12 months ago, let's see what the chef can cook up this time around.
Home heroes looking to shine
Lee is not the only home favourite likely to take big crowds with him, with a host of Aussie superstars teeing it up this week. Cameron Smith is a three-time winner of this event and he is joined by fellow Major Champion Jason Day and a host of other DP World Tour winners including Lucas Herbert, Marc Leishman and Brett Rumford. Add in the likes of David Micheluzzi and Jason Scrivener along with veterans Peter Lonard and John Senden and the local crowds will have plenty to cheer.
New names out to impress
A new season always brings new talent and this year is no different on the DP World Tour. Oliver Lindell, Angel Ayora, Joel Moscatel - who fired a 63 here last year - and Pierre Pineau are all starting their rookie seasons this week after graduating from the European Challenge Tour, while there are also graduates from the Qualifying School, who have made the long trip from Spain to Australia just days after completing that six-round marathon. Alexander George Frances, Ryggs Johnston and Corey Shaun may be new to many, while Jacob Skov Olesen has entered the paid ranks after winning last year's Amateur Championship and finishing fifth at the Danish Championship. But it is Danny List who should get the most attention from the home fans as the Ghana-raised 26-year-old flies under the Australian flag of his father. Equally proud of his Ghanaian and Aussie heritage, List has a remarkable story which you can hear in the video below.
BMW becomes title partner
BMW has expanded its long-term relationship with golf and the DP World Tour by becoming the title sponsor of this week's event. The collaboration will see the BMW Australian PGA Championship join BMW’s suite of premium global tour tournaments alongside the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club, BMW International Open in Munich, the PGA TOUR’s penultimate playoff tournament – the BMW Championship – and the BMW Ladies Championship on the LPGA Tour. Guy Kinnings, CEO of the DP World Tour, said: “We are delighted BMW have joined as title partner of the Australian PGA Championship. Over the past 35 years, the DP World Tour have developed an extremely close working relationship that continues to drive strong value to BMW’s global engagement in sport."
