With the end of the Closing Swing marking the completion of the Global Swings Phase, the DP World Tour now enters Phase 2 of its new-look season, the Back 9.
The nine events, which include some of the most historic events on the DP World Tour, provide increased opportunities to earn Race to Dubai Ranking Points as players look to earn qualification into the final two events on the 2024 schedule: The DP World Tour Play-Offs.
Below, here is everything you need to know about qualification and the final two Phases of the season.
What are Phases 2 and 3 of the DPWT Season?
Phase 2 of the DP World Tour season is the Back 9, including nine of the most historic events and national Opens across the Schedule. Increased Race to Dubai Rankings points are on offer throughout this Phase, with 5,000 available in each regular event – up from 3,000 during the Global Swings phase. 8,000 Rankings points will be on offer at the BMW PGA Championship as the third Rolex Series Event of the year.
The third and final Phase of the season will be the DP World Tour Play-Offs, the final two events of the year. The Race to Dubai Champion will be crowned at the final event of the season - the DP World Tour Championship.
How do players qualify for the DP World Tour Play-Offs?
The top 70 in the season-long Race to Dubai Rankings at the end of the Back 9 phase of the season will gain qualification into the DP World Tour Play-Offs. Players can qualify throughout the Back 9, as they earn enough points to guarantee their position in the top 70.
What events are in the Back 9?
The Back 9 begins with the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry, before heading to Switzerland and Crans-sur-Sierre for the Omega European Masters – one of the longest-standing events in DP World Tour history.
The DP World Tour then makes its way to Royal Country Down GC for the Amgen Irish Open, before Ryan Fox will defend the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club, which represents the third of five Rolex Series events on the 2024 Race to Dubai.
The acciona Open de España presented by Madrid, at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid, then marks the first of two Spanish events in this phase. It is followed by the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at the home of golf before Le Golf National hosts the FedEx Open de France just two months after it staged the Olympic Men’s Golf Competition.
With the Estrella Damn N.A. Andalucia Masters acting as the penultimate event of the swing, the Genesis Championship marks the final regular event of the season, which is not only key for players hoping to retain their Tour cards, but will represent a final chance to reach the top 70 in the Race to Dubai Rankings and qualify for the DP World Tour Play-Offs.
Who has qualified for the DP World Tour Play-Offs so far?
As players gain qualification, and are then announced, for the DP World Tour Play-Offs, their names will appear below:
- Rory McIlroy
- Robert MacIntyre
- Thriston Lawrence
Who won the Five Global Swings?
Min Woo Lee carried over encouraging end-of-season form from 2023 into the 2024 DP World Tour season as he won the Opening Swing after starring on home soil. Victory at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship - the first event of the season - propelled Lee up the rankings, and a third-place finish two weeks later at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open all but secured his place as the first Swing Champion.
Like Lee, Rory McIlroy's performance in the first two events of 2024 set the tone and made him the man to catch at the top of the International Swing Rankings. A runner-up finish to Tommy Fleetwood at the Dubai Invitational followed a historic fourth Rolex win at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic for the Northern Irishman, and the importance of that Rolex Series victory proved enough for him to lead the way and ultimately take home the spoils.
The Asian Swing saw three first-time winners on the DP World Tour emerge in European Challenge Tour graduate Jesper Svensson, former World Number One amateur Keita Nakajima and his fellow Japanese Yuto Katsuragawa - but it was Sebastian Söderberg who topped the Asian Swing Rankings after a consistent campaign. The Swede, who opened the Asian Swing with a tie for 21st at the Porsche Singapore Open, recorded back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Hero Indian Open and ISPS HANDA Championship before ending the Swing with a third place at the Volvo China Open to claim his place as Swing Champion.
The European Swing provided plenty of drama as Linn Grant made history for a second time in Sweden, Marcel Siem returned to the winner's circle four events post-surgery, Laurie Canter broke through for his maiden victory and Ewen Ferguson claimed a third title not long after his own return after struggling with illness. Yet it was a consistent performance from Guido Migliozzi that helped the Italian to top the European Swing Rankings, starting with a top 25 at the Soudal Open. He followed it up with a top ten at the European Open and went on to claim his fourth win on the DP World Tour at the KLM Open, with a tie for 22nd in Italy a week later all but confirming him as the Rankings winner.
The seven-event Closing Swing capped off the final of the five Global Swings with four first-time winners and an emotional home victory from overall Swing Champion Robert MacIntyre. The Scot produced a stunning finish to claim his first Rolex Series title at the Genesis Scottish Open, which propelled him to the top of the Closing Swing Ranking – where he remained for the rest of the Swing. The same week, 26-year-old Englishman Harry Hall broke through for a dramatic maiden victory in the opposite field event, and just a week later Nick Dunlap earned his first victory in another opposite field event – the Barracuda Championship. French duo David Ravetto and Frederic Lacroix added their own first-time wins on the DP World Tour at the D+D REAL Czech Masters and Danish Golf Championship respectively, putting them as the closest challengers to MacIntyre. In the end, with Xander Schauffele’s second Major win of the year at The 152nd Open at Royal Troon and Scottie Scheffler’s Olympic Gold Medal both non-counting events for the Swing Ranking, MacIntyre won by a comfortable margin of 180 points.
