The DP World Tour heads to Palma, capital of the Balearic Islands, this week as Son Muntaner Golf Club plays host to the 2022 Mallorca Golf Open.
Jeff Winther is bidding to retain the title he won last year at Golf Santa Ponsa, while Ryan Fox will look to claim his third Tour title of the year as the field try to win vital ranking points in the season-long standings.
If you have not done so already, you can sign up now to the official Fantasy Game of the DP World Tour and submit your six-man team before round one on Thursday: https://fantasy.dpworldtour.com/
Favourite – Ryan Fox
The World Number 25 is the highest-ranked player in the field this week and is looking to overtakeU.S. Open Champion Matt Fitzpatrick and move into second place on the DP World Tour Rankings in Partnership with Rolex. He missed out on the weekend’s action at Valderrama by one shot and will be eager to bounce back. The New Zealander missed the cut at this event last year but has since won titles in Ras Al Khaimah and Scotland this season to become a three-time winner on Tour. He has also narrowly missed out on further triumphs, losing in a play-off at the Dutch Open and finishing third and second at the BMW International Open and Horizon Irish Open, respectively. Could Fox become the first player to win on three occasions in the 2022 season?
Form horse – Eddie Pepperell
After an indifferent start to the 2022 season, the Englishman has rediscovered some of the form that saw him win two DP World Tour titles during a breakthrough campaign in 2018. Since missing three consecutive cuts in the early summer, Pepperell has not missed the weekend’s action in his last nine starts dating back to the Cazoo Classic at Hillside Golf Club. During that impressive stretch, he was the runner-up at the Hero Open in Scotland and registered three top-15 finishes. After skipping last week’s event at Valderrama, the 31-year-old comes into this event 51st in the DP World Tour Rankings. With a good record at next week’s stop in Portugal, he will hope to finish the season strongly and punch a ticket to next month’s DP World Tour Championship, Dubai.
Wild card – Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez
The Spaniard’s tie for fifth in last year’s Mallorca Golf Open was one of three top tens on the DP World Tour last year. The result proved pivotal in helping him keep his card by just one spot and those memories could help inspire him this week as he fights to keep his full playing privileges again for next season. Since a missed cut at the BMW PGA Championship last month, he has played all four days in his last five events without managing to work his way into contention over the weekends. The 2019 Challenge Tour graduate, ranked 115th in the DP World Tour Rankings, secured his best result of the season with a tie for tenth in Sweden in June.
