A look at the twelve players who have won their maiden DP World Tour titles in the 2024 season.
Every year, the first-time winners on the DP World Tour provide some of the best and most emotional storylines of the season. From breakout stars to experienced campaigners ending a long wait, everybody's route to the winner's circle is different.
Here, we take a look at the twelve players who have etched their name on a DP World Tour trophy for the first time this season.
Joaquin Niemann - ISPS HANDA Australian Open
We did not have to wait long for a first-time winner, with Niemann taking the title in Sydney in just the second week of the season. A seven-time winner on his home tour in Chile (six of them coming as an amateur) and with two PGA TOUR wins to his name, Niemann won in just his second event on the DP World Tour outside of the Majors, Rolex Series and World Golf Championships.
His first had come a week earlier at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and a top-five there gave him some momentum for the second of back-to-back events Down Under. He began the final day four shots adrift of overnight co-leader Rikuya Hoshino but posted a five-under-par 66 to set the clubhouse target at 14 under, a total later matched by the Japanese. Both players made birdie on the first play-off hole at the 18th, with Hoshino getting up and down from a greenside bunker before Niemann saw an eagle putt from five feet slide past. Despite Hoshino again doing well to make a birdie after going bunker-bunker for the second time in succession, Niemann sealed victory after another fine approach shot, holing from seven feet for eagle.
"I always practise those three, four, five-feet ones and know that one of those will be to win a tournament," said Niemann, who became just the second Chilean to win on Tour after Felipe Aguilar.
"It's amazing."
Rikuya Hoshino - Commercial Bank Qatar Masters
Hoshino did not have to wait too long to get over his play-off heartbreak, claiming victory less than three months after his defeat to Niemann. That loss was his second consecutive runner-up finish to start his first full season on Tour, having finished 81st on the previous year's Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex after finishing second on the Japan Golf Tour’s money list in 2022. Rounds of 69-68-69 had put him in a share of the lead heading into the final round in Doha and a closing 68 saw him finish on 14 under, one ahead of France's Ugo Coussaud, with fast-finishing Scott Jamieson third on 12 under.
“I'm honoured to win at this wonderful tournament,” he said.
“I was second at the last two Australian tournaments so I'm so happy to finally win. Of course I was nervous but I just tried to keep enjoying it.”
Two further top tens have helped put Hishino in the top ten on the Race to Dubai.
Darius van Driel - Magical Kenya Open
Hoshino's victory kicked off a run of six first-time winners in eight events and Van Driel was next just the following week. His golfing journey has been a remarkable one, with him giving up the game for a number of years after breaking his hand in a banana boat accident, but he decided to turn professional after finishing second at the 2015 Alps Tour Q-School. He won the Order of Merit in his maiden season and then graduated from the European Challenge Tour in 2019, the same season he lost in the final of the Belgian Knockout to Guido Migliozzi on the DP World Tour. Another runner-up finish came at the 2021 Porsche European Open and while he lost his card last season, he regained it at the Qualifying School.
An opening 66 set the tone in Nairobi and Van Driel made just four bogeys all week in a wire-to-wire win, finishing two ahead of England's Joe Dean and Spaniard Nacho Elvira at 14 under.
"It means a lot... it's a dream come true," said an emotional Van Driel.
"As a kid you dream on the putting green…’this is for a win on the Challenge Tour’ or ‘this is for a win on the DP World Tour’. Now it’s finally there, it’s what you always dream of. I was calm, but once the last put went in I felt the emotions. I never thought it would hit that hard but it did."
Jordan Gumberg - SDC Championship
Gumberg made it three first-time winners in as many events as he broke home hearts with a play-off win in South Africa. The Challenge Tour regular was playing just his 14th DP World Tour event, having made only one cut across seven DP World Tour and Challenge Tour events in the season until that point.
But he made a mockery of that form as he came from three shots back heading into final day with a flawless 68 to finish at 12 under alongside Robin Williams. The home favourite did not put a foot wrong in the play-off but Gumberg was closer with his approach shots and managed to take advantage from 15 feet at the second extra hole.
"I'm so thankful to be standing here," said Gumberg.
"It means everything. I never really got this far in my dreams. So I'm kind of at a loss for words but it means everything. It's what we fight for every day, it's what we practise for, it's the early hours, the late hours, everything. This is incredible."
Jesper Svensson - Porsche Singapore Classic
There was more play-off drama just three weeks later as Svensson became the latest player to make a maiden trip to the winner's circle. The Swede matched the course record with a closing 63 at Laguna National Golf Resort Club to get to 17 under but extra holes were required as Kiradech Aphibarnrat eagled the last in a 64. Both men made a birdie on the first trip up the last and then exchanged a pair of pars before Aphibarnrat went over the back and made a bogey, leaving Svensson two putts for a par and victory.
"It's been a lot of good golf so it was nice to finally come out on top," he said.
"It's very hard to win so it's really nice. It's been a long journey. To win on my first season out here, I couldn't have dreamt of it. It's always been a dream to be a winner on the DP World Tour and to achieve it feels amazing. Combined with Challenge Tour last year and the beginning of this season I've had five second-place spots in the last year. I really wanted to come out on top here."
Svensson won on the Nordic Golf League in 2020 but his big breakthrough came with his victory at the B-NL Challenge Trophy on the Challenge Tour inn 2023. He also achieved three second-places as he finished fifth on the Road to Mallorca and continued to catch the eye, finishing second at the Investec South African Open Championship and Bahrain Championship presented by Bapco Energies before getting over the line.
Keita Nakajima - Hero Indian Open
Nakajima joined countryman Hoshino in making history with an emphatic victory that meant we had two Japanese winners in the same season for the first time. He had spent 87 weeks at the top of the World Amateur Golf Ranking and brought all that class to New Delhi in a wire-to-wire performance. The 2023 Japan Golf Tour Organisation Order of Merit winner entered the final round with a four-shot advantage and that was extended to nine as he turned in 33 and threatened to blow the rest of the field away. He could not quite maintain that incredible pace on the back nine but a closing 73 gave him a 17 under par total and a comfortable victory over home favourite Veer Ahlawat, Swede Sebastian Söderberg and American Johannes Veerman.
"It feels amazing," he said.
"I feel like this is the first win of a new professional career. This is my first year playing on the DP World Tour and I'm very proud to have won on the DP World Tour and very honoured to be playing here."
Yuto Katsuragawa - ISPS HANDA - CHAMPIONSHIP
Japan's remarkable purple patch on Tour continued with Katsuragawa's win on home soil making it back-to-back Japanese wins in regular DP World Tour events for the first time. Katsuragawa's maiden DP World Tour win came in just his fifth start and was his second in the event, having lifted the trophy in 2022 before it was co-sanctioned with the Japan Golf Tour Organisation.
The local favourite entered the final day at Taiheiyo Club Gotemba Course three shots off the lead but was right in the mix at the turn as many of the leading players stumbled. Söderberg was the only one keeping pace with him but the 25-year-old started the back nine with five birdies in seven holes to leave the Swede in his wake and finish at 17 under after a course-record equalling 63.
Katsuragawa admitted to drawing inspiration from the recent success of his compatriots, saying: "Looking at them winning in Europe definitely motivated me. This tournament was held in Japan on a familiar course but I have not experienced winning abroad yet. I aim to win on a bigger stage internationally. I embrace enjoying myself. Only a few pro golfers can travel abroad, so I want to travel a lot, enjoy myself, and play on many courses. I also hope to be a role model for children and juniors by becoming an international golfer."
Laurie Canter - European Open
Canter ended a long wait for a first DP World Tour win after lifting the trophy in Germany in his 142nd appearance. After coming through the Qualifying School in 2015, 2016 and 2017, Canter spent the 2019 season on the Challenge Tour but had his breakthrough in the Covid-affected 2020 campaign. He finished second at the Portugal Masters and the Italian Open to sit in the top 20 on the Race to Dubai and had two more runner-up finishes, including at this season's AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open.
The Englishman entered day four at Green Eagle Golf Courses in a two-way tie at the top of the leaderboard but had three players for company after playing his first ten holes in one over. With multiple DP World Tour winners Thriston Lawrence and Bernd Wiesberger making moves on the back nine, the pressure was on Canter but he produced three birdies on his way in to sign for a 72 and finish at 13 under. South African Lawrence and Austria's Wiesberger carded rounds of 68 and 71 respectively to finish two shots behind, one clear of Frenchman Julien Guerrier and Dane Niklas Nørgaard.
"This is what I've always wanted to do: to win on the DP World Tour," said Canter.
"Now that I've done it it's going to open up some opportunities for me. If I'm going to try and climb the world rankings and get myself up and playing in the biggest tournaments in the world you have to know how to win and I think you only get that belief once you do it. Hopefully it means I can push on and go from strength to strength."
Harry Hall - ISCO Championship
Englishman Hall claimed his first win in spectacular style with a chip-in for birdie from 45 feet on the third hole of a play-off to also open his account on the PGA TOUR. A Palmer and Walker Cup player for Europe and Great Britain & Ireland, he played on the Korn Ferry Tour after graduating from the University of Nevada - Las Vegas, claiming wins in 2021 and 2022. He closed with a 69 at Keene Trace Golf Club to get into a play-off with Matt NeSmith, Pierceson Coody, Zac Blair and Rico Hoey at 22 under and he ended it on the 209-yard, par-three ninth. Hitting first after everyone went long into the rough, he got his chip from the right side to fall before NeSmith and Coody missed their attempts from behind the hole.
"I'm really happy actually because I turned pro in 2019, played the Walker Cup and got a couple of exemptions over there (on the DP World Tour)," he said.
"I was scheduled to go to the Hero Indian Open and Covid happened and it kept me kind of in the U.S. I had conditional status on the Korn Ferry Tour and I haven't really been able to play over there since. It's been a while but hopefully this gets me into some of the Signature Events back in the U.K. that I can go and play in front of a home crowd."
Nick Dunlap - Barracuda Championship
Dunlap made history across the pond as his maiden win made him the first player in PGA TOUR history to win as an amateur and a professional in the same year. He made headlines in January at The American Express with a victory that made him the first amateur winner on the PGA TOUR since Phil Mickelson in 1991 and he now also has a DP World Tour triumph to his name.
In the Modified Stableford scoring system, Dunlap was nine points behind leader Mac Meissner entering the final day but made 19 points in a bogey-free round to finish with 49. Vince Whaley finished second, making a 17-foot birdie putt on the last for a nine-point day.
“I never thought that I would have my name next to that, but it’s definitely an honour,” Dunlap said about the amateur-pro double.
“It’s been a little tough after AmEx. You kind of lose a little bit of confidence and wonder if you can do it again.”
David Ravetto - D+D REAL Czech Masters
On the resumption of the schedule after a break for the Olympic Games, the Closing Swing brought about another first-time DP World Tour winner as David Ravetto became the second player from last year's Qualifying School to win on the 2024 Race to Dubai after claiming his maiden title at the D+D REAL Czech Masters.
In his 49th DP World Tour start, the Frenchman, who earlier this year won the Dimension Data Pro-Am co-sanctioned by the Challenge Tour and Sunshine Tour, carded a closing round of 64 at PGA National OAKS Prague to catch 54-hole leader Jesper Svensson and claim a four-shot victory.
"Everything's going to change for me" Ravetto said. "I mean, I'm sure to have a job next year now, so that's a good feeling! I think I'm going to play a little bit more free when I tee up on a Thursday morning now.
Frederic Lacroix - Danish Golf Championship
A week later, Frederic Lacroix made it back-to-back French first-time winners on the DP World Tour. The 2023 European Challenge Tour fired a flawless 65 in the final round to win the Danish Golf Championship by four shots at Lübker Golf Resort.
Lacroix began the day four strokes off the lead but soon closed the gap courtesy of birdies at the first, fifth and seventh. The 29-year-old then moved three shots ahead of the chasing pack with further birdies on the tenth, 12th and 15th before parring his way home to finish on 14 under par and wrap up a memorable win.
Since graduating from the European Challenge Tour last year, his victory marked his fifth top-five finish of the campaign, and he revealed he drew inspiration from seeing countryman and friend Ravetto lift the trophy at the D+D REAL Czech Masters.
He added: "Seeing my friend win last week, David - it showed that it's possible, it's more than doable. I'm just a bit lost for words now."
