The first of the five Global Swings on the 2025 Race to Dubai has come to a conclusion, with John Parry taking the glory courtesy of victory at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. Here is all you need to know.
Parry takes the prize
It was not so long ago that Parry was battling to make cuts on the EuroPro Tour. Now, after four wins in less than ten months, he has the chance to re-establish himself on the DP World Tour. He first earned his card via the Challenge Tour in 2009 and won in his rookie season at the Vivendi Cup but, while he established himself as a DP World tour regular, he needed three successful trips to the Qualifying School to stay on Tour until losing his card in 2017. He would play just one European Tour group event between 2019 and 2021 but a win on the EuroPro tour helped him regain his Challenge Tour status for 2022 and he earned DP World Tour graduation but again lost his card in 2023. He has been a sensation in 2024, however, claiming three Challenge Tour victories and instant promotion, form he has brought with him to the DP World Tour. He made three cuts in a row to finish the 2024 campaign and started the 2025 season with a top ten at the BMW Australian PGA Championship. He missed the cut the following week but a top ten at the Alfred Dunhill Championship kept him in the running for Opening Swing glory and his victory at Mont Choisy Le Golf saw him edge past Johannes Veerman to replace Min Woo Lee as Opening Swing champion.
What does it mean?
As winner of the Opening Swing, Parry ensures himself entry into all events in the Second Phase of the season, the Back 9, and takes home a USD$200,000 bonus.
The leading player on the Opening Swing not otherwise exempt will also earn a place at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, with this player set to be confirmed on January 2.
Veerman, Elvis Smylie, Ryggs Johnston and Shaun Norris are also now guaranteed a place in the field at Emirates Golf Club via their wins on the Opening Swing.
And while Jacob Skov Olesen, Corey Shaun, Ben Schmidt and Daniel Gale are not assured of a place at the season's opening Rolex Seris event, their re-rank in Category 18 could increase their playing opportunities through out the season.
How it unfolded
BMW Australian PGA Championship
The Opening Swing and the 2025 DP World Tour season got under way Down Under, with home hero David Micheluzzi hitting the opening tee-shot at Royal Queensland Golf Club in Brisbane. There were a host of high-profile Aussies on show including defending champion Min Woo Lee and Major winners Cam Smith and Jason Day but it was the unheralded Smylie who took home the prize, holding off playing partners Smith and Marc Leishman on the final day to claim a maiden win in wire-to-wire fashion.
ISPS HANDA Australian Open
We moved south to Melbourne for the second week of our Antipodean double header with The Victoria Golf Club and the famed Kingston Heath playing host to the national open for the men, women and all abilities players. A high-class field was again in attendance but for the second week in a row we had a first-time winner as American Qualifying School graduate Ryggs Johnston took the title by three shots in just his second DP World Tour appearance. Jiyai Shin took home the women's honours, with Simon Seungmin Lee winning the all abilities title to win the first G4D Tour event of the season. Smylie continued his fine form to stay atop the Race to Dubai and Opening Swing Rankings as we moved to South Africa.
Nedbank Golf Challenge
Africa's Major was next up at Gary Player Country Club and another elite field gathered with many players making their first starts of the season. Defending champion Max Homa led after day one and while rising home hero Aldrich Potgieter took a three-shot lead into Sunday, it was Veerman who carded a closing 69 after starting the day five back and won by one. The points on offer moved the American to the top of the Rankings and while Smylie and Johnston stayed second and third, Romain Langasque and Matthew Jordan entered the top five courtesy of their ties for second in Sun City.
Alfred Dunhill Championship
We stayed in the Rainbow Nation and headed to the stunning Leopard Creek Country Club for our next event and it produced our second home winner of the season. Andy Sullivan, something of an expert in South Africa with two wins, took the first-round lead but it was Swede Marcus Kinhult who was two ahead of the pack heading into the final 18 holes. He was six clear of Shaun Norris but the home favourite posted a closing 67 and then was left waiting to see if he had done enough, claiming a one-shot victory at 13 under. Veerman remained at the top of the Rankings but Kinhult, Ryan van Velzen and Parry all moved into the top ten after finishing in a tie for second, with Angel Ayora also still able to take the big prize at the last event.
AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open
The curtain was brought down on the calendar year in the paradise of Mauritius and Parry maintained his momentum to take the Opening Swing title and his first DP World Tour win for 14 years. Eddie Pepperell missed a seven-foot putt for eagle to regain his card at the Qualifying School but was in a good position for DP World Tour win number three throughout the week. He led after an opening 66 and was in a share of top spot after 54 holes, with Parry five back heading into Sunday. But the 38-year-old carded a brilliant closing 64, picking up five shots in his last seven holes to storm to a two-shot win at 14 under.
READ MORE
• Elvis Smylie holds his nerve to claim maiden DP World Tour title in Brisbane
• Ryggs Johnston wins on just his second DP World Tour start
• Johannes Veerman sees off Aldrich Potgieter to win Nedbank Golf Challenge
• Shaun Norris charges through the field to win Alfred Dunhill Championship
• John Parry ends long wait for second DP World Tour win in Mauritius
What's next?
After the Team Cup takes place in Abu Dhabi, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic kicks off the second of the season's five Global Swings - the International Swing. After the opening Rolex Series event of the season we stay in the United Arab Emirates for the Ras Al Khaimah Championship before heading to the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship and Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. From the Middle East we head to Africa for the Magical Kenya Open before the swing closes with a South African double header at the Investec South African Open Championship and Joburg Open. The winner of the Swing will once again receive an exemption into all the Back 9 events and USD$200,000, with the highest-ranked player not exempt earning a place at the Genesis Scottish Open. We then have the Asian, European and Closing Swings before the Back 9, with the top 70 on the Race to Dubai at the end of Phase Two heading to the DP World Tour Play-Offs. The top 50 after the Abu Dhabi Championship will then make their way to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.
