With one final event to be played on the Closing Swing, just three men remain in contention to top the Rankings and earn the spoils at the end of the Danish Golf Championship.
Here, we revisit what has happened so far on the Closing Swing and answer the key questions as we prepare to head into the Back 9 on the 2024 DP World Tour Schedule.
Where are we still to play on the swing?
The final event sees the DP World Tour head to Denmark for the Danish Golf Championship, played at first-time Tour venue Lübker Golf Resort, where a Swing Champion will be crowned.
- To view the entry list for the Danish Golf Championship, click here.
Who has won so far in the Closing Swing?
Starting in Scotland, the Genesis Scottish Open marked the second Rolex Series event of the year and saw home hero Robert MacIntyre crowned champion at The Renaissance Club.
MacIntyre had produced a stunning finish 12 months earlier during a runner-up finish to Rory McIlroy, and the Scot succeeded in delivering another big moment in front of home fans this year too. Trailing by three on the back nine, MacIntyre holed a long putt on the 14th, eagled the 16th after a remarkable approach from the rough to six feet and holed from 22 feet on the last to spark wild celebrations and finish one clear of Australian Adam Scott.
The same week, Harry Hall broke through for a dramatic maiden victory in the opposite field event at the ISCO Championship. The 26-year-old Englishman closed with a three under 69 to get into a play-off with Matt NeSmith, Pierceson Coody, Zac Blair and Rico Hoey on 22 under par at Keene Trace GC, and claimed the title in unbelievable fashion. Having scrambled well on the first play-off hole and making a straightforward par at the second, Hall made the 209-yard par-three third hole look easy as he chipped in for birdie to secure victory, as his playing partners missed their own opportunities.
Another double week of tournaments followed as the world's best assembled for the final Major Championship of the year, with Xander Schauffele making it a second Major title of both his career and the year at The 152nd Open at Royal Troon (non-counting for the Swing). Meanwhile, Nick Dunlap became the first player in PGA TOUR history to win as an amateur and a professional in the same year, rallying on Sunday for a two-point victory in the Barracuda Championship at Tahoe Mt Club in California, another opposite field event that offered further opportunity for Closing Swing points.
World Number One Scottie Scheffler became the latest Gold Medal winner with his Olympic Games victory in Paris (non-counting for Swing Points), producing a spectacular course record-equalling 62 to emerge from a star-studded leaderboard and win gold. On a thrilling final day, the American was flawless from start to finish as he surged to a one-stroke victory with a devastating back-nine 29, with Tommy Fleetwood’s closing 68 securing silver for Great Britain. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama rounded out the podium finishers with bronze, finishing a shot further back.
Last week marked the penultimate week of the Closing Swing, and it was Frenchman David Ravetto who became the 11th first-time winner on Tour with a four-shot victory at the D+D REAL Czech Masters. With a stunning closing-round of 64, Ravetto held off the challenge of third-round leader Jesper Svensson, striking the decisive blow at the 16th as his rival faltered for the only time all day at PGA National OAKS Prague.
What is on offer through the Closing Swing?
As with the four other Global Swings, the Closing Swing will have its own champion who will qualify for all Back 9 events, where players will play for increased Race to Dubai ranking points, and receive a US$ 200,000 prize money bonus.
The leading DP World Tour member (not otherwise exempt) will also qualify for the BMW PGA Championship, the third of five Rolex Series events this season.
Then, at the end of the Danish Golf Championship, a further $1million Bonus Pool will be shared among the leading ten players on the Race to Dubai who have played a minimum of eight ‘regular’ Global Swings events outside the Major Championships and Genesis Scottish Open.
Who can still win the Closing Swing?
With his first Rolex Series victory last month, MacIntyre leads the way on 835 points heading into the final two events by an impressive margin.
Behind him by 280 points, Adam Scott is his nearest challenger, with both Ravetto and Hall 55 points behind him on 500 apiece thanks to respective victories at the D+D REAL Czech Masters and ISCO Championship.
Svensson sits in fourth on 372, while Romain Langasque is in fifth position on 332 points thanks to his third place finish at The Renaissance Club.
Yet with 500 Race to Dubai points on offer for the winner of the final DP World Tour event, MacIntyre only has two real challengers to his crown.
With MacIntyre, Scott and Hall all not teeing up this week and Langasque 503 points behind, only Ravetto and Svensson can catch the Scot. The catch? With 334 points awarded to second place, both would need to earn their second wins of the season to be able to top the Closing Swing standings.
To view the current Closing Swing standings, click here.
Who have been the champions of the Global Swings so far?
With a victory on home soil at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship, followed by a third-place finish at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, Min Woo Lee won the Opening Swing as the leading DP World Tour member.
Rory McIlroy was later crowned the winner of the International Swing after a sublime start to 2024 with a runner-up finish at the Dubai Invitational backed up by a record fourth Hero Dubai Desert Classic title in the first Rolex Series event of the year.
Sebastian Söderberg then topped the Asian Swing Rankings as he registered three consecutive top-fives, including back-to-back runner-up finishes at the Hero Indian Open and ISPS HANDA – CHAMPIONSHIP.
Most recently, Guido Migliozzi claimed the European Swing Rankings thanks to his fourth Tour victory at the KLM Open, where he fought off Joe Dean and Marcus Kinhult in a play-off at The International. It was a victory that ultimately proved instrumental in him emerging as the Swing Champion, in a run of events that also included a tie for eighth at the European Open.
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What comes after the Closing Swing?
Once the Closing Swing marks the end of the fifth and final Global Swing, the 2024 DP World Tour Schedule, will enter the second distinctive new phase: The Back 9.
Incorporating nine of the Tour's most historic events, the Back 9 begins with the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo and continues with the Omega European Masters, Amgen Irish Open, BMW PGA Championship, acciona Open de España presented by Madrid, Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, FedEx Open de France and Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucía Masters, before ending with the final regular event of the season at the Genesis Championship.
Throughout the Back 9, players will not only be trying to secure their cards for next season but also improve upon their position on the 2024 Race to Dubai in order to earn their place in the field for the two ‘DP World Tour Play-Offs’ in November 2024: the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, and the DP World Tour Championship.
