PGA Tour welcomes 10 new members including Rory McIlroy protege and forgotten wonderkid

The DP World Tour play came to a melodramatic adjacent connected Sunday with Rory McIlroy winning the Tour Championship and a sixth Race To Dubai title, but it was an arsenic memorable time for 10 different men successful the Middle East.

Ten PGA Tour cards were up for grabs astatine the Earth Course, awarded to the apical 10 finishers successful the Race To Dubai who did not already clasp the aureate summons to play connected the lucrative circuit crossed the pond.

So portion McIlroy was edging his mode to a 3rd consecutive Race To Dubai title, players further down the leaderboard were scrambling for precious ranking points to punch their summons to play successful the United States successful 2025.

There were shows of poise and fortitude arsenic immoderate sneaked into the apical 10. For others, it was a heartbreaking day arsenic the infinitesimal passed them by. The rankings are acceptable to beryllium officially confirmed connected Monday, but present is the projected apical 10.

Rasmus Hojgaard

The Dane has gone from agony to alleviation successful the abstraction of 12 months. He missed retired connected a paper past play by conscionable 1 spot, portion his duplicate member Nicolai won the Tour Championship and booked his formation stateside.

But Rasmus, 23, has responded successful benignant successful 2024, winning the Irish Open and showing ultimate consistency to unafraid his PGA Tour card. He pushed McIlroy hard connected a tense last time of the Tour Championship, and a second-place decorativeness was bully capable to unafraid the aforesaid spot successful the Race To Dubai standings.

Thriston Lawrence

Perhaps the astir accordant subordinate connected the DP World Tour this season. The South African, ranked 47th successful the world, did not get into the winners' circle, but helium had 5 second-place finishes and came 4th astatine The Open.

The 27-year-old was the lone antheral who had a accidental to bushed McIlroy to the Race to Dubai title, but helium was ne'er successful contention astatine the Earth Course, finishing successful a necktie for 30th. Still, 3rd spot successful the bid of merit and earning a PGA Tour paper represents a breakthrough season.

Paul Waring

Waring, 39, has been thing of a precocious bloomer, claiming his archetypal triumph successful six years – and lone the 2nd of his vocation – past week astatine the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. That effect propelled him towards the apical of the Race To Dubai standings, and the Englishman sealed the woody with a coagulated decorativeness successful the Tour Championship, finishing successful a necktie for 16th.

Once considered a journeyman, Waring has moved to conscionable extracurricular the apical 100 successful the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) and helium volition beryllium plying his commercialized successful the US adjacent season. An unthinkable story.

Jesper Svensson

The Swede announced himself connected the DP World Tour with triumph astatine the Porsche Singapore Classic successful March, and beardown performances astatine the Czech Masters and British Masters boosted his situation for a top-10 spot.

The 28-year-old got the occupation done, contempt a one-over-par last circular connected Sunday. He finished astatine nine-under for the week and successful a necktie for seventh, securing 10th spot successful the bid of merit.

Niklas Norgaard

Victory astatine the British Masters successful September saw the Dane, 32, alert up the rankings. He has reached a career-high of 89th successful the OWGR acknowledgment to seventh astatine Wentworth and tied 1oth astatine Yas Links past week.

Norgaard did not person his champion worldly astatine the Earth Course this week, finishing good disconnected the gait successful tied-40th, but the hard enactment had already been done and helium joins the increasing Scandinavian contingent connected the PGA Tour.

Matteo Manassero

Once considered 1 of the top young talents successful the athletics alongside McIlroy, Manassero spent years successful the wilderness. The Italian claimed his archetypal European Tour triumph aged 17 successful 2010 and helium won 3 much times implicit the adjacent 3 years, including the prestigious BMW PGA Championship astatine Wentworth successful 2013.

It seemed greatness awaited Manassero arsenic helium peaked astatine No. 25 successful the OWGR, but helium would spell much than a decennary without a DP World Tour victory, losing his paper and dipping arsenic debased arsenic 1,805 successful the satellite rankings successful 2020.

But helium has fought his mode backmost remarkably successful the past mates of years and ended his hold for a large win, claiming triumph successful the Jonsson Workwear Open successful South Africa successful March. Aged 31, Manassero has climbed wrong the apical 100 of the OWGR again, and helium has the accidental to yet fulfill his committedness connected the biggest stage.

Thorbjorn Olesen

Another Scandinavian is heading to America, with Olesen's 13th-place decorativeness successful the Race To Dubai bully capable to gain his card. At 34, helium is 1 of the much established players connected this list, with 8 DP World Tour titles including the Ras Al Khaimah Championship successful January.

Olesen was a subordinate of the Ryder Cup squad that defeated the Americans astatine Le Golf National successful 2018 and earned a PGA Tour paper past play by finishing ninth successful the Race To Dubai, but helium finished 157th successful the FedEx Cup, putting him astatine hazard of losing his card. But a tied-24th decorativeness connected Sunday was bully capable to springiness him different accidental successful the US adjacent year.

Antoine Rozner

The Frenchman, 31, has played his mode onto the PGA Tour acknowledgment to a beardown extremity to the season. He finished 4th astatine the Genesis Championship successful South Korea 3 weeks agone earlier pursuing it up with tied-sixth astatine the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship 7 days ago.

His bully signifier continued astatine the Earth Course, entering the last circular successful a necktie for the pb with McIlroy and Hojgaard. A went circular successful one-over-par, ending his hopes of claiming a career-best win, but a tied-third decorativeness was much than capable to gain his PGA Tour card.

Rikuya Hoshino

The 28-year-old benefited from the strengthened narration betwixt the DP World Tour and smaller circuits astir the world, giving him much chances to play connected a bigger stage. The Japanese endowment took advantage, claiming his archetypal DP World Tour triumph astatine the Qatar Masters successful February.

Hoshino is simply a six-time victor connected the Japan Golf Tour and the satellite No. 132 did conscionable capable to gain the ninth of the 10 cards connected offer, finishing successful a necktie for 28th astatine two-under-par.

Tom McKibbin

Being a young, talented golfer from Northern Ireland volition inevitably bring comparisons to McIlroy. McKibbin has benefitted from having a adjacent enslaved with the four-time large champion, who was speedy aft walking disconnected the 18th greenish to springiness the 21-year-old a immense clasp to congratulate him connected reaching the PGA Tour.

It was a nervy day for the Belfast-born youngster, who claimed his archetypal – and truthful acold lone – DP World Tour triumph astatine the Porsche European Open past season. Back-to-back bogeys astatine 15 and 16 enactment him connected the incorrect broadside of the dotted line.

But McKibbin showed helium is made of sterner worldly with a clutch birdie astatine the past to decorativeness successful a stock of 11th and assertion the 10th and last paper connected offer, breaking the hearts of Jordan Smith and Laurie Canter successful the process.