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These 10 European Tour members just earned PGA Tour cards

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Adrian Meronk is headed to the PGA Tour.

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While Adrian Meronk ‘s year wasn’t enough to earn him a spot on the Ryder Cup team , he’ll be able to prove European captain Luke Donald wrong from the PGA Tour.

Meronk was one of 10 DP World Tour pros who punched their tickets to the PGA Tour Sunday at the DP World Tour Championship .

As part of the expanded strategic alliance between the two tours, for the first time ever this season, the top 10 finishers in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai standings not otherwise exempt, were awarded PGA Tour cards.

After a T32 finish in Dubai this week, Meronk locked up the No. 4 spot in the order of merit but will be the top player in the new exemption category. The top finishers in the Race to Dubai were Rory McIlroy , Nicolai Hojgaard and Jon Rahm who all already have PGA Tour status for next season and don’t count toward the new cards allocated.

Hojgaard secured his PGA Tour card as a Special Temporary Member and accumulated the requisite number of non-member FedEx Cup points. Min Woo Lee, who finished 10th in the Race to Dubai, also secured his card via Special Temporary Membership and doesn’t count toward the 10 cards.

And while Hojgaard, who won the DP World Tour Championship by two shots over Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Wallace, already had his PGA Tour status secured, his twin brother Rasmus wasn’t as fortunate.

Nicolai Hojgaard wins DP World Tour Championship as brother Rasmus misses PGA Tour card

Rasmus entered the final event of the DP World Tour season 16th in the season-long standings but watched as Matthieu Pavon birdied his final four holes to rocket up the leaderboard and bump Rasmus out of a PGA Tour card.

Pavon ended up finishing 15th in the standings, nabbing the 8th PGA Tour card while Rasmus was 18th and just 27 points short of the last of the 10 PGA Tour cards.

Here are each of the 10 DP World Tour players who just earned their PGA Tour cards.

DP World Tour PGA Tour card earners

(Race to Dubai ranking)

(4) Adrian Meronk

(5) Ryan Fox

(7) Victor Perez

(9) Thorbjorn Olesen

(11) Alexander Bjork

(12) Sami Valimaki

(13) Robert MacIntyre

(15) Matthieu Pavon

(16) Jorge Campillo

(17) Ryo Hisatune

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Jack Hirsh is an assistant editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at [email protected] .

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Meet the 20 players who EARNED their 2022 European Tour playing rights

Denmark's Marcus Helligkilde secured his card with an emotional victory at the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final. 

Getting to the European Tour can be seen as the pinnacle of many professional golfers' careers. 

Blood, sweat and tears have gone into this moment and pegging it up with the finest across Europe is the reward for leaving no stone unturned. 

Over the weekend, 20 players secured their tour cards for the 2022 season after the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final. 

It was Denmark's Marcus Helligkilde, 25, who won the Road to Mallorca Rankings after he won for the third time of the season. 

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An emotional Helligkilde snatched a one-stroke victory at the T Golf & Country Club in Spain. 

Helligkilde joined stellar company as he became the third Challenge Tour number one to hail from Denmark after 15-time European Tour winner Thomas Bjorn in 1995 and JB Hansen in 2018. 

The Dane finished 34,337 points ahead Portugal's Ricardo Gouveia in second place after he won the Swiss Challenge and Finnish Challenge earlier this season.

Marcel Siem, from Germany, also returns to the European Tour. 

Helligkilde said: "I didn't have full status on Challenge Tour at the beginning of the year and I was just trying to get into the top 70. 

"I just stayed focused on what I had in front of me, grind as hard as I could and be the best version of myself. 

"I'm still the same Marcus Helligkilde and I enjoy playing golf."

This is who will join the European Tour from 2022: 

Marcus Helligkilde

Ricardo Gouveia

Santiago Tarrio

Julien Brun

Frederic Lacroix

Alfredo Garcia-Heredia

Oliver Bekker

Ewen Ferguson

Yannik Paul

Lukas Nemecz

Marcel Schneider

Espen Kofstad

Chase Hanna

Marcel Siem

Niklas Norgaard Moller

Andrew Wilson

Craig Howie

Daan Huizing

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Who retained their European Tour cards, and who missed out

By Keith Jackson

Monday 24 October 2016 07:02, UK

The Portugal Masters was the final chance for players "on the bubble" to secure their European Tour cards for next season, so who made it in and who faces a visit to the dreaded Qualifying School?

The big movers

Mikko Korhonen started the week ranked 116th in the Race to Dubai and needing to move up five places to retain his card for next season. But the Finn, requiring at least a top-25 finish, contended for the lead for much of the event and eventually ended up just two shots adrift of champion Padraig Harrington. A huge payday for 112,600 euros lifted Korhonen to 86th.

Oliver Fisher was also on the outside looking in when the tournament started, but a closing 64 secured a top-10 finish and the talented young Englishman moved comfortably inside the mark to 100th.

Jason Scrivener was in much the same situation as Korhonen and Fisher, and the Australian defied the pressure to notch four sub-70 rounds to finish tied for 17th, elevating him to 105th in the Race to Dubai.

Who was the last man in?

None other than former Ryder Cup star and occasional Sky Sports guest commentator and pundit David Howell. The five-time European Tour winner missed the cut in Portugal, but he clung on to the key 111th position.

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The near miss

Graeme Storm needed only a par at the 72nd hole in Vilamoura to leap into the top 111. However, Storm bogeyed the 18th for the second day running and ended up one place below Howell - the gap between them being just 100 points.

Who dropped out?

Eddie Pepperell looked certain to retain his card when he opened with a superb 64, but he suffered a meltdown the following day and was right on the cut line with one hole remaining. The pressure told and Pepperell blocked his drive into the unknown, running up a double-bogey six to card a 76 and miss out on the weekend. And the slip proved costly as he dropped to 114th in the Race to Dubai standings.

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Spare a thought also for Scotland's Craig Lee , who bogeyed three of the last four holes of his first round to card a 73 before he bounced back on day two. Three birdies and an eagle put him on course to make the weekend on the number, but he bogeyed his final hole to miss the cut by a single shot. The Scot dropped to 113th on the R2D and missed out on retaining his card by less than 700 euros.

Zander Lombard got off to a great start to the season with a fourth place at the Australian PGA Championship followed by a runner-up finish on home soil at the Joburg Open. But the young South African opted not to play in Portugal and he slipped to 116th in the rankings.

Notable others

Paul Lawrie earned his first top-10 finish of the season and rose to 121st in the Race to Dubai, but he'll be exempt for next season via his lofty standing in the career money list.

Richard Green is another relying on being in the top 40 in the career money list on the European Tour after finishing the season one place behind Lawrie.

The same goes for Stephen Gallacher, one place above Green at 38th on the career money stats, and one place below the Australian in this season's Race to Dubai.

Peter Uihlein has finished 14th, 65th and 47th on the order of merit over the last three seasons, but his 2016 campaign was a disappointment as he ended a lowly 122nd.

Alvaro Quiros earned only one top-10 finish in 23 starts this season, and he will now start preparing for Q School next month.

Eduardo Molinari was playing in the Ryder Cup not too long ago. But after a succession of injuries coupled with poor form, his future is far from certain having missed his 12th cut of the season in Portugal, leaving him languishing at 149th in the Race to Dubai.

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2020 Tour Cards: The keepers and the losers

The Portugal Masters is over which means there’s plenty of emotions running throughout the European Tour members.  Some players have sealed their Tour cards, whereas some players will be anxious at the thought of having to re-attend European Tour’s Q-School. 

The top 115 players on the European Tour leaderboard will retain their card for the following season whilst it’s back to school for those that don’t if they haven’t won an event in the last two years. Losing your card has to be the worst feeling ever for a professional golfer, almost like having to re-take your driving test. But worse, as it’s your livelihood.

Unfortunately, some of the player’s who have lost their card will surprise you…

THE KEEPERS

These players looked like losing their card but after a good week in Portugal they managed to seal the deal and can now look forward to the 2020 season:

Justin Walters

It’s been an emotional rollercoaster for the South African, he found himself fighting back tears for the second time at Dom Pedro Victoria Golf Course as he secured his 2020 Tour card at the Portugal Masters. He arrived at this event in 2013 having lost his mother just weeks earlier and with the pressure of knowing he needed an exceptional week to keep his card. The South African was faced with a 60 foot putt on the 72nd hole for par and solo second and he made it, prompting an emotional celebration as his place on Tour was secured. Fast forward seven years and Walters arrived in Portugal 121st in the Race to Dubai Rankings Presented by Rolex after another testing season both on and off the course. Walters was struggling with injury in the summer and then sadly lost his father in August, admitting he struggled to cope in the events afterwards. Talk about Déjà vu.

Singh Brar started the week in Portugal in 117th place in the Race to Dubai Rankings. After finishing T8th alongside Matt Wallace and Andy Sullivan. Singh-Brar managed to move eight places to 109th place on the leaderboard securing his 2020 privilege. It’s been a week of emotions for the Southampton Football Club supporter, who’s team got annihilated 9-0 against Leicester FC. But he didn’t take that to heart as he had a job to do on the course. Singh Brar holed an 8 foot putt on the last at Dom Pedro Victoria Course to keep his card.

Steven Brown

There’s playing for your Tour card, then there’s doing it in style. Steven Brown  needed a top three finish to obtain his card. The Englishmen didn’t let the pressure get to him and ended up being victorious with his first European Tour win. Brown finished -17-under – one clear of Justin Walters and Brandon Stone, that’s a classy way to end your season.

The next few players have just missed out on obtaining their 2020 privilege:

Lee Slattery  

It’s back to Q-School for one of the most down to earth players on the tour. This will be Slattery’s 10th visit so he’s familiar with this frenetic scenario. Talk about never giving up. Slattery finished 121st in the Race to Dubai, six places behind securing the spot and 21.8 Race to Dubai points shy of going into the 2020 season with full playing privileges.

Paul Dunne  

Dunne finished 124th on the Race to Dubai Rankings. nine spaces and 32.4 points short of keeping his privilege for the 2020 season. Dunne won the 2017 British Masters in Close House, which granted him two years on the European Tour, 2019 being the last year, therefor Dunne had to post some significant scores this year. With only one top 5 result and 12 missed cuts. It’s back to Q-School for the Irishman for the second time.

  A few more names include: 

• Jamie Donaldson – Ex Ryder Cup player 

Gonzalo Fernández-Castaño – 7 time European Tour winner

• Romain Wattel

For those going back to Q-School, they need to prepare for three stages (252 holes) with only 25 cards up for grabs.

European Tour Qualifying School is arguably the toughest test in golf.

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What Are the Requirements for a PGA Tour Card? 6 Ways to Earn One

Here are 6 ways to earn a PGA Tour card

• DESCRIPTION Ben Martin becomes Tour Bound
• SOURCE James Gilbert / Contributor
• PERMISSION Getty Image license

In a lot of ways, getting a PGA Tour card is like winning the lottery. The path is simple, but the odds are against you. If you beat those odds, however, the payout is handsome.

To play as a member on the PGA Tour, you must have a PGA Tour card. Players earn their card by accomplishing one of several requirements. Here’s a breakdown of just how to earn a PGA Tour card, and six ways to snag one.

1. PGA Tour Q-School

PGA Tour Q-School used to be a direct path to the PGA Tour. Then Q-School stopped giving players PGA Tour cards, giving them status on the Korn Ferry Tour instead, where they could play for spots on the PGA Tour over the course of an entire season. But now, just like in years past, players can earn a PGA Tour card through Q-School and head straight to the PGA Tour. However, only the top five finishers from the final stage of Q-School earn PGA Tour cards and get to head directly to the PGA Tour.

Korn Ferry Tour: Strategies to Qualify and Challenges to Expect

2. Korn Ferry Tour Points

The most direct path to the PGA Tour is through the Korn Ferry Tour. While gaining Korn Ferry Tour status is no breeze in itself, once there, players have multiple avenues to earn their PGA Tour card.

There are 30 PGA Tour cards up for grabs through the Korn Ferry Tour each year. The top 30 players from the Korn Ferry Tour's season-long standings after the KFT Championship earn cards.

Getting into the Korn Ferry Tour is a process in itself, which can be accomplished through Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School , or via the Forme Tour , Mackenzie (Canadian) Tour, or the PGA Tour Latinoamerica.

3. Korn Ferry Tour Three-Win Promotion

Korn Ferry Tour players can jump directly to the PGA Tour through an exemption known as the Three-Win Promotion . This promotion is exactly what it sounds like, after three Korn Ferry Tour wins in one season, a player gains his PGA Tour card.

The three-win promotion has proven to be a tough route to the big tour, as only 12 players have accomplished the feat since 1997.

4. PGA Tour Special Temporary Membership

Players can bypass the Korn Ferry Tour and jump straight to the PGA Tour by gaining PGA Tour Special Temporary Membership, then parlaying that into a PGA Tour card.

The PGA Tour reserves a small number of spots each week for non-Tour members through sponsor exemptions and Monday qualifiers. Non-members who compete in PGA Tour events through these avenues and perform well enough can earn Special Temporary Membership by accumulating the amount of FedExCup points equal to the player who finished 150th on the FedExCup list the previous season.

Once a player has accepted Special Temporary Membership, they can accept unlimited sponsor exemptions into PGA Tour events and can earn their card by finishing in the top 125 of the FedExCup points list during the regular season.

Without Special Temporary Membership, non-members can only accept up to seven sponsor exemptions and compete in up to 12 PGA Tour events in a season.

Players on a Special Temporary Membership are not eligible for the FedExCup playoffs.

5. PGA Tour U Gets College Golfers to the PGA Tour

Through PGA Tour U , the PGA Tour has removed some hurdles for the top collegiate players who begin their transition into the professional ranks when their amateur careers end.

Top collegiate players in the final year of their college careers earn ranking points based on their performance in the NCAA Division I championship, PGA Tour events, major championships, and the Dubai Desert Classic. At the end of the season, five PGA Tour University first-team and second-team honorees are identified, along with 10 PGA Tour University third-team players. 

The top player earns PGA TOUR membership for the rest of the season, plus the followig season. The top five players earn Korm Ferry Tour membership for the rest of the season, a spot in the Final Stage of Q-School, and the opportunity to accept unlimited sponsor exemptions into PGA Tour events throug the following season.

Nos. 6-10 earn conditional Korn Ferry Tour status for the current season, an exemption into the North American portion of the PGA TOUR Americas schedule, and an exemption into Second Stage of Q-School.

The 10 third-team honorees get exemptions to the North America Swing of the PGA TOUR Americas and exemptions into the Second Stage of Q-School.

6. Win a PGA Tour Event or Major Championship

The fastest way to earn a PGA Tour card is also the least likely. Anybody who wins a PGA Tour event gets an immediate two-year PGA Tour exemption. This means that any non-member who gets into the field at a PGA Tour event via a sponsor exemption or Monday qualifier, and goes on to win that event, gets their PGA Tour card.

While yes, this path is extremely rare, it's exactly what Nick Dunlap did in 2024. He entered a PGA Tour event, the American Express, as an amateur, and despite the astronomica odds, won the tournament. Shortly after, Dunlap took advantage of his two-plus year PGA Tour exemption by turning pro.

Major champions get even more luxury, securing a five-year exemption to both the PGA Tour and European Tour. Three of the four major championships each year reserve spots for amateur players , meaning that theoretically an amateur could win the Masters, U.S. Open or Open Championship and secure their PGA Tour card for the next five years.

Benefits of a Tour Card

By having a PGA Tour card, a golfer can play in PGA Tour events. Many players also receive sponsor endorsements and advertising contracts. The PGA Tour card provides the player the opportunity to win large purses in tournaments . Players who make the cut in routine PGA Tour events generally cash at least a five-figure check, with that amount increasing with higher-stature events and major championships.

In 1965, the first PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament (called Q-School) was held and John Schlee won the event. In 1968 and 1969 and from 1975 to 1981, there were two tournaments each year.

Until 2013, Q-School was used to grant membership to the PGA Tour. From 2013 to 2023, Q-School served as a gateway to the Korn Ferry Tour, with PGA Tour Cards handed out through the Korn Ferry Tour regular season and finals.

Misconceptions

Many people think that if a player holds a PGA Tour Card, he can play in any event on the PGA tour. However, new PGA tour players are eligible for tournaments but players commit to tournaments based on their priority ranking. Players with lower priority rankings can only play an event when it's not already full by the time they have a chance to commit.

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These are the rising stars you should be watching on the European Tour in 2021

Rasmus Hojgaard, just 19, was one of 10 players to win their first European Tour titles in 2020 after play resumed this summer.

Andrew Redington

In the wake of a four-month COVID-19 lockdown and the subsequent resumption of the 2020 season, the reshaped European Tour—diminished financially and thinner on top in terms of field strength—actually came to represent lands of opportunity for some. Many top-ranked players from Europe chose instead to ride things out in the United States and play on the PGA Tour, providing less familiar names with multiple chances to flourish on the Old World circuit.

“The last few months have been a time for a lot of guys to break through, or re-establish themselves,” says former Ryder Cup captain Thomas Bjorn. “The outside pressures have largely been removed. With no crowds present, everyone is just playing golf. And no one has been paying much attention to those who have played poorly. So things have become a lot freer. It’s been easier to play without some of the mental obstacles that normally lead to discomfort, especially during final rounds. But that sort of environment has been non-existent on tour this year.”

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And many have taken advantage. Following a return to action at the Austrian Open in July, 10 players have recorded maiden victories: Joel Stalter, Sam Horsfield, Romain Langasque, Rasmus Hojgaard, John Catlin, Garrick Higgo, Callum Shinkwin, Robert MacIntyre, JB Hansen and Antoine Rozner. Meanwhile, three actually went on to repeat that feat.

Redemption, although not quite so prevalent, also found its place. Three men—Andy Sullivan, Marc Warren and Ross McGowan—have all returned to the winner’s circle after long absences.

So, who most notably emerged to seize the moment? Here’s a brief look at the most promising golfers among the lot, all of whom are wrapping up their 2020 seasons by playing in this week's DP World Tour Championship.

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BEN STANSALL

Rasmus Hojgaard

World Ranking March 15: 184

World Ranking Dec. 7: 82

Bjorn is not surprisingly a big believer in his fellow Dane. “Rasmus has all the tools,” Bjorn says. “There is no weakness in his game, and he has a great attitude. He works hard and believes in himself. He asks the right questions. Things still have to break your way and things have to happen the right way for anyone to get right to the top. But nothing is holding him back. He has a remarkable talent, as him winning two of his first 19 events clearly shows.”

The first of Hojgaard’s wins came in December last year, at the relatively low-key Mauritius Open. But his second win at The Belfry in the U.K. Championship was more impressive, coming as it did at the at the end of a four-week run in which the 19-year-old finished second at the British Masters, T-6 at the Hero Open, and third at the English Championship.

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Warren Little

Robert MacIntyre

World Ranking March 15: 67

World Ranking Dec. 7: 59

“Rookie of the year” on the European Tour in 2019 after a string of fine performances that included a T-6 finish in his Open Championship debut at Portrush, Macintyre’s breakthrough at the Cyprus Showdown is perhaps the least surprising in this group of emerging talents.

“I’ve watched Bob a lot over the past couple of years,” says fellow Scot and 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie. “His rise has been quick and steady. He seems like a lovely lad. I can see him winning more. He clearly has a good attitude, temperament and way about him. And he has the game. How high he goes remains to be seen. But judging by the World Rankings (MacIntyre is the highest-ranked Caledonian at 61st), he looks like Scotland’s best chance to have a Ryder Cup player next year.”

Antoine Rozner

World Ranking March 15: 202

World Ranking Dec. 7: 123

The climax to what had been an unobtrusively impressive season came late, with a victory in last week’s Golf in Dubai Championship. Twice a winner and eighth on the 2019 Challenge Tour money list, Rozner had accumulated as many as five top-10 finishes—including a playoff loss at the Mauritius Open—in 19 starts before his breakthrough victory. Only twice had he missed the cut. And the final-round 64 with which he clinched that win was the 27-year old Frenchman’s 19th round in succession at par or better.

Those numbers are impressive enough. But there’s more. In his rookie season on the European Tour, Rozner ranks inside the top 15 in both driving distance and greens in regulation. And only two men—Ryder Cup players Andy Sullivan and Tommy Fleetwood—have a stroke average lower than his 69.72. Given his present rate of progress, Rozner could become only the fourth Frenchman to take his place in the biennial contest with the United States.

Richard Heathcote

Sam Horsfield

World Ranking March 15: 222

World Ranking Dec. 7: 99

The 24-year old Florida-based Englishman (his family moved stateside when Horsfield was just a child) might not be the most consistent player on the European Tour, but when he gets a sniff of victory he tends to take it. Twice in two weeks back in August he did just that, first at the Hero Open, then at the Celtic Classic. None of which will have come as a surprise to Ian Poulter or Terry Mundy. The six-time Ryder Cup player is a long-time mentor of his younger compatriot and Mundy—Poulter’s caddie—is Horsfield’s co-manager.

“He’s the best young player I’ve ever played with,” said Poulter when a 14-year old Horsfield first beat him over nine holes. A decade or so later, it’s safe to say that assessment is proving more than prescient.

John Catlin

World Ranking March 15: 211

World Ranking Dec. 7: 96

Most weeks, there aren’t many Americans on the European Tour. But Catlin has long proved that a lack of familiar accents is no barrier to success around the globe. Four times the 29-year-old former University of New Mexico student won on the Asian Tour. And now he has half as many wins in Europe to add to his burgeoning resume.

“My goal at the start of 2019 was to win on the European Tour, so to have accomplished that is hard to put into words,” was Caitlin’s verdict after seeing off two-time major champion Martin Kaymer to win the Andalucian Masters at what is surely the most difficult course on the circuit, Valderrama.

And only three weeks later, Catlin was back, this time at the Irish Open, where he came from behind to pip soon-to-be Scottish Open champion Aaron Rai to lift one of golf’s most historic titles.

Ross Kinnaird

Callum Shinkwin

World Ranking March 15: 351

World Ranking Dec. 7: 149

In truth, Shinkwin should not be part of this list. Needing only a par 5 on the 18th hole at the Dundonald Links to win the 2017 Scottish Open, Shinkwin missed the green left with his second shot, found an unfortunate lie, then took four more shots to hole out for a bogey 6. Perhaps inevitably, he lost the playoff to Rafa Cabrera-Bello at the first extra hole.

So victory more than three years on at the Cyprus Open in November was a triumph over adversity as much as anything else. Especially as, mired in a slump, the former English Amateur champion had lost his European Tour card at the end of the 2018 season.

“That was the final kick up the backside I needed,” he said in the wake of his playoff victory over Finland’s Kalle Samooja. “And you can say I got what I deserved back in 2017. But it makes this all the sweeter.”

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European tour offers boost in prize money, new minimum pay

• Associated Press

The European tour will offer $150,000 against players' earnings and pay $1,500 to other players if they miss the cut as part of a new schedule announced Thursday that boosts prize money and returns to Australia and parts of Asia.

The tour said prize money would be $144.2 million, not including the four majors and the World Golf Championship in Texas.

The four Rolex Series events -- Abu Dhabi, Dubai, the Scottish Open and BMW PGA Championship -- get $1 million increases to $9 million, with the season-ending DP World Tour Championship having a $10 million purse.

The tour also said $6 million from a bonus pool would be distributed among the leading eight players in the DP World Tour rankings at the end of the year.

The changes reflect alliances Europe has established with the PGA Tour and tours in South Africa and Australia amid new competition from Saudi-funded LIV Golf.

Most significant is an "Earnings Assurance Program" that provides $150,000 to full members that count against tournament earnings. It is similar to what the PGA Tour announced for this season, with a few changes.

The U.S. tour is offering $500,000 up front for rookies and players who earned their card back from the Korn Ferry Tour. Everyone else will be paid the difference if they don't earn $500,000 in the season.

The European tour is offering $20,000 at the start of the season for rookies, Challenge Tour graduates and those who make it through qualifying school. Everyone else will get paid the difference if the don't earn $150,000 at the end of the season.

"For us to be able to offer our members record prize funds and enhanced earning opportunities is massive, particularly when global economies are still feeling the effects of the pandemic and with the new challenge of rising inflation significantly putting pressure on costs in all facets of our business," said Keith Pelley, the chief executive of the European tour.

He said the overall prize fund is some $50 million more than two years ago.

The new season begins Nov. 24-27 -- one week after the current season ends -- with consecutive weeks of co-sanctioned events in South Africa and Australia. The Australian PGA Championship is the same week as the Joburg Open, while the Australian Open is the same week as the South African Open.

It will be the first time the Australian Open is co-sanctioned by Europe, while the Australian PGA was on the European schedule from 2015 through 2019. Neither event has been held since 2019 because of the pandemic.

Also new to the European tour -- officially the DP World Tour because of its umbrella sponsorship -- are tournaments in Singapore, Japan, Thailand and Korea.

That puts the 39 tournaments in 26 countries on five continents.

The new year starts with the Hero Cup, patterned after the former Seve Trophy to give European tour members a taste of the Ryder Cup format.

The Italian Open will be May 4-7, significant because it is at Marco Simone outside Rome, which hosts the Ryder Cup at the end of September. It's the same week as the Wells Fargo Championship on the PGA Tour, an elevated event worth $20 million, which would make it difficult for Americans -- along with American-based Europeans -- to play.

Missing from the schedule is a Spanish stop at Valderrama, which is likely to be used by LIV Golf next year.

The European tour also has a three-week break after the British Open, a break Pelley said was sought by players.

Ryder Cup qualifying ends Sept. 3 at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland. After that, players have the Irish Open, BMW PGA Championship, the French Open and then the Ryder Cup.

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European Tour Q-School: Who Got Their 2018 Card and Who Missed Out?

Who got their 2018 European Tour card and who missed out?

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European Tour Q-School is always a cert for drama and great golf in equal measure and this year's edition didn't disappoint, so who got their 2018 card and who missed out?

European Tour Q-School is always a cert for drama and great golf in equal measure and this year's edition at Lumine Golf Club in Spain didn't disappoint, so who got their 2018 card and who missed out?

Top 25 & Ties

Claiming their cards were a string of old and new faces, led by Englishman Sam Horsefield on an impressive -27 for his six rounds over Lumine's Lakes and Hills courses. Eight shots back in T2nd was former BMW PGA Championship winner Anders Hansen. Other standout names getting their 2018 European Tour cards included seven-time winner Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, Kristoffer Broberg, Felipe Aguilar and Brits Ben Evans, Matthew Nixon, Mark Foster, Ross McGowan, James Heath and Laurie Canter .

There will also be a lot of happy fans after Jonathan Thomson (pictured above) shot a closing two-under-par at European Tour Q-School to secure his card. The Englishman - also know as 'Jigger' -  had to start his journey at Stage One Qualifying at Frilford Heath back in October. Much more impressively than that was his successful five year battle with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia when he was just seven. He used to dream of playing on tour back then and now Thomson, who only turned pro last September, will stride out on tour at 6ft 9" as the tallest player out there.

Another of the moments of the day came when South African Justin Walters' dream appeared to be over when he bogeyed the 17th, only for him to then eagle the par 5 18th on the Lakes course to tie for 25th position. It was a similar story for Thai youngster Jazz Janewattananond who chipped in at the last for eagle to also tie 25th position alongside a total of nine golfers who finished on -13.

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After the four round cut we'd already waved goodbye to some notable names, including  six-time European Tour winner Simon Dyson, three-time winner Richard Green and 2008 Ryder Cup player Oliver Wilson . Missing out was also John Parry, Matt Ford, Hennie Otto, Jose-Filipe Lima, Johan Carlsson, Mortum Orum Madesen and Florian Fritsch, the German pro famous for never flying to his events .

That left just 74 players to battle it out over the closing 36 holes for the 25 (and ties) tour cards. At this stage two-time winners Alejandro Canizares and Simon Khan both came up short. They were joined by Tom Lewis, Stuart Manley, Steven Tiley, Steve Webster, Nathan Kimsey, Marus Armitage, Scott Henry, Gary Stal, Julien Quesne and Johan Edfors, among others.

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The European Tour's Order of Merit winner claims the Harry Vardon Trophy - a prize which was first handed out in 1937

By Jonny Leighfield Published 30 August 24

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