This week’s DP World Tour Championship (Nov. 14-17) in Dubai marks the final opportunity for DP World Tour members, including Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino and Keita Nakajima, to earn PGA Tour membership in 2025 via the DP World Tour Top 10.
Now in its second year, the DP World Tour Top 10 offers dual membership for the following PGA Tour season to the top 10 players in the final Race to Dubai Rankings in partnership with Rolex, not otherwise exempt (DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking).
The PGA Tour and DP World Tour established the eligibility pathway as part of their strategic alliance, providing DP World Tour members with direct access to the PGA Tour. The program proved successful in 2024, with two players—Matthieu Pavon and Robert MacIntyre—qualifying for the Tour Championship and combining for three victories on the PGA Tour. Seven of the 10 players in the inaugural DP World Tour Top 10 are in position to retain their cards for 2025.
Asia’s best hope lies with Japan’s Rikuya Hoshino, who sits in eighth place in the DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking, entering the final week of the season. Hoshino won the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters earlier this year and added four other top-10s to put himself in prime position to earn a PGA Tour card. Last month, countryman Kaito Onishi earned his PGA Tour status by finishing in the Top 30 of the Korn Ferry Tour rankings.
Another Japanese player, Keita Nakajima, is also in the field in Dubai, entering the week in 33rd position on the Eligibility Ranking. Winner of the Hero Indian Open this season, the former world amateur No. 1 needs to finish solo third on Sunday to have a mathematical chance of earning one of 10 PGA Tour cards at stake this week.
South Africa’s Thriston Lawrence, who finished No. 12 in the DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking one year ago, is currently atop the ranking following a season that featured five runner-up finishes, including the BMW PGA Championship. The 27-year-old also held the lead heading into the back nine at The Open Championship before finishing solo fourth at Royal Troon. Should he retain his position as the leading player from the DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking, Lawrence will earn an exemption into THE PLAYERS Championship in 2025.
Denmark’s Rasmus Højgaard, who narrowly missed out on PGA Tour membership in 2024 after finishing No. 11 in the 2023 DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking, will have the opportunity to join twin brother Nicolai Højgaard on Tour in 2025. Rasmus collected seven top-10 finishes during the 2024 DP World Tour season, including his fifth DP World Tour title at the Amgen Irish Open. He currently sits at No. 2 in the DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking.
With his second DP World Tour title at last week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, 39-year-old Englishman Paul Waring is now in position to earn PGA Tour membership after jumping to No. 3 in the DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking. The win came in his 332nd career start on the DP World Tour and more than six years since his maiden title at the 2018 Nordea Masters.
Italy’s Matteo Manassero experienced a resurgent 2024 season on the DP World Tour with his first win since 2013, positioning himself for PGA Tour membership at No. 5 in the DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking. Manassero, who at age 17 became the youngest winner of a DP World Tour event by claiming the 2010 Castello Masters Costa Azahar and rose to as high as No. 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking in 2013, lost his playing privileges in 2018 and took a brief hiatus from the game.
Thorbjørn Olesen can retain PGA Tour membership in 2025 thanks to a timely T3 finish at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship that elevated him from No. 12 to No. 7 in the DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking. Olesen earned PGA Tour membership in 2024 via the DP World Tour Top 10 but sits outside the top 125 in the FedExCup Fall standings at No. 165 after posting two top-15 finishes in 16 starts on the PGA Tour in 2024.
Jordan Smith from England currently holds the 10th position in the DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking, having secured his third consecutive top-15 finish following a final-round 63 in Abu Dhabi. A two-time DP World Tour winner since 2017, Smith has finished runner-up twice in 2024.
The first year of the DP World Tour Top 10 in 2024 saw two players—Pavon and MacIntyre—each win on the PGA Tour. Pavon claimed the Farmers Insurance Open in his third start as a Tour member, while MacIntyre captured the RBC Canadian Open and later fulfilled a dream by winning the co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open, becoming the first Scot to win his national Open since Colin Montgomerie in 1999.
The deadline for players to accept PGA Tour membership is Friday, Nov. 29, at 5 p.m. ET. The next player on the DP World Tour Eligibility Ranking would get the spot if someone does not accept.