[PHOTO: Richard Heathcote]
There was a tournament going on, a big one at that. But for a few of the players in the 50-strong field at the DP World Tour Championship – the 44th and last event on the Old World circuit this season – there was a whole new level of pressure. For those in contention for the 10 PGA Tour cards, especially those numbered 8-10, the difference between success and failure went far beyond mere prizemoney. For them, the next year of their professional lives was on the line.
It was telling, too. A glance at the hole-by-hole scoring revealed the consequences of many sweaty palms and wide-eyed stares. Right to the end, too. Even most of those who emerged from the pressure-packed situation clutching their passports to the 2025 PGA Tour were going backwards over the closing holes. Remarkably, only Matteo Manassero and Thorbjorn Olesen (card Nos.6 and 7, respectively) played better than par golf down the stretch. For the others, it was chaotic, a litany of near disasters.
Thriston Lawrence held on to the second card behind Rasmus Hojgaard but played the last six holes in four-over-par. Paul Waring finished third, despite making two bogeys in his last four holes. Jesper Svensson? Two-over for the last 11. Niklas Norgaard? Three-over for the last four. Antoine Rozner was two-over for the last 10. Rikuya Hoshino was five-over for the last 11.
And Tom McKibbin – the last man standing in 10th place – was one-over for the last 11 and surely the most relieved member of the group. With a birdie on the last hole, the Northern Irishman from Rory McIlroy’s home club of Holywood, ended just 10.5 points ahead of Jordan Smith.
Tom McKibbin tells Rory McIlroy that he'll be joining him on the PGA TOUR 🥹
The 21-year-old claimed the final dual membership spot.#DPWTC | #RolexSeries pic.twitter.com/c6cUFdBfvm
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) November 17, 2024
So there were smiles of relief at close of play, but the eyes still betrayed the inner turmoil they had all felt. Even Hojgaard, who claimed the No.1 card despite losing the tournament to McIlroy. Exactly a year ago, the Irish Open champion had missed graduating to the PGA Tour by one agonising shot.
“I know how much pressure those guys must have been feeling,” said Hojgaard, who was looking to succeed his identical twin, Nicolai, by winning the season-ending European event. “I had it last year when I was on the ‘bubble’ for the last couple of cards. It was so stressful, more stressful than playing for the tournament actually. I feel so sorry for Jordan Smith.”
Olesen was perhaps the one exception to the sea of second-guessing. When he needed to most, the Dane played his last nine holes in four-under-par to regain the card he earned in similar circumstances last year. He is the one repeat winner from 2023.
“I had a decision to make about how I was going to get my PGA Tour card back,” he said. “I could come back over here and play the DP World Tour, or I could stay over there and play in the Fall Series events. I made the right decision. Part of it was I’d be able to see my family more. Plus, I know the courses and the tournaments on this tour so well. So it was really an easy decision.”
Speaking of which, nine of the newly minted “rookies” are going to be playing in a new environment and in a land far from home. Some sound advice is required.
“The PGA Tour is the Premier League of golf,” says Irishman Shane Lowry, who makes his home in Florida. “So you can’t go there and be half-hearted. You have to give it everything you have. All 10 have had great seasons here, though. So they are good enough to go out there and compete. The fields are deep over there but there is no need to change anything. The hardest part is playing all the new courses. Over here they are familiar with the events and often don’t need to play a practice round. Over there they won’t be in many pro-ams so they will need to travel Monday and play Tuesday to get to know the course. That’s time-consuming and difficult.”
Adam Scott is another who has had to adapt to life in a foreign country. The Queenslander has held a PGA Tour card for more than two decades, but memories of his early struggles still linger.
“These guys are actually in a tricky spot, mentally,” said the 2013 Masters champion. “On this tour they are clearly some of the better players. That’s good for the confidence at home, but they won’t have that next year. On the PGA Tour they will be a lot lower on the pecking order, the depth is so much greater. The golf is more aggressive there. So you have to go low every week. You have to ‘hit home runs’ rather than being consistent. That doesn’t get you too far these days. But they need to take advantage of everything, while still balancing playing two tours. Again that’s no easy task, quite apart from being a PGA Tour rookie. It’s just hard, outside of high finishes in, say, three majors, to think you are doing well on two tours.”
Still, while some tough times surely lie ahead, performing with distinction on the PGA Tour is far from impossible, even in Year 1.
“Look at how well most of the guys who got their cards last year did this year,” says Lowry. “Look at Matthieu Pavon. He won only once over here in who knows how many years, then he went over there and won right away. So anything is possible.”
Here is the list of the top 10 who earned PGA Tour cards for 2025:
1: Rasmus Hojgaard
2: Thriston Lawrence
3: Paul Waring
4: Jesper Svensson
5: Niklas Norgaard
6: Matteo Manassero
7: Thorbjorn Olesen
8: Antoine Rozner
9: Rikuya Hoshino
10: Tom McKibbin
