Which 10 DP World Tour Players Are On Track For A 2026 PGA Tour Card?

With only a few events left of the DP World Tour season, the battle for supremacy is heating up as players aim to end their year with some kind of success.

While a tournament victory is, of course, the immediate goal, pros are also jostling for position via high finishes in order to reach the DP World Tour Playoffs to give themselves a chance of succeeding Rory McIlroy as the Race To Dubai champion.

Even if no one manages it, players could land one of 10 PGA Tour cards on offer to the leading non-exempt DP World Tour members at the culmination of the season in Dubai.

Brought in before the 2023 campaign, the '10 Cards Initiative' was a byproduct of the PGA Tour and DP World Tour's strategic alliance, which offers the leading group of European-based players the chance to play for significantly higher prize purses against many of the world's very best over the course of the following year.

Matthieu Pavon and Robert MacIntyre were among the first beneficiaries of the scheme, with both going on to secure maiden PGA Tour titles in their full debut rookie campaign.

However, the 2024 crop did not fare anywhere near as well, with no wins between them and only one runner-up finish as none of the 10 made the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Tom McKibbin left to join LIV Golf ahead of the PGA Tour season anyway, and he was the only player to earn more money than the year prior.

Despite mixed results through two years of the initiative, many players remain desperate to obtain their shot at breaking through in the US - especially after the PGA Tour reduced the number of full cards for their own members to 100, down from 125, in order to increase playing opportunities for Korn Ferry Tour and DP World Tour pros.

Marco Penge is third in the Race To Dubai rankings, behind PGA Tour star Rory McIlroy and LIV Golfer Tyrrell Hatton.

Penge's rise has been remarkable, with the Englishman only promoted from the Challenge Tour in 2023 and having narrowly managed to keep his DP World Tour card via a strong finish in the final event of 2024 before the Playoffs.

Since then, he sat out several weeks after being banned for breaching betting regulations before returning to the circuit in white-hot form and going on to win the Danish Golf Championship. He then had further top 10 finishes at the Betfred British Masters and Omega European Masters.

That form means the big-hitting Penge is all but assured of a PGA Tour card for next season.

Another man who looks set to play PGA Tour golf in 2026 is Kristoffer Reitan. The Norwegian is immediately beneath Penge in the Race To Dubai rankings after winning the Soudal Open and enjoying an excellent streak during the middle of the year.

He finished runner up at the Hainan Classic and the Austrian Open while also ending third at the Nexo Championship and fourth at the BMW International Open, before T5 at the Open de France.

The 27-year-old is now well inside the top 100 of the OWGR and primed to follow compatriot Viktor Hovland onto the PGA Tour.

Next on the list is Adrien Saddier, who won the Italian Open and was in the running for the BMW PGA Championship title before succumbing to Alex Noren. Another standout performance saw the Frenchman finish T5 at the Amgen Irish Open.

Alex Noren holds a PGA Tour card in 2025 thanks to finishing in the top 70 of the previous year's FedEx Cup points list.

He's 113rd this year, meaning there is work to do to finish in the top 100 to keep his card via that route. If he falls short, it is highly likely that he will secure it via the Race to Dubai rankings, helped by victory in the BMW PGA Championship.

Noren is currently seventh in the rankings, and the fourth of the 10 non-exempt players currently in line for a card.

John Parry is next on the list, helped by victory in the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open among several more top-five finishes.

Haotong Li is also in line for a PGA Tour card. Like Parry, he has produced several impressive performances this season, not least victory in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters in February.

Next is Jordan Smith, who will be more determined than most to earn his card after narrowly missing out in 2024. He doesn't have a win this season, but two runner-up finishes, in the Volvo China Open and the BMW International Open, have certainly helped his cause.

That leaves three more players in line for a card. One is Laurie Canter, who reigned supreme at the Bahrain Championship to not only propel himself up the Race To Dubai standings but also ascend inside the top-50 in the Official World Golf Ranking.

That helped the former LIV golfer earn his first taste of the PGA Tour at The Players Championship and Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he will be aiming to return in 2026.

Martin Couvra is next. The Frenchman has been in excellent form this season, including his maiden DP World Tour win at the Turkish Airlines Open.

Elvis Smylie is the player in the final spot for a card, which is currently 14th in the Race to Dubai rankings. His season has included victory at the BMW Australian PGA Championship and runner-up at the Open de France.

Among those trying to force their way into the reckoning are BMW International Open winner Daniel Brown, Joakim Lagergren, who finished runner-up to Rory McIlroy at the Amgen Irish Open, and Keita Nakajima.

Leading 10 DP World Tour Players In Line To Earn 2026 PGA Tour Card