Challenge Tour Grand Final: Which players secured their DP World Tour cards and promotion for the 2025 season? | Golf News
The race to secure a DP World Tour card reached its climax at the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by the R&A, but which players earned a promotion for the 2025 season and who missed out?
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and England’s John Parry had already secured their DP World Tour cards by both winning three times in 2024, with 20 more cards on offer across the four-day event at Club de Golf Alcanada.
Former Junior Ryder Cup player Kristoffer Reitan held his nerve to claim a one-shot victory over Dane Neergaard-Petersen and Spaniard Angel Ayora at Club de Golf Alcanada, with all three securing their DP World Tour playing privileges for next season.
Kristoffer Reitan won the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen topped the Road to Mallorca Rankings
Reitan ended the week on 23 under to claim a maiden Challenge Tour title, lifting him 29 places to seventh in the season-long standings and earning a DP World Tour return for the first time in six years.
Neergaard-Petersen guaranteed automatic promotion to the DP World Tour by securing a third victory of the season in September and ends the week as the Road to Mallorca number one after enjoying a sensational debut season on the Challenge Tour.
“I’ve only been a professional for 16 or 17 months now and I’m continuing to learn new things and draw on the experiences I’ve had,” Neergaard-Petersen said. “I’m still super happy to win the Rankings. It’s been a great season.”
Who else secured their DP World Tour card?
Englishman Parry, who has also won three times on the Challenge Tour this season, ends the year as the No 2, with Finn Oliver Lindell graduating in third after ending the year with eight consecutive top-10 finishes.
Ayora ends his first season as a professional in fourth ahead of Dane Hamish Brown, who has won twice this season, with fellow two-time winner Conor Purcell from Ireland in sixth.
Swede Joakim Lagergren and Englishman Jack Senior secured their return to the DP World Tour by ending the year in eighth and ninth respectively, with Joel Moscatel from Spain rounding out the top 10.
Swede Mikael Lindberg ends the year 11th ahead of five-time DP World Tour winner Alexander Levy, who secured his return to the top tier, with former Scottish Open runner-up Benjamin Herbert also back on the DP World Tour.
Robin “Tiger” Williams – named in part after the 15-time major champion – and Deon Germishuys will tee it up on the DP World Tour next year after ending the season 14th and 15th in the rankings, as does Swede Björn Åkesson who finishes 16th.
Frenchman Martin Couvra (17th) and Englishman Brandon Robinson Thompson (18th) secure their first promotion, with former Challnge Tour No 1 Tapio Pulkkanen securing his return to the DP World Tour.
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Pierre Pineau from France graduates to the DP World Tour for the first time and German Nicolai von Dellingshausen ends the year 21st, while two-time DP World Tour winner Lucas Bjerregaard from Denmark – once inside the world’s top 50 – taking the final spot.
Who missed out?
England’s Jamie Rutherford narrowly missed out on a DP World Tour card despite ending the Challenge Tour Grand Final in tied-19th, with a final-hole lip-out leaving him 23rd in the season standings.
Tied-fifth finishes in the Grand Final for Denmark’s Nicolai Kristensen and England’s Frank Kennedy weren’t enough to secure a card, leaving the pair in 28th and 30th respectively for the season.
Four-time DP World Tour winner David Horsey and Wales’ Rhys Enoch were among the others who failed to break into the top 22 in the season-long standings, along with Scottish pair Euan Walker and Daniel Young.
What’s next?
Players can still earn a DP World Tour card through the Final Stage of Qualifying School, held over six rounds and across two courses at Infinitum Golf in Spain from November 8-13.
A 156-player field will include former Ryder Cup players and multiple DP World Tour winners, with the top 20 and ties securing their playing privileges for the 2025 season – starting with the BMW Australian PGA Championship from November 21-24.
The 2024 DP World Tour season concludes with two Rolex Series events, both live on Sky Sports, with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship from November 7-10 followed by the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai the following week.
