Following the season-closing DP World Tour Championship in 2023, 10 players were handed PGA Tour cards for the following year as part of a strengthened strategic alliance between the two circuits.
As the regular PGA Tour season draws to a close with the Wyndham Championship ahead of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, it’s a good time to assess the impact of the new arrivals – although only nine of them competed in the 2024 PGA Tour season.
First to the player who didn’t compete on the Tour. Pole Adrian Meronk won two DP World Tour titles in 2023, helping him to the highest position of those who earned a card.
That gave him entry to the first two signature events of the season, but even that wasn’t enough to persuade him to compete. Instead, he joined LIV Golf in time for February’s season opener at Mayakoba, drawing an immediate suspension from the PGA Tour.
Unlike Meronk, Frenchman Matthieu Pavon grabbed his PGA Tour opportunity with both hands. He began the season with a T7 at the Sony Open in Hawaii and it got even better two tournaments later when he won the Farmers Insurance Open.
Matthieu Pavon hit the ground running with a win at the Farmers Insurance Open
(Image credit: Getty Images)
More strong performances followed, including third at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, to leave him safely inside the top 50 of the FedEx Cup standings. That means not only has he retained his card with plenty of room to spare, but we’ll also see him in next year’s signature events.
It’s a similar story for Scot Robert MacIntyre, although it took him a while longer to find his feet on the PGA Tour. He eventually managed it in style, though, with wins at the RBC Canadian Open and the co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open to cement his place in the top 50 of the standings and all next year’s signature events.
Frenchman Victor Perez came flying out of the traps in the 2023 DP World Tour season with victory at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which went a long way towards earning his PGA Tour card.
He’s yet to win this season, but there have been significant highlights, including finishes of third at the Puerto Rico Open and RBC Canadian Open. He’s a whisker away from making the FedEx Cup Playoffs, sitting 71st in the standings when he needs to climb inside the top 70, and he’ll be…
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