Highs and heartbreak in battle for a DP World Tour card at Genesis Championship

While established DP World Tour winners Pablo Larrazábal, Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Marcel Siem suffered heartbreak at the Genesis Championship, Matteo Manassero and Sean Crocker kept their hopes of retaining full status alive by making the cut.

With the top 100 on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World retaining their full playing rights for next season, there was plenty of movement in both directions from players around the all-important cut-off.

The battle continues

Yuto Katsuragawa made a birdie at the last to add a second-round 69 to his opening 67 and move into a share of tenth place heading into the weekend.

It is a significant week for the Japanese player, whose winner's exemption from his 2024 ISPS HANDA Championship victory expires at the end of the season. Starting the week 106th on the Race to Dubai Rankings, Katsuragawa is currently projected to climb to 96th and retain his playing privileges on golf's global Tour.

Sean Crocker, who similarly arrived in South Korea outside the top 100 in 103rd position, spent much of Friday hovering around the cut line.

However, a birdie at the 15th coupled with a two-putt par at the last ensured he would be around for the weekend and gave him the opportunity to improve on his current projected position of 101st in the Race to Dubai Rankings.

Also making the cut on the number was Matteo Manassero, who made a nervy finish with back-to-back bogeys on his seventh and eighth holes before a final-hole par guaranteed he will be here to try to keep or better his 99th position on the Rankings, down one from where he started the week.

"I'm just feeling stressed, like I have the last couple of months," Manassero said afterwards.

"It was quite a good day, just the condition, like everything, makes it difficult, and that's what it is.

"Sometimes it's just harder than others, but you have to try and balance everything out and have a good perspective, try to do your best, which really sounds very basic, but it is what it is.

"Obviously, the consequences of not playing well, sometimes it's harder than others. In this case, they were, but I feel if I make the cut, there's a lot more to try and achieve."

Another player with an outside chance, but still with work to do, is Brandon Robinson Thompson. The Englishman carded a two-under-par 69 to add to his opening 71, leaving him tied for 25th with two rounds remaining. Having started the week 109th on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World, he was at one stage projected to move exactly inside the top 100, but currently sits in a projected 105th position.

A nervy wait

For others, the weekend will bring a nervous wait.

David Law missed a short birdie effort on his final hole to miss the cut by one, and the Scot's fate now rests in the hands of those players who did. At the start of the week he was 97th, and is currently projected to drop a place to 98th.

Eddie Pepperell is the man in 100th position, and having opted out of this week through injury, the Englishman will have to wait to see whether those in the field will overtake him.

Heartache in Korea

With the jubilation of retaining cards for some also comes the unavoidable heartache for others who will need to go back to Qualifying School to retain their full status.

Those from 101-110 will secure DP World Tour Category 18 and HotelPlanner Tour Category 5, which is the same category as DP World Tour Qualifying School. However, those who graduate from Qualifying School will start the season at the top of the category.

Sebastian Söderberg, the man who came in at 101st on the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World, was unable to come back from a disappointing opening 76 (+5). The Swede added a level par 72 to miss the cut and will be unable to improve his position. He is currently projected to finish at 103rd in the standings.

"Yesterday really just really put me out of position and yesterday afternoon was quite tough to try and recharge," said Söderberg.

"I woke up this morning and I felt as good as I could, I guess. I really gave it my all out there.

"But again, just wasn't good enough. I just had to fight for a lot of pars and, I think I had two birdie putts inside 15 feet and, on these greens, that's kinda tough to post a score.

"So, yeah, obviously very disappointed. But, home, recharge and, hopefully, I'll just do well at Q School."

Kiradech Aphibarnrat is another facing a similar prospect. The four-time DP World Tour winner came into this week with hope of doing enough to keep his card, but after a disappointing opening round, the Thai player was forced to withdraw halfway through his second round with injury to his back.

Speaking through the heartbreak, Aphibarnrat spoke about the difficulty of the moment but also about his attitude of believing he'll come back strong.

“In the last 15 years I’ve had a really good career but just the last three or four years haven’t been easy. I’m a fighter so I believe I’m going to get past all of this and we’ll come back strong.”

Nine-time DP World Tour winner Pablo Larrazábal also fell short in his bid to retain playing privileges for 2027, bringing to a close a remarkable spell among the Tour's ranks that began when he earned his card in 2007.

Knowing he needed a runner-up finish or better at the Genesis Championship to retain his status, the Spaniard arrived in Korea having played nine of the previous ten weeks in a bid to reignite his season. Back-to-back rounds of 73 will saw him miss the cut for the 17th time this year, but he insists he still has more to achieve as ahead of making a return to Qualifying School awaits for the first time in almost two decades.

"Well very, very, very tough," he reflected on one of the most challenging periods of his career. "Yeah, just a very tough moment.

"You know, I think I only stayed like 25 weeks, non-category, non-winners category for 19 years and I had to play my worst golf the season that I had to keep my card.

"But, it's been a tough 20 months, what changed it all was throwing out the 10th victory in Bahrain last year at the beginning of the season. Not making the putt on the last to win was very tough. It took me a while to go through that one.

"This year has been tough. It's a tough moment. I'm very tired. As I said, I played nine of the last 10 weeks and I have to recover my old body to try to play six good rounds in Infinitum and to try to keep the dream alive.”

Among other notable names are long-time DP World Tour player Marcel Siem, who withdrew from the tournament after shooting an 11-over-par 81 during the opening round. The six-time DP World Tour winner's exemption runs out at the end of this season, where he is projected to finish 123rd on the Race to Dubai.

In addition to Siem, Dylan Naidoo and Elvis Smylie also missed the cut, with their respective winner's exemptions running out at the end of this season too.

Deespite a second-round 70, Scotland's Euan Walker - a graduate of the HotelPlanner Tour last year - fell one shot shy of the cut and is projected to fall to 123rd from 121st at the start of the week.

Five-time DP World Tour winner Ross Fisher, who brought up his 500th start on Tour in January, is another who will need to return to Q-School if he is to earn back his membership after a second-round 75 saw him miss the cut by three shots.