Jayden Schaper will start his bid to extend his advantage at the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World alongside defending champion Laurie Canter and Nacho Elvira at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship.
The in-form South African has carried the momentum from his back-to-back wins on the DP World Tour at the end of last year into 2026, finishing in a tie for fourth at last week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic in the Rolex Series.
Canter of England claimed his second DP World Tour title in a play-off at Royal Golf Club last year, while Spaniard Elvira won the Dubai Invitational earlier this month to become a three-time winner on Tour, with the trio among the early starters off the tenth tee at 06:50.
Hero Dubai Desert Classic winner Patrick Reed is Schaper’s nearest challenger in the Rankings and the 2018 Masters champion is grouped alongside 2025 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Martin Couvra and last week’s runner-up Andy Sullivan, with that three-ball beginning at 11:30 off the first.
Off the same hole, ten minutes earlier, Pablo Larrazábal is joined by Spanish compatriot Angel Ayora and Ireland’s Pádraig Harrington, who is making his 499th start on the DP World Tour this week.
Elsewhere in the draw, New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier will play the opening two rounds alongside France’s Julien Guerrier – who has begun the year with back-to-back top fives – and 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia in a threeball that begins off the tenth tee at 06:40.
To view the tee times for rounds one and two in full, click here.
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