As one of golf's leading data analysts, three-time DP World Tour winner and Europe's Ryder Cup Vice Captain Edoardo Molinari assesses which players could impress during the European Swing.
Swing schedule at a glance
The third of five individual Swings that form part of Phase One of the 2026 Race to Dubai schedule, the European Swing features six regular DP World Tour events across continental Europe in eight weeks. The US PGA Championship (May 14-17) and U.S. Open (June 18-21) provide a pause from Swing action as attention switches to the Major Championships.
| Date | Event | Venue | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 7-10 | Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship | Real Club de Golf El Prat | Spain |
| May 21-24 | Soudal Open | Rinkven International Golf Club | Belgium |
| May 28-31 | Austrian Alpine Open presented by Kitzbühel Tirol | Golfclub Kitzbühel-Schwarzsee-Reith | Austria |
| June 4-7 | KLM Open | The International | Netherlands |
| June 25-28 | DS Automobiles 83° Open d'Italia | Circolo Golf Torino | Italy |
| July 2-5 | BMW International Open | Golfclub München Eichenried | Germany |
Ones to watch
Strokes Gained values are per round vs the PGA TOUR field, season to date, drawn from Arccos Pro Insights. Where useful we compare against Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR) benchmark groups (Top 10 OWGR sums to roughly +1.65 SG/round).
Casey Jarvis
Best DP World Tour regular by Strokes Gained Total in 2026.
Why: Won the Investec South African Open in March and has played eight events at +1.23 Strokes Gained per round - a top 50 OWGR-level performance. Approach (+0.66) and putting (+0.40) are both elite for the Tour - the kind of broad-base profile that travels to any European set-up. A third DP World Tour title before the summer would strengthen his grip on the top 10 of the Race to Dubai with PGA TOUR cards in play.
| Total | Tee | Approach | Wedge | Short Game | Putting | Rounds | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +1.23 | +0.10 | +0.66 | +0.32 | -0.18 | +0.40 | 28 | 8 |
Daniel Hillier
Most efficient form on Tour - 10th on Race to Dubai from just five starts.
His +1.12 SG/round is built on the rarest combination on the DP World Tour: he gains nearly equal amounts off the tee from Distance (+0.40) and Accuracy (+0.41) - he is not a bomber or a plodder, he is elite at both - plus elite iron play (+0.55) and elite putting (+0.69). Average drive 318 yards, 58% of fairways hit. The only soft spot is the short game (-0.81). Already a winner this season at the New Zealand Open and the 2023 British Masters champion - he has shown he can close. That dual driving edge fits every venue on the Swing.
| Total | Tee | Approach | Wedge | Short Game | Putting | Rounds | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +1.12 | +0.80 | +0.55 | -0.02 | -0.81 | +0.69 | 18 | 5 |
Bernd Wiesberger
Having just won the Volvo China Open, he will be one of the headline players in Austria.
His underlying season numbers are modest (-0.37 SG/round) but the China Open win snapped a long victory drought, and he arrives at the Austrian Alpine Open as the host nation's headline act. Look at his short game (+0.45) and approach (+0.25): both above tour average and the right profile for a tight mountain layout.
| Total | Tee | Approach | Wedge | Short Game | Putting | Rounds | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -0.37 | -0.67 | +0.25 | +0.28 | +0.45 | -0.71 | 26 | 8 |
Freddy Schott
The German, who won the Qatar Masters earlier this season, is one of the longest, straightest drivers on Tour.
His +0.77 Strokes Gained off the tee per round is on the level of a Top 5 OWGR player - in 2026 only a handfulof golfers in the world are above that line. He won the Qatar Masters in February and has stayed steady since. The BMW International Open at Golfclub München Eichenried, with its risk/reward par-fives, suits a long hitter.
| Total | Tee | Approach | Wedge | Short Game | Putting | Rounds | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +0.40 | +0.77 | +0.21 | -0.09 | -0.23 | +0.00 | 24 | 7 |
Adrian Otaegui
A world-class iron player heading to Real Club de Golf el Prat - a course that rewards exactly that.
His +0.93 SG/round on approach puts him, remarkably, in the top 5 players in the world in that category - the best on DPWT in this category by a distance. The weakness is off the tee (-1.35), but El Prat's tree-lined course is short enough to be a positional layout: hit fairways, attack from 150-175 with a world-class iron game. A perfect fit.
| Total | Tee | Approach | Wedge | Short Game | Putting | Rounds | Events |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +0.03 | -1.35 | +0.93 | +0.08 | +0.20 | +0.17 | 32 | 10 |
Also worth watching out for
Nacho Elvira
Won the Dubai Invitational in January - a clear marker that he belongs at the top of the European game. The putter is glowing at +0.46/round and his overall +0.31 SG/round across seven events keeps him rolling. Will be one of the home hopes in Catalunya.
Julien Guerrier
A surprise story of the season in his veteran years. The Frenchman, 40, is +0.53 SG/round built on the rarest profile of all - positive gains in every single category (tee +0.09, approach +0.15, wedge +0.05, short game +0.14, putting +0.21).
Calum Hill
Despite ball-striking that is well below tour standard (driver -0.58, irons -0.39), what keeps him on every leaderboard is the hottest putter on Tour at +1.09 SG/round - the kind of number that wins tournaments by itself when the greens are slower and smaller, like Rinkven, Eichenried and Kitzbühel.
Angel Ayora
The young Spaniard posseses a powerful base game: +0.66 SG/round driven by a +0.80 driver and a +0.29 short game. The putter (-0.53) is the only thing holding him back from a top-10 R2D position - if it warms up at all on the firm greens of El Prat, he is a real contender at the Estrella Damm Catalunya Championship.
Francesco Molinari
2018 Open Champion on a deliberately limited 2026 schedule (just four events) but already +0.36 SG/round and +0.59 SG approach - the iron play is back. The Open d'Italia at Circolo Golf Torino is literally his home course - born and raised in Turin, every fairway and green committed to memory since childhood.
