Five events, four winners and three countries – How the DP World Tour’s Opening Swing played out

Starting in Australia and finishing in Mauritius with stops in South Africa in between, the 2026 Race to Dubai campaign began with the Opening Swing.

After a one-week break following last season's climax in the UAE, the new campaign began Down Under last month with the BMW Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane.

From there, some made the journey to Melbourne for the Crown Australian Open - the first national open on the DP World Tour's wraparound schedule - while others teed it up in South Africa for the Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player.

After that double header of events, the first of five Global Swings continued with the Alfred Dunhill Championship in Johannesburg before the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open brought the calendar year to a close.

Across the five events spanning a four-week period, there were four players who lifted silverware. Of those, three were first-time winners.

Let's take a look at an exciting stretch of action on golf's global Tour.

How did it unfold?

BMW Australian PGA Championship

Royal Queensland Golf Club played host to the first of 42 events on the 2026 Race to Dubai, with local star Elvis Smylie returning to defend his crown 12 months on from claiming his maiden DP World Tour title.

Co-sanctioned by the DP World Tour and the Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia, the event provided an opportunity for a mix of the established and emerging talent to make a fast start to the new campaign.

Sebastian Garcia, who graduated back onto the DP World Tour from the HotelPlanner Tour, was the early pacesetter but he was replaced at the summit of the leaderboard at the halfway stage by New Zealand's Kazuma Kobori.

At the close of the third round, there was a three-way tie for the lead held by Ricardo Gouviea, David Puig and Anthony Quayle, with past champions Min Woo Lee and Adam Scott among those in close pursuit.

However, it was Puig who secured his maiden DP World Tour title as he carded a flawless closing 66 in the final round to claim a two-shot victory over China's Wenyi Ding, following in the footsteps of European golf great Seve Ballesteros to become the second Spanish winner of the event.

"Obviously my name being with Seve’s name as the only two Spaniards to have won this event makes it even more special," said Puig. "Really happy."

Crown Australian Open

After a 20-year wait, the second of back-to-back events in Australia saw the DP World Tour return to the renowned Royal Melbourne Golf Club for the fifth time.

The headline act was unquestionably Rory McIlroy, with the career Grand Slam winner and reigning Race to Dubai champion competing in Australia's national championship for the first time since 2014.

Such was the anticipation around the event, the fairways were lined with spectators and greens surrounded as the tournament took on greater prestige with a place in next year's Masters Tournament on offer for the winner and three places at The Open Championship also up for grabs.

Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen held a two-shot lead heading into the final round, with Major winner Cam Smith, South Korea's PGA TOUR star Si Woo Kim and Mexico's Carlos Ortiz his nearest challengers.

A nerveless ten-foot putt to complete an impressive up-and-down for par on the final hole of the final round saw Denmark's Neergaard-Petersen claim a dramatic one-shot victory over Smith to become the second first-time winner in as many weeks on Tour.

"To get the win here at my final event of the year was the only thing missing from a perfect year," said Neergard-Petersen, who earned dual membership with the PGA TOUR via last season's Race to Dubai.

Nedbank Golf Challenge in honour of Gary Player

In the same week as the Crown Australian Open, the DP World Tour continued its global odyssey with a first visit of the season to South Africa at Sun City.

A field of 66 players, featuring Ryder Cup star Viktor Hovland alongside other dual DP World Tour and PGA TOUR members and a strong home challenge, teed it up over the Gary Player Country Club, which featured key strategic and aesthetic changes to the layout.

Kristoffer Reitan flew out of the starting gates with a 63 in the first round and the Norwegian opened up a five-shot lead heading into the final round.

However, it was to be far from a procession to the finishing line as he required a par on the 72nd hole to card a level-par 71 to hold off final-round playing partners Dan Bradbury and Jayden Schaper and claim a one-shot victory.

His wire-to-wire victory saw him claim his second DP World Tour title of the calendar year across back-to-back seasons and move him into the top 50 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time in his career.

"I had a lot of nerves today," said Reitan, whose maiden title came at the Soudal Open in May. "But to get it over the line in the end is a better feeling than I can describe."

Alfred Dunhill Championship

With the course at long-time venue Leopard Creek undergoing a period of recovery, Royal Johanesburg took on staging duties for the Alfred Dunhill Championship a week later.

The penultimate event of the calendar year was co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour, with a mix of established DP World Tour regulars joined by the best of those plying their trade on their home circuit in South Africa.

It was European Eugenio Chacarra that fared best over the opening two rounds, with the Spaniard taking a two-shot lead into the weekend only for heavy rain to force the third round to be suspended and the tournament to be decided over 54 holes.

Such was the impact of the weather on the course, the par was reduced from 72 to 70 for the final day as the par-five sixth was adjusted to a par three.

With Shaun Norris setting the clubhouse target after a stellar closing 62, countryman Schaper finished with two birdies in his closing three holes to also finish at 16 under, before sealing his maiden DP World Tour triumph with an eagle on the first play-off hole after a brilliant approach shot from a fairway bunker.

“It’s just so special, it’s been so close the last few weeks and probably the last couple of years," said Schaper. "It’s a dream come true and it’s prayers answered.”

AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open

And, so, it was on the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius that the action on the DP World Tour came to an end for another year.

Two years on from hosting its first international tournament, Heritage La Réserve Golf Links was again the scene for the co-sanctioned DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour event.

After strong winds made scoring a challenge over the opening round, Casey Jarvis rose to the summit at the halfway point before the South African was joined at the top of the leaderboard by American Ryan Gerard with one round to play.

The in-form Schaper finished with a second consecutive 64 to set the target at 22 under, before Gerard - playing in the final group - closed with an up-and-down birdie to force a play-off.

But for the second week running, Schaper celebrated success as he produced a remarkable chip-in eagle to claim his second win in as many weeks, with Gerard left to console himself with the reward of his runner-up finish securing him the prospect of an invite to next year's Masters after climbing into the world's top 50 before the end of the year.

"I wait five years for the first (title) and then the following week (to get the second) is so cool," said a delighted Schaper.

Who won the Swing?

As runs go on the DP World Tour, folowing a tie for second with back-to-back wins is hard to better.

In amassing 1,348 points across his three starts, Schaper was a dominant champion of the Opening Swing as he set the early pace too on the season-long Race to Dubai Rankings Delivered by DP World.

With it, he earned entry into the Hero Dubai Desert Classic - the first of five Rolex Series events - and all of the DP World Tour's Back 9 events, along with a US$200,000 bonus.

To view the final Opening Swing Rankings, click here.

What's next?

With the festive period beginning for many, there is now a break in the DP World Tour schedule, with the action set to resume with the return of the Dubai Invitational from January 15.

That is the first of a seven-event International Swing - the second Global Swing in Phase One of the Race to Dubai.

It is also the first of back-to-back events in Dubai, with the Rolex Series starting again at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic, before the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship and Qatar Masters take place in the Middle East.

There is then a one-week pause, before the Swing picks up in Africa with the Magical Kenya Open followed by the Investec South African Open Championship and Joburg Open.

Highlights of the Swing

A look at some of the best bits of action from the opening five events of the season.

Schaper's chip-in eagle to win

As good a winning shot as you'll be likely see, even if there is an element of recency bias.

Wonder bunker shot

A week earlier, Schaper was hailing "one of the shots of my career" after hitting this approach from a fairway bunker on his way to a play-off success at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

More bunker brilliance...

... this time courtesy of Reitan. As Tony Johnstone said on commentary, "what a shot that is".

Neergaard-Petersen's nerveless finish

There are certainly easier up-and-downs to try and help secure your first DP World Tour win, but the Dane came through the challenge with flying colours.

Gale's hole-in-one on home soil

In the first round of the season opener, Daniel Gale pulled off the dream shot at the par three 11th at Royal Queensland to win the new BMW M5 Touring.

It is one of three holes-in-one so far this season.

McIlroy makes Australian Open cut with late birdies

Outside the cut line with four holes to play, McIlroy showed his class to make three late birdies in the second round at the Crown Australian Open to make the weekend's action in Melbourne.