The second of back-to-back events in China sees the top 70 on the Road to Mallorca Rankings make the 1,000-mile journey north from Sanya up to the city of Hangzhou, just outside of Shanghai, for the Hangzhou Open. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the penultimate event of the season…
Historic location
The Road to Mallorca returns to Hangzhou West Lake Golf Club for the third consecutive year, with the Jack Nicklaus-designed venue proving a strong test of golf having also been the host for the Asian Games golf tournament in 2023. The 7,300 yard par-72 features four testing par fives, that are all between 560 and 580 yards long, and stern par threes, the longest of which is 227 yards. The course is known for its natural scenery, despite being just west of the bustling city of Hangzhou.
The city itself is renowned as one of the Eight Ancient Capitals of China and celebrated for its cultural heritage that includes the UNESCO-protected West Lake that features in the name of the golf course. Now, Hangzhou combines ancient Chinese traditions with futuristic innovation, having used new technology to create an incredible modern metropolis. It became just the third Chinese city to host the Asian Games in 2023, following in the footsteps of Beijing and Guangzhou.
Past winners
The Hangzhou Open only has a short history, with just two champions so far. The first to lift the trophy was Conor Purcell in 2024, the Irishman reaching 18 under par to cruise to a four-stroke victory on his way to graduating to the DP World Tour. Sebastian Garcia then prevailed in 2025, following in Purcell’s footsteps to Golf’s Global Tour after his win, although doing so in a more challenging way via a play-off. The Spaniard required two extra holes to get past Julian Perico and fellow graduate Maximilian Steinlechner, with the trio all finishing on 17 under par.
The 2026 winner will be hoping to make it three Hangzhou Open winners on the trot to go on to graduate, taking advantage of the increased Ranking points available at the event. Indeed in 2025, five of the eventual top ten at the Hangzhou Open went on to graduate, with three of the top ten doing so in 2024 – the Final Swing has unsurprisingly proven a good time to find form.
Grand Final
The second China event will also be the final chance for those between 45 and 70 in the Rankings to take advantage of the increased Road to Mallorca Ranking points available and play their way into the top 45 on the season-long Rankings, thereby earning their spot at the 2026 Grand Final at Club de Golf Alcanada, and the chance to play for a place on the DP World Tour for 2027.
It is South African Martin Vorster who currently sits in 45th spot and, as it stands, will be the last man in the field for the Grand Final, with Wilco Nienaber jumping last week from 46th to 43rd thanks to a 20th place finish at the Hainan Open. Jannik de Bruyn, Alfie Plant and Rory Franssen all fell out of the bubble, sitting in 46th to 48th spot respectively and are all in need of a good week at Hangzhou West Lake Golf Club.
