European Swing: How it stands, swing standouts and what's still to come

Such is the depth of talent on the DP World Tour, the trend of first-time winners so far on the European Swing should come as little surprise.

Across the first four counting events of the penultimate Global Swing on the 2025 Race to Dubai campaign, all of our winners have been first-timers.

With us just past the halfway point of the season, the tally of first-time winners stands at 13, two less than the 15 last year, and making good ground on the Tour's record of 19 in 2023.

It is testament to the HotelPlanner Tour that three of the four winners on the European Swing - Martin Couvra, Kristoffer Reitan and Nicolai von Dellingshausen are graduate members from the Class of 2024.

The other, Connor Syme, won his first title as a professional on the formerly named Challenge Tour in 2019, becoming an ever-present since on the DP World Tour.

So, with the third of four Major Championships this season in the record books, there is now great intrigue around the destiny of the remaining two events on the European Swing.

How has it unfolded so far?

Turkish Airlines Open

After six years away, the DP World Tour made its return to Türkiye for the eighth edition of the Turkish Airlines Open. Trailing by four shots heading into the final day after a third-round one-over par 72 saw him surrender his halfway lead, Couvra carded a brilliant closing 64 that featured nine birdies to seal a two-shot victory over Jorge Campillo and Haotong Li. Having already made a bright start to his rookie season on the DP World Tour, the 22-year-old’s victory at Regnum Carya was confirmation of his potential as he climbed into the top ten on the Race to Dubai Rankings and broke into the world's top 150 for the first time. “It’s amazing to win in my first year on the DP World Tour – it's just a dream,” said Couvra, who joined two-time winner Victor Dubuisson as the second French winner of the Turkish Airlines Open.

Soudal Open

After a week’s break for the US PGA Championship, Belgium played host to one of the DP World Tour’s longest-standing events in Europe. Featuring 14 winners so far this season, a strong field assembled at the tree-lined Rinkven International as home stars Thomas Pieters and Nicolas Colsaerts joined an international field that also featured the returns of dual DP World Tour members Matteo Manassero and Thriston Lawrence. But it was unheralded Reitan who was left celebrating as he edged out Ewen Ferguson and Darius van Driel in a play-off to win his maiden DP World Tour title. The Norwegian, who won the Grand Final in Mallorca to secure his card back on the DP World Tour, had earlier shot a course-record 62 that featured ten birdies to overturn a nine-shot deficit to set the clubhouse target. It was an emotional win for Reitan, who revealed he had considered stopping playing a few years before as he struggled to see any progress in his game. "It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid," he said of his victory.

Austrian Alpine Open presented by SalzburgerLand

Austria's national Open was next on the schedule, making its return after a four-year absence. GC Gut Altentann, the venue for the first three editions in the early 1990s, saw Germany's Von Dellingshausen celebrate his return to Golf's Global Tour with a first win in his 110th appearance. The HotelPlanner Tour graduate went into the final round one shot off the lead but a brilliant putting display helped him to a closing 65 and a two-shot success. By doing so, he became the third German after Bernhard Langer and Alex Čejka to win the title. Reitan, who earlier posted a 60 to finish in a tie for second, consolidated his standing at the top of the Swing Rankings, while Von Dellingshausen climbed from 113th to 22nd on the Race to Dubai. "I can't describe it, honestly," said the 32-year-old, who almost became a pilot before focusing on the fairways of the world's elite. "I'm a little bit lost for words right now."

KLM Open

Some weeks are just more demanding than others, not only physically but emotionally and that was the case at The International. With strong winds resulting in lengthy delays in play, resilience was a quality required in abundance by all involved. Syme, perhaps as used to such challenging conditions as anyone else, withstood the inclement weather best to land his first DP World Tour on his 182nd start. Despite the challenge of playing partner Joakim Lagergren, Syme was always in control in what transpired to almost be match play battle between the pair as the rest of the field could never get within striking distance. A two-putt par on the final green closed out a two-shot win as he joined the likes of Colin Mongomerie, Gordon Brand Jr and Ken Brown as Scottish winners of the KLM Open. His win lifted him 71 places in the season-long Rankings, from 89th to 18th. "Every part of my team is so, so important, I've been playing on them," Syme said. "Different shots I've played as a kid, that was the kind of feeling it was today and just everyone helped so much."

Where does it leave the Rankings?

With a win in Belgium and tie for second in Austria, Reitan is the man to catch at the top of the European Swing Rankings.

With 964.71 points from his four starts in the Swing, he leads by 282.01 points from Von Dellingshausen, with Couvra a further 19.30 points behind.

Syme, is next in fourth, after he climbed 113 places by winning 585 points with his success in the Netherlands.

His countryman Ewen Ferguson rounds out the top five, after backing up his tie for second in Belgium with another top five at the KLM Open.

As it stands - The top ten on the European Swing Rankings

To view the European Swing Rankings in full, click here.

The star of the show... so far

Kristoffer Reitan

While there are a few players worthy of honourable mentions, including first-time winners Couvra, Von Dellingshausen and Syme, in truth one player has stood out above the rest. While this is not his first season on the DP World Tour having secured his debut season through Qualifying School as an amateur in 2018, the Norwegian has exceeded his own expectations with his form in recent weeks. After an indifferent start to the campaign, including six missed cuts in his first ten starts, the 27-year-old was in the mix at the Hainan Classic at the end of the Asian Swing before settling for a tie for second. The confidence gained from that performance didn't initially show itself as he finished in a tie for 33rd in Turkey but everything came together in style at the Soudal Open, as he shot a course record 62 featuring six birdies in a row around the turn to set the clubhouse target of 13 under. While that was matched by Ferguson and Van Driel, Reitan would birdie the second visit back up the 18th to cap a remarkable day which saw him start in 23rd place. He hasn't stopped there, carding a stunning 60 - the low round of the season so far - on the final day in Austria to finish runner-up again. While he couldn't match those heights in the Netherlands, an impressive 68 in the final round saw him finish in the top 15 and ensure he takes a commanding lead of almost 300 points into the final two events of the Swing.

What's still to come?

After a one-week break - the last until a two-week summer pause on the Race to Dubai after The Open Championship - the European Swing continues with the latest national Open on the schedule.

The Italian Open - held at Argentario Golf Club in Tuscany - is then followed by the BMW International Open in Germany.

The winner of the Swing will once again receive an exemption into all the Back 9 events and USD$200,000, with the highest-ranked player not exempt earning a place at the Genesis Scottish Open.