Joakim Lagergren may have suffered play-off heartbreak at the Amgen Irish Open but his runner-up finish to home hero Rory McIlroy means he is Locked In for the DP World Tour Play-Offs.
The Swede jumped 34 places on the Race to Dubai Rankings to move up to 18th, with the top 70 qualifying for the penultimate Rolex Series event at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
The top 50 following the week at Yas Links will then head to the season finale at the DP World Tour Championship.
Lagergren achieved eight consecutive top 100 finishes in the Rankings from 2015, claiming a win at the Rocco Forte Sicilian Open in 2018 but lost his card at the end of the 2023 season.
He bounced back in 2024 with two wins on the HotelPlanner Tour and now, with two second-place finishes and a Major Championship debut in 2025, the 33-year-old feels he is getting back to his best.
“It feels like I'm definitely back and playing at a level where I want to play,” he said.
“A top ten last week and then losing in play-off this week. So yeah, it feels like it's trending.”
Lagergren is the latest 2024 HotelPlanner Tour graduate to ensure they are Locked In for the Play-Offs, with 2025 winners Kristoffer Reitan, John Parry and Martin Couvra also heading to Abu Dhabi.
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen may be still searching for a maiden DP World Tour win but the man who topped the 2024 Road to Mallorca Rankings is also Locked In, sitting just one spot behind Lagergren in 19th.
The Dane has enjoyed a brilliant 2025, securing runner-up finishes on both sides of the Atlantic, with five further top tens on the DP World Tour, and playing in two Major Championships.
And just two places below him in the Rankings and also Locked In for the Play-Offs is Thriston Lawrence.
The South African, who finished third on last season’s Race to Dubai, has had a poor 2025 by his standards and had been outside the top 70 since January.
But his brilliant Back 9 victory at the Omega European Masters ensured he will now be playing at the business end of the season for the fourth consecutive year.
Players who are Locked In for the DP World Tour Play-Offs
Rory McIlroy
Marco Penge
Kristoffer Reitan
Tyrrell Hatton
Haotong Li
John Parry
Laurie Canter
Jordan Smith
Martin Couvra
Robert MacIntyre
Adrien Saddier
Justin Rose
Matt Fitzpatrick
Keita Nakajima
Daniel Brown
Shaun Norris
Daniel Hillier
Joakim Lagergren
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen
Rasmus Højgaard
Thriston Lawrence
* List does not include all players who have qualified for the DP World Tour Play-Offs
For the full Race to Dubai Rankings, click here.
