By Mathieu Wood
In sport, timing is everything and momentum is something a host of DP World Tour members will be hoping to capitalise on at this week’s US PGA Championship.
While much of the pre-tournament focus will surround the hotly fancied stars of the game, there are others who will hope to go under the radar and enjoy success stories at Quail Hollow Club.
Among those in the 156-strong field at the second Major Championship of the season are three who qualified via their performances during the Asian Swing, while two are making their first starts in one of golf’s four most prestigious tournaments.
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Here, we take a look at those players dreaming of lifting the Wanamaker Trophy in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Keita Nakajima
Age: 24
Official World Golf Ranking: 108
Best Major finish: MC in six starts across all four Majors
DP World Tour wins: 1
The Asian Swing – the third of five Global Swings on the 2025 Race to Dubai schedule – saw the talented Japanese find his groove. He finished runner-up over back-to-back weeks in Singapore and then India, narrowly missing out on a successful title defence at the demanding DLF Golf and Country Club. While he missed the cut at the Volvo China Open, he retained his standing at the head of the Swing standings and bounced back by finishing in a tie for 11th at the inaugural Hainan Classic to scoop a US$200,000 bonus and book his place at the US PGA Championship and the Back 9 events later in the year. For the 24-year-old, who won his maiden title on golf’s Global Tour in his rookie season last year after earning his card by finishing top of the money list on the Japan Golf Tour, this marks his seventh start in a Major as he looks to make the cut for the first time.
Eugenio Chacarra
Age: 25
Official World Golf Ranking: 139
Best Major finish: MC at 2024 U.S. Open
DP World Tour wins: 1
The Spaniard celebrated his maiden DP World Tour title at last month's Hero Indian Open on just his ninth appearance, where he only got into the tournament on an invite. He backed that up with a top five at the Volvo China Open, before just finishing outside the top ten in Hainan to consolidate a second-place finish in the Asian Swing. With that he guaranteed his first start at the US PGA Championship, having made his Major debut at the U.S. Open last year. A graduate of Oklahoma State University, he reached a high of second in the World Amateur Golf Rankings before turning professional in June 2022. With his playing privileges now assured through to the end of next season, the 25-year-old will hope to build on his strong form so far this year, make his mark on the Major stage and continue his climb up the world rankings.
Marco Penge
Age: 26
Official World Golf Ranking: 202
Best Major finish: MC at The Open Championship in 2023, 2024
DP World Tour wins: 1
The Englishman earned promotion to the DP World Tour by topping the Road to Mallorca Rankings in 2023 after an electric finish to the campaign which saw him win twice, including the season-ending Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A. While the step-up proved a challenge, after an initial encouraging start in South Africa, he held his nerve to retain his card for another year by making the cut at the Genesis Championship in South Korea. A top 30 finish would come in his second start to the 2025 season at the ISPS HANDA Australian Open, before an enforced three-month break. On his return to action in Kenya, he secured top 20s either side of a third-place finish at the Investec South African Open Championship – a result that guaranteed his spot at this summer’s Open Championship in Northern Ireland. While he was unable to maintain those levels over subsequent weeks, he realised a career ambition of winning on the DP World Tour at the Hainan Classic to enter the winner’s circle and seal the third and last spot on offer into the US PGA Championship via the Asian Swing pathway. This will be his first Major stateside, having come through qualifying twice to play at The Open.
Niklas Nørgaard
Age: 32
Official World Golf Ranking: 96
Best Major finish: N/A
DP World Tour wins: 1
A decade on from turning professional, the Dane is looking forward to his long-awaited first start at a Major Championship. His rise in the professional ranks has been steady, progressing from the Nordic Golf League and the HotelPlanner Tour onto the DP World Tour in 2021. But he emerged to wider prominence with his maiden DP World Tour title at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo last year. Victory at the start of the Back 9 lifted his confidence levels and he went on to record top ten finishes on the Rolex Series – at the BMW PGA Championship and the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship – to seal a PGA TOUR card as a dual member for 2025. Since the start of the year, he has made eight starts across the Atlantic. Known for his big hitting off the tee, the 32-year-old arrives at Quail Hollow inside the top 100 in the world after a tie for fifth at last week's ONEflight Myrtle Beach Classic - his best finish since a top five at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January.
Harry Hall
Age: 27
Official World Golf Ranking: 98
Best Major finish: MC at 2022 U.S. Open
DP World Tour wins: 1
Growing up, he played at West Cornwall Golf Club, which was the same club as 'Long Jim Barnes,' winner of the 1916 and 1919 US PGA Championship, 1921 US Open and 1925 Open Championship. He played collegiately at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas from 2015-2019. Upon turning professionally, he plied his trade initially on the Korn Ferry Tour where he has won two titles. He secured his PGA TOUR card for the 2022-23 campaign, after finishing tenth on the Korn Ferry Tour's season-long points list. His first PGA TOUR and DP World Tour title came at the ISCO Championship in Kentucky last summer, which preceded a long-awaited first start on home soil as a professional at the Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo. So far this year, he has recorded four top tens on the PGA TOUR.
Rasmus Neergard-Petersen
Age: 25
Official World Golf Ranking: 77
Best Major finish: N/A
DP World Tour wins: 0
While the Dane is the only one of these players without a DP World Tour victory, he is the best placed on the Official World Golf Ranking. In his first full year in the paid ranks, he won three times on the HotelPlanner Tour to earn instant status on the DP World Tour as he finished the year as the Road to Mallorca winner. He finished in the top ten at the season-opener in Australia and was later announced as part of the Continental Europe side for the Team Cup – a sign of how highly regarded he is. A week later, he finished in a tie for tenth on his Rolex Series debut in Dubai, carding a closing 66 at Emirates Golf Club. He went one better in the final round in Qatar a month later as he missed out on his first DP World Tour title by one stroke to Haotong Li. A graduate of Oklahoma State University, he repeated the feat on his PGA TOUR debut at the Puerto Rico Open last month while playing on an invite. That got him a second start at the Valspar Championship where he finished in a tie for 22nd. Such has been his form, he was the highest-ranked player in the field at both the Volvo China Open and Hainan Classic, justifying his standing with a top ten in Shanghai followed by a top five at Mission Hills Haikou. A well-deserved Major debut now awaits, after receiving an invite from the PGA of America.
Tom McKibbin
Age: 22
Official World Golf Ranking: 124
Best Major finish: T41 at 2024 U.S. Open
DP World Tour wins: 1
At 22, the Northern Irishman – who entered the paid ranks in 2021 – is the youngest player on this list. After graduating from the HotelPlanner Tour in 2022, he marked his rookie season on the DP World Tour with victory at the Porsche European Open in Germany. He almost made it two wins in as many years, losing in a play-off to Marcel Siem at the Italian Open. Across the 2024 campaign, he recorded a further nine top tens. He made his first start in a Major at the U.S. Open in June, before following that up with his Open debut a month later at Royal Troon. So far this year, he has finished in the top ten at both the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and Porsche Singapore Classic, while he formed part of Great Britain & Ireland’s winning side at the Team Cup in January. Secured his spot in Charlotte, North Carolina, via a special invite from the PGA of America.
John Parry
Age: 38
Official World Golf Ranking: 109
Best Major finish: T28 at 2013 U.S. Open
DP World Tour wins: 2
The elder statesman. Far and away the oldest of those we’re spotlighting, he is also the highest placed on the Race to Dubai Rankings. It was not so long ago that Parry was battling to make cuts on the EuroPro Tour. But after winning three times on the HotelPlanner Tour to earn automatic promotion last season, he is doing a fine job of re-establishing himself on the DP World Tour. After a top ten finish at the season-opening BMW Australian PGA Championship, he bounced back from a missed cut a week later to finish in a tie for second at Leopard Creek. He then bettered that by going low in the final round to win his second DP World Tour title at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, 14 years on from his first at the Vivendi Cup in France during his rookie season in 2010. His early season form continued with a runner-up finish in Kenya, a result that at the time lifted him back into the world’s top 100.
Elvis Smylie
Age: 23
Official World Golf Ranking: 206
Best Major finish: MC at 2024 Open Championship
DP World Tour wins: 1
As the winner of the 2024-25 Challenger PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, he received an exemption to take his place in the second men’s Major of the year. He earned the distinction of becoming the first winner on the 2025 Race to Dubai when he sealed his maiden DP World Tour title with a wire-to-wire victory on home soil at the BMW Australian PGA Championship. This came just weeks after his first professional victory on the PGA TOUR of Australasia, so it has been a quick emergence for a player who did not get through the DP World Tour’s First Stage of Qualifying School last year. While he struggled to produce his best in the desert during the International Swing, he regained form with back-to-back top 20s in China. This will be his second Major start, having made his first last summer at The Open as a qualifier.
