The 2025 Race to Dubai saw several of last year’s HotelPlanner Tour graduates continue their impressive upward trajectory on Golf’s Global Tour. Here is the year in numbers…
4 – Number of wins
Just over a month after the 2024 Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A, Englishman John Parry registered the first graduate win of the season with his second DP World Tour victory and first in 14 years at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open. Parry’s stunning eight under par closing round of 64 saw him set the clubhouse lead at 14 under par and once South African Dylan Naidoo failed to make eagle on the 72nd hole, the 39-year-old was free to celebrate his fourth victory of the year following his three triumphs on the HotelPlanner Tour.
Frenchman Martin Couvra, who finished 17th on the 2024 Road to Mallorca, was the second graduate to taste victory, which came at the Turkish Airlines Open. Couvra, who led through the first two rounds, ran into trouble on moving day and appeared to have played his way out of contention following a one over par round of 71. However, the 22-year-old recovered with a closing 64 to reach 17 under for the week to seal a two-stroke victory.
Norwegian Kristoffer Reitan was the third graduate to win on the 2025 Race to Dubai after beating Scotsman Ewen Ferguson and Dutchman Darius van Driel in a play-off at the Soudal Open. Reitan would come close to back-to-back victories in his next start at the Austrian Alpine Open presented by SalzburgerLand, only to finish in a tie for second behind fellow 2024 graduate, Nicolai Von Dellingshausen. The German’s four-round total of 19 under par saw him land his maiden DP World Tour title after spending a solitary season on the HotelPlanner Tour in 2024.
36 - Rolex Series starts
Of the 22 players who earned playing privileges on Golf’s Global Tour for the 2025 season, 11 featured in Rolex Series events with a combined 36 starts between them. Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Parry teed it up in all five with Von Dellingshausen, Reitan and Couvra featuring in four. Neergaard-Petersen’s tied third place finish at the DP World Tour Championship marked the best graduate performance at the Rolex Series events over the past 12 months.
37 - Top five finishes
Last year’s graduates combined for 37 top five finishes on Golf’s Global Tour in 2025 with Parry (tied second) and Spaniard Angel Ayora (tied fifth) the first to do so at the Alfred Dunhill Championship. Parry would go on to register five top fives, a total matched by Reitan, who recorded two runner-up finishes to go with his victory. Sweden’s Joakim Lagergren also registered two second place finishes during the 2025 season, most notably at the Amgen Irish Open where he was beaten by five-time Major winner Rory McIlroy in a dramatic play-off at The K Club.
68 - Top ten finishes
The 22 graduates also managed 68 top ten finishes between them over the past 12 months, which is twice as many as the class of 2023 managed during the 2024 season. Ayora, who ended the year with three consecutive top ten finishes, accumulated the most with ten, two clear of Neergaard-Petersen, who started the 2025 Race to Dubai with a top ten in his first DP World Tour outing at the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
18 – Percentage of the DP World Tour Championship field
In total, 18 percent of the DP World Tour Championship field at Jumeirah Golf Estates was made up of 2024 HotelPlanner Tour graduates, with nine players vying to improve their position on the Race to Dubai and even earn PGA TOUR dual membership for the 2026 season.
Eventually, Parry and Reitan cruised towards the ten available cards, while Neergaard-Petersen had to produce a heroic finish – which included three birdies and an eagle in his final five holes – to secure playing privileges Stateside next year.
Wider numbers
Away from last year’s graduates, ten HotelPlanner Tour alumni won for the first time on Golf’s Global Tour, including English duo Marco Penge and Richard Mansell and Frenchman Adrien Saddier. In total, 233 alumni have now combined for 622 DP World Tour victories, with England’s Aaron Rai and Matt Fitzpatrick adding to that total during the final two events on the Race to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
