Top male amateurs can now earn a DP World Tour card without going to Q-school or playing on the Challenge Tour.
The DP World Tour, the R&A and the PGA Tour have announced the best eligible non-collegiate player within the top 20 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) will earn a card on the formerly-named European Tour in 2025.
The inaugural Global Amateur Pathway will conclude on October 13, 2024 and players competing in championships sanctioned by the Global Amateur Pathway will earn points equivalent to the number of points awarded by the WAGR.
The idea is to create a pathway to the DP World Tour and partner tours around the world for non-collegiate amateur players and to complement PGA Tour University which awards membership on the PGA Tour-sanctioned circuits to top Division-I college golfers at the end of the NCAA Championship.
“This initiative is the perfect example of the benefits that come from the Strategic Alliances and partnerships that we have forged across the game of golf,” said Guy Kinnings, the DP World Tour’s CEO. “The very best amateur players now have similar opportunities to their professional counterparts, with clear pathways across the globe to ultimately compete at the pinnacle of the game.
“This complements the opportunities for collegiate players via PGA Tour University, and there is no better example of the benefits of that programme than young European Ryder Cup star Ludvig Aberg, who has grasped every opportunity that has come his way with both hands.”
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Which amateurs could earn a DP World Tour card in 2025?
The vast majority of the top players in the WAGR play collegiate golf. In fact, James Ashfield is currently the highest-ranked male amateur not to play in US university tournaments. The Welshman is ranked 48th and represented Great Britain and Ireland at the 2023 Walker Cup.
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There are currently 10 players in the top 100 of the WAGR that do not currently play college golf including Ratchanon Chantananuwat who played in the first-ever LIV Golf event at Centurion in June 2022.
Here are the top players who could be best placed to secure a DP World Tour card via the Global Amateur Pathway.
Luis Masaveu Roncal (51st), Evan Beck (54th), Ratchanon Chantananuwat (81st), Matthew McClean (84th), Masato Sumiuchi (85th), Albert Hansson (87th), Lars Van Der Vight (89th), Rintaro Nakano (92nd), Will Hopkins (100th)
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