This week, the spotlight is on the Challenge Tour and the $500,000 Hangzou Open in China, the penultimate event of the season before the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final in Mallorca at the end of the month.
Dubai residents Garrick Porteous (Eng) and Joshua Grenville-Wood (UAE) are currently ranked 52nd and 64th respectively in the Road to Mallorca Rankings. Both players need strong performances, if not exceptional ones, to secure a top-45 spot and qualify for the final event in Spain.
Porteous, 34, has already tasted victory this year, winning the Abu Dhabi Challenge in April, earning €45,148.70 and 320 Ranking points. The top 20 players in the Challenge Tour Rankings after the Grand Final will secure their 2025 DP World Tour Cards, highlighting the importance of this week's event.
Meanwhile, the DP World Tour is underway in Sotogrande. Although defending champion and Dubai resident Adrian Meronk (Pol) is not in the field, he is set to compete in the DP World Tour Play-offs in Abu Dhabi and Dubai next month. The Spanish event features a star-studded lineup, including Jon Rahm (Spain), the Hojgaard twins (Den), Victor Perez (Fr), David Puig (Spain), Eugenio Chacarra (Spain), and last week's FedEx Open de France champion, Dan Bradbury (Eng).
The Rolex Series events on the DP World Tour's Race to Dubai are crucial, as demonstrated by Meronk's ranking despite not performing exceptionally well in all four Majors. These events attract top players and significantly impact both the DP World Tour Rankings and the Official World Golf Ranking (OWGR).
This week's event in Spain marks the penultimate event on the DP World Tour's 'Back 9' before the Genesis Championship in Korea and the DP World Tour Play-Offs. The season is set to culminate with exciting events here in the UAE.
Schedule
PGA Tour
October 17th - 20th, 2024
Shriners Children's Open
Venue: TPC Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada, US
Purse: $7 million
DP World Tour
October 17th - 20th, 2024
Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters
Venue: Real Club de Golf Sotogrande, San Roque, Andalucia, Spain
Purse: $3.25 million
Challenge Tour
October 17th - 20th, 2024
Hangzou Open
Venue: Hangzou West Lake Golf Club, Hangzou, China
Purse: $500,000
LPGA
October 17th - 20th, 2024
BMW Ladies Championship
Venue: Seawon-gil, Republic of Korea
Purse: $2.2 million