There are just two events left in Phase One of the 2025 Race to Dubai and it is all still to play for in the Closing Swing.
With four Swing champions so far in 2025, we are almost at the point to crown our fifth and final Swing winner before we enter Phase Two of the season - the Back 9.
The Swing winner will receive entry into every event in Phase Two and a $US200,000 bonus, while they are also likely to cement - or at least boost - their chances of making the DP World Tour Play-Offs.
The Swing got under way at the Genesis Scottish Open where Chris Gotterup won his first Rolex Series title and it has continued to be an American dream, with William Mouw and Ryan Gerard winning the only two regular events of the season to take place in North America at the ISCO Championship and Barrracuda Championship respectively.
And with none of those three being eligible to earn points on the Swing Rankings, it has left the race wide open heading into the Nexo Championship and Danish Golf Championship.
How has it unfolded so far?
Genesis Scottish Open
The stars were out to shine at the second Rolex Series event of the season, as the PGA TOUR co-sanctioned event at the Renaissance Club brought all four Major champions together. Much of the focus was understandably on World Numbers One and Two Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy and local hero and defending champion Robert MacIntyre but it was the relatively unheralded Gotterup who took the crown. After an opening 68, he charged into the halfway lead with a stunning 61 but found himself in a share of top spot with McIlroy after 54 holes. The duo were still tied after eight holes of their final round but while McIlroy could only par his way home, Gotterup came home in 33 to finish with a 66 and seal a two-shot win at 15 under. Marco Penge finished in a tie for second, a shot clear of Nicolai Højgaard, with the duo the only players in the top 12 likely to earn any further Swing points.
ISCO Championship
The ISCO Championship presented 50 DP World Tour members with the chance to impress across the Atlantic but it was an American who dominated days one and two with Chan Kim leading by five heading into the weekend with the help of an opening 61. A third-round 75 opened the door to the rest of the field, however, and it was Paul Peterson - a former winner of the D+D REAL Czech Masters - who hit the summit with 18 to play. On many occasions the American's closing 69 would have got the job done but that was not to be the case this time as countryman Mouw carded a 61 to make up a seven-shot deficit and take the title by one shot. A closing 66 saw Manuel Elvira finish third as the only player in the top ten to earn Swing points.
Barracuda Championship
The Barracuda Championship is the only event on the PGA TOUR or DP World Tour schedule which uses the Modified Stableford scoring system, with players receiving two points for a birdie, five for an eagle and eight for an albatross, and deducted one point for a bogey and three for a double. The nature of the scoring can make the leaderboard a moveable feast and while Gerard opened with a disappointing seven points, tallies of 15 and 12 on Friday and Saturday handed him a narrow lead heading into the final round. He maintained that consistency on Sunday, recording another 13 to finish the week on 47 points, three clear of Erik van Rooyen. Todd Clements' closing haul of 16 helped him to third as the best-placed player to earn Swing points.
Where does it leave the Rankings?
Penge is currently the man in the box seat with his 433.50 points earned in Scotland and his hand is strengthened by the fact that only five other players in the top 15 on the Rankings are likely to have the chance to earn any further points.
Nicolai Højgaard is the closest challenger likely to play again on 231.00 points but a good week for Penge at the Nexo Championship could put him out of reach even if Højgaard tees it up on home soil at the Danish Golf Championship.
Clements on 219.00 points will need a top three at the Nexo Championship to have any chance as he is not currently set to tee it up in Denmark, and that leaves Penge and other players in the field both in Scotland and Copenhagen at an advantage.
Martin Laird (86.45) tees it up in Scotland, while Jason Scrivener (78.40 points) and Kristoffer Reitan (75.25 points) both sit in the top 15 in the Rankings with two events to play and with 7,000 points on offer across the two, including 585.00 for a win, it is all to play for.
| Player | Tournaments Played | Closing Swing Points |
|---|---|---|
| Marco Penge | 1 | 433.50 |
| Rory McIlroy* | 1 | 433.50 |
| Nicolai Højgaard | 1 | 231.00 |
| Matt Fitzpatrick* | 1 | 231.00 |
| Todd Clements | 2 | 219.00 |
| Manuel Elvira* | 2 | 219.00 |
| Justin Rose* | 1 | 175.50 |
| Jacques Kruyswijk* | 2 | 159.58 |
| Sepp Straka* | 1 | 150.00 |
| Ludvig Åberg* | 1 | 112.16 |
* denotes player not due to earn any further points
To view the Closing Swing Rankings in full, click here.
What's still to come?
After a two-week break since the Barracuda Championship and The Open - which was won by Scottie Scheffer but did not count towards the Closing Swing - we are back in action next week at the Nexo Championship.
The event returns after a five-year hiatus and will be the first DP World Tour event to be staged at Trump International Golf Links Scotland.
We then head to Furesø Golf Klub for the Danish Golf Championship to bring down the curtain on not only the European Swing but Phase One of the season, made up of the five Global Swings across 27 counting events.
The Back 9 follows before the curtain comes down on the season at the DP World Tour Play-Offs in the UAE.
