For most of the golf season, there is a winner at the end of every golf tournament worth talking about.
Granted, there are 155 losers, but we don’t tend to view them that way.
But as the campaign comes to a roaring finale, everything gets crazier.
This week’s Genesis Championship in South Korea is the final event of the regular schedule, and as such, it provides players with one last chance to prepare themselves for one of two things.
The first is to reach the top 115 in the Race to Dubai rankings, which guarantees their participation in 2026.
The second was a top-70 finish in the same ranking, which qualified them for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, the first event of the playoffs this season.
After the competition, the top 50 players will advance to the DP World Tour Championship.
Who is on the edge? Let’s take a look.
Eddie Pepperell struggles
The Brits had a bit of a wild start to the 2025 season, and that hasn’t really changed since.
The two-time DP World Tour champion opened with an 81 at the Alfred Dunhill Championship before rebounding with a 69, but it wasn’t enough to advance. A week later, he led 54 holes at the Mauritius Open, finishing ninth with a score of 74.
The future was bright, but while he added four more top-10s, only one of them was in the first tier and the other three were in the second tier (an event in which he also led an event after 54 holes but was forced to withdraw due to injury).
All in all, he’s ranked No. 165 and isn’t playing in Korea: He’s planning to attend qualifier school in Spain or play a full year on the HotelPlanner Tour (formerly the Challenge Tour) (or go back and forth between the two tours for a year). Well, in a year of uncertainty, more uncertainty.
Sean Lowry’s Lifeline
It seems crazy, but the Irishman – who is a Ryder Cup star, played briefly in the Masters and finished tied for third at the DP World Indian Championship in October – was ranked 107th on the trip to Dubai.
Since he didn’t play in the Genesis Championship, you’d think his hopes of making the playoffs were over.
But he has an unexpected lifeline in the form of his participation in the Ryder Cup, as rules stipulate that European representatives can compete in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and the DP World Tour Championship. It also helps Sepp Straka (No. 148) and Ludvig Aberg (No. 75) if they want some winter sunshine and a chance to make big money.
However, here’s one rider: The DP World Tour has confirmed to Golf365 that players in this category will no longer receive any Race to Dubai points during the 2025 season.
Lee Min Woo finished and dusted
The Australian may not care much right now that he’s a PGA Tour winner (he won the Houston Open in the spring), but he won’t be playing in the playoffs because he’s currently ranked 102nd at the Battle of Dubai and isn’t playing in South Korea.
The three-time DP World Tour champion finished in the top 25 with a 4-4 record in DP World Tour Championships, so he will miss out on all the huge prize money available.
But with his U.S. playing rights temporarily on hold, his activities in Europe and beyond will take a back seat.
Ryan Fox went to America
The New Zealander is something of a mirror image of Lee Min-woo, as he was ranked 105th on the trip to Dubai and won’t be playing in the playoffs.
But he has won twice on the PGA Tour in 2025 – at the Myrtle Beach Classic and the Canadian Open – so he won’t be worried about his future.
He now has a base in Florida, which has helped him improve his golf in the United States, but you may see him return to the DP World Tour in the future because he is laid back and this circuit suits him better than the individualistic PGA Tour.
Bernd Weisberg perseveres
The Austrian had fallen out of favor. He competed in the Ryder Cup in 2016 and won 11 times around the world before joining LIV in mid-2022.
Prior to that, he had 24 top-three finishes on the DP World Tour, including his first win in South Korea in 2009. But since returning from LIV, he has only finished in the top three once (last June).
He’s No. 113 in the rankings and should be safe to compete next year, but he won’t feel that way until everything is confirmed on Sunday.
However, there is no need to feel too sorry for him. He has earned more than €16.5 million and ranks 32nd on the career money list.
Matthew Southgate returns to school
Talking about the career money list, Mike Lorenzo Vera retired this year, ranking 130th on the DP World Tour money list. This is the highest ranking of any golfer who has not won on tour.
The one most likely to overtake him soon is England’s Matthew Southgate, who currently ranks 132nd with earnings of €5,989,115.
Unfortunately, he is also ranked 137th in this year’s Race to Dubai rankings, so he will return to Q School.
Yannick Paul on edge
South Korea’s real bubble boys and the biggest threats to Weisberg are Clement Sordet (No. 114) and Adam Scott (No. 115).
The German is the 2022 champion and considered the top player at the 2023 Ryder Cup, but has only finished in the top 30 all season (despite finishing third at the China Open), leaving him ranked 116th. He needs to have a good week in Korea.
Canada’s Aaron Cockerill and Paraguay’s Fabrizio Zanotti, ranked 117th and 118th respectively, played together in the first and second rounds. A little cruel.
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