Over the past two seasons, 20 DP World Tour members have earned dual membership with the PGA TOUR via the Race to Dubai Rankings.
This week, seven of those stars tee it up at TPC Sawgrass in THE PLAYERS as part of a field that is one of the very strongest in golf.
Here, we take a look at the men who are making names for themselves on both sides of the Atlantic thanks to a pathway born from the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR's Strategic Alliance.
Ryan Fox
Fox had alerady earned himself a reputation outside of the United States by topping the 2019 PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit and claiming three wins on the DP World Tour, two of those coming in the 2022 season as he finished second on the Race to Dubai. He earned special temporary membership on the PGA TOUR in the early summer of 2023 but it would not be temporary for long as a maiden Rolex Series victory at the BMW PGA Championship secured him one of the ten dual membership places available in 2023. He has maintained his status as a truly international player, playing 29 events across both tours in 2024, with his two top tens on the PGA TOUR seeing him maintain his status and make a third PLAYERS appearance after a top 30 in 2023 and a missed cut in 2024. One of the most affable characters in the game, the son of an All Black would be a popular winner of a maiden PGA TOUR title this week.
Sami Välimäki
A former top ten amateur in the world, the Finn enjoyed a flying start to his DP World Tour career after coming through the 2019 Qualifying School, winning the 2020 Oman Open in just his sixth start and being crowned the 2020 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of Year. An incredibly consistent 2023 with two runner-up finishes had him in the mix for dual membership, before a first win in over thee-and-a-half years at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters saw him over the line. Finished second in just his fifth start as a PGA TOUR member at the Mexico Open at Vidanta and retained his playing privileges for 2025.
Robert MacIntyre
Almost certainly the biggest success story to come through the pathway so far, the man known to all simply as Bob is now a two-time PGA TOUR winner. A HotelPlanner Tour graduate in 2018, he was the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year in 2019 and a year later was a DP World Tour winner, adding a second title in 2022. Suffered heartbreak in 2023 as he finished second to Rory McIlroy in the Genesis Scottish Open after a dramatic finish but that result would not only help him earn dual membership but a place in Luke Donald's victorious Ryder Cup team in Rome. And redemption on home soil would come in 2024 as he won his national open just over a month after lifting the trophy at the RBC Canadian Open. At 18th on the Official World Golf Ranking, he is the highest ranked player on our list and the eighth highest ranked DP World Tour member playing this week.
Matthieu Pavon
The only other player on our list to have claimed a PGA TOUR title in 2024, the Frenchman has made some big waves across the pond. A HotelPlanner Tour graduate in 2016, Pavon finally turned his brilliant consistency into a win in 2023 when he claimed an emotional victory at the acciona Open de España presented by Madrid. A month later he birdied his final four holes at the DP World Tour Championship to catapult himself not only up the leaderboard but the Race to Dubai, sealing dual membership having been as low as 80th just two months earlier. He opened his PGA TOUR season in 2024 with a top ten and two weeks later was a winner at the Farmers Insurance Open, becoming the first French victor on the PGA TOUR since Arnaud Massy in 1907. He came third the following week at Pebble Beach and finished fifth in the U.S. Open as he enjoyed a truly life-changing 12 months.
Ryo Hisatsune
A Qualifying School graduate in 2022, Hisatsune went straight from a rookie year on the DP World Tour to a maiden campaign as a dual member, winning the 2023 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award along the way. Finished in a tie for second in just his second DP World Tour start at the Fortinet Australian PGA Championship and racked up another five top tens before claiming his first victory at the Cazoo Open de France and holding on for the final dual membership spot. He then steadily accumulated points in 2024 on the PGA TOUR, registering seven top 25s including a tie for third at the Wyndham Championship.
Rasmus Højgaard
The man who missed out on dual membership by one spot in 2023 is one of only two members of the class of 2024 to be teeing it up this week after finishing second on last season's Race to Dubai. A revered amateur, Højgaard was the first player born in the 21st century to graduate from the Qualifying School in 2019 and shortly after, at 18 years and 271 days old, he became the third youngest winner in DP World Tour history with a dramatic play-off triumph at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in just his fifth start. He has gone on to add another four DP World Tour wins, two more than identical twin brother and Ryder Cup star Nicolai, who he now joins on the PGA TOUR.
Jesper Svensson
Just like Hisatsune, Svensson will spend his debut season on the PGA TOUR as the reigning Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, taking the prize after finishing tenth on last season's Race to Dubai Rankings. Earned his DP World Tour card for 2024 by finishing fifth on the 2023 Road to Mallorca and never looked back, securing runner-up honours on two of his first six starts before earning a maiden victory at the Porsche Singapore Open, defeating Kiradech Aphibarnrat in a play-off at Laguna National. Further impressive finishes followed at the D+D REAL Czech Masters, Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo and DP World Tour Championship and he tees it up this week with the help of a top ten at the Sony Open Hawaii, having made four cuts in six PGA TOUR starts since earning dual membership.
* Victor Perez was on the entry list for THE PLAYERS having earned dual membership in 2023 and retained his playing privileges but was a late withdrawal with a back injury.
