Hainan Classic presented by MAEXTRO: DP World Tour Fantasy Ones to Watch

The DP World Tour heads east this week as the spectacular Mission Hills Haikou plays host with two courses in action.

The Blackstone and the Vintage courses will be used simultaneously, with the Blackstone more challenging and testing of players’ precision, compared to the flexible layout of the Vintage.

Major Champion Francesco Molinari tees it up and he is joined by fellow multiple DP World Tour winners Andy Sullivan and Nacho Elvira, the latter being a winner this season at the Dubai Invitational.

Fellow 2026 winners Freddy Schott and Dan Bradbury are also in action alongside reigning Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Martin Couvra.

The home fans will also have plenty to cheer, with rising Chinese talents Wenyi Ding and Yanhan Zhou looking for their first wins alongside Ashun Wu, who has more DP World Tour wins than any other Chinese player with five.

From insight into the week’s most-picked players among Fantasy managers, to our ones to watch, we run the rule ahead of Thursday’s deadline to pick your team.

Who are the most picked players?

It's tight at the top with no player cracking the 50% mark so far but a pair of Spaniards lead the way with Elvira our most popular pick at 44%.

Angel Ayora comes next on 38%, with winner last time out Dan Bradbury, Finn Oliver Lindell and France's Frederic Lacroix rounding out the top five.

Who are our ones to watch?

Favourite - Angel Ayora

It is hard to believe that the Spaniard is making just his 50th DP World Tour start this week. This is just his second DP World Tour season but he is a player so etched in our minds that it feels like he has been around much longer and is older than his 21 years. That is largely because those who spend their time around the top of leaderboards get spoken of a lot and Ayora finds himself at the business end so often he could be accused of loitering. Since the start of last season's Back 9 he has 11 top tens from 21 events having missed just two cuts and his top ten percentage across his two seasons so far is nearing 35 per cent. Three of those top tens have come in his last four starts and it's not as if he does not know how to win, having done so on both the HotelPlanner Tour and at a stage of Qualifying School. This week's venue is a big-hitter's paradise and Ayora is the fifth biggest hitter on Tour at an average of over 320 yards - surely it is all aligning for that, what at least feels like, long-awaited DP World Tour win.

READ MORE: 'The sky's the limit' - Why everyone is excited by rising star Angel Ayora

Form Horse - Nathan Kimsey

A man to have done the rare double of winning the Qualifying School and the Road to Mallorca, is this finally the season the Englishman puts his injury troubles behind him and truly establishes himself on Tour? His first full campaign in 2017 saw him lose his card but when he regained full status via the HotelPlanner Tour in 2022, the following season he finished 35th on the Race to Dubai despite missing nearly five months with a fracture in his hand. A wrist injury saw him miss most of 2024 and he lost his card last season before graduating from the Qualifying School for a second time. He missed his first two cuts in Australia but since then has finished no lower than 32nd in seven events and in the past five has recorded three top tens. A two-time winner on the HotelPlanner Tour, he lost a play-off at the Barbasol Championship in 2023 that would have made him a dual member with the PGA TOUR. So he has the talent, he is healthy and he is playing well - a potent combination.

Wild Card - Maximilian Steinlechner

The Austrian may not have enjoyed the start to life of which he was dreaming on the DP World Tour but in recent weeks things have started to come together. He made his first cut of the year in Kenya and last time out recorded his best DP World Tour finish with a top 15 at the Joburg Open. A powerhouse on the HotelPlanner Tour last season, he registered back-to-back top fives on three separate occasions: fifth and fourth in India, first and second in Austria and the Czech Republic and second and second here in China. That shows that not only is he comfortable on Chinese soil but when he has one good week, he likes to follow it with another. A top 15 may not sound like much, but it could be the springboard to greater things for Steinlechner.

What can I win?

Sign up and now be in with a chance of winning some great rewards!

The Ultimate Prize

Finish the 2026 Race to Dubai with the highest total Fantasy score and you’ll take home an incredible top-tier prize package:

1st

•  Two Ticket+ tickets to one DP World Tour event in 2027, valid for each day of competition. Both tickets must be used at the same tournament, chosen from the following: British Masters, BMW PGA Championship, Genesis Scottish Open, Irish Open, or Open de France.

•  £500 flight voucher, redeemable in line with the issuing airline/provider’s terms and conditions.

•  £500 accommodation voucher, redeemable with the respective accommodation provider’s terms and conditions.

2nd

•  £300 DP World Tour Store voucher (subject to applicable terms and conditions).

•  Two General Admission tickets (valid for each competition day) to one 2027 DP World Tour event of the winner’s choice from: British Masters, BMW PGA Championship, Genesis Scottish Open, Irish Open, or Open de France.

3rd

•  £150 DP World Tour Store voucher (subject to applicable terms and conditions).

•  Two General Admission tickets (valid for each competition day) to one 2027 DP World Tour event of the winner’s choice from: British Masters, BMW PGA Championship, Genesis Scottish Open, Horizon Irish Open, or Open de France.

This year also introduces two brand-new Boosters: Triple Captain and Bench Boost, giving you even more ways to outscore the competition and climb the global leaderboard.

Alongside the season-long chase for the Ultimate Prize, players will also be able to win rewards throughout the year with prizes available for each Global Swing and Phase of the Race to Dubai.

Looking back - Joburg Open

Dan Bradbury may have been a former winner at Houghton Golf Club but he was backed by just 2.04% of our players who won 234 points with his victory.

This column certainly had one of its better weeks with a trio of top tens: Favourite Patrick Reed was tied tenth, Wild Card Daniel van Tonder was tied sixth and Form Horse Casey Jarvis was tied second.

Season so far - 2026 DP World Tour Fantasy Top 10 player rankings