The Genesis Championship brings the DP World Tour regular season to a close with things to play for all over the Race to Dubai. Here are your five things to know.
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Back 9 concludes
This week sees Phase Two of the DP World Tour season - the Back 9 - conclude and it is all to play for in the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex. The final event of the regular season always brings drama and as it stands, the top 114 players on the Race to Dubai will secure full playing privileges for next season. Last year's Qualifying School winner Freddy Schott is currently the man everyone is looking to catch at 114th, with 2023 Road to Mallorca champion Marco Penge the player currently on the outside looking in. Four-time DP World Tour winner Wu Ashun will be looking over his shoulder at 113th, while the likes of Rafa Cabrera Bello, Adri Arnaus and Eddie Pepperell all need a good week to avoid a trip to Qualifying School.
Battle for the Play-Offs
There is not just plenty to play for at the wrong end of the Race to Dubai, the battle to make the season-ending Play-Offs is sharing centre stage, with players battling to make the top 70. Those in the top 70 at the end of this week will head to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, with the top 50 after that making their way to the DP World Tour Championship where the winner of the Harry Vardon Trophy will be crowned. Tony Finau and Andrea Pavan dropped out of the top 70 last week and while Finau's DP World Tour season is now over, Pavan could fight his way back to the right side of the line in Korea. Adrien Saddier is the man they are all looking to catch, while Sean Crocker in 69th will also be looking over his shoulder as he does not tee it up at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club.
Two championships come together
The Genesis Championship this week sees two events come together as the DP World Tour's Korea Championship and the KPGA TOUR’s Genesis Championship merge to become the Genesis Championship. The field comprises 90 DP World Tour players and 30 KPGA TOUR players, with the co-sanctioned event building on the Strategic Alliance that was agreed between the two Tours in May 2023, which expanded the pathway for KPGA TOUR players to play on the DP World Tour. Having won his eighth DP World Tour title at last year's Korea Championship, Spain’s Pablo Larrazábal will defend his title at the unified 2024 Genesis Championship at Jack Nicklaus Golf Club against Park Sang-hyun, the winner of the Genesis Championship held at the same location. The event is the last of five Asian events on the DP World Tour this season, following the Porsche Singapore Classic, Hero Indian Open, ISPS HANDA – CHAMPIONSHIP and the Volvo China Open.
Local heroes top the bill
South Korean superstars Tom Kim and Byeong Hun An are sure to take big crowds with them as they return to their homeland this week. An burst onto the scene in 2015 when he won the BMW PGA Championship, European Challenge Tour Graduate of the Year and Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year awards. Kim was another player who first made his mark on the DP World Tour with a third-place finish at the 2022 Genesis Scottish Open and since then he has gone on to win three times on the PGA TOUR and was a team-mate of An's at this year's Olympic Games and Presidents Cup. Ryder Cup star Nicolai Højgaard is also in the field this week as he makes his first appearance in Korea, with Global Swing winners Guido Migliozzi and Sebastian Söderberg also teeing it up.
Genesis continues commitment to golf
This year marks the first of a three-year title partnership agreement with Genesis which elevates its partnership with the premier men’s professional golf tournament in Korea, where it was previously the presenting partner of the inaugural Korea Championship in 2023. Genesis has shown a strong commitment to golf with a history of tournament partnerships. This includes the Genesis Invitational, which has been part of the PGA TOUR since 2017, and the Genesis Scottish Open – a co-sanctioned tournament between the DP World Tour and PGA TOUR – where it has been Title Partner since 2022. Genesis has also supported other renowned golf tournaments including The CJ Cup, The Presidents Cup, and the KPGA TOUR’s Genesis Points list. And Genesis is also committed to sustainability, with 17 of its courtesy car fleet being electric and the airport bus for players making the 35-minute trip to Jack Nicklaus Golf Club being powered by hydrogen this week.
