DP World Tour Championship: Plenty on the line for Kiwi golfers despite Rory McIlory having season title wrapped up

Ryan Fox will look to make the most of the final event of the DP World Tour season. Photo / AP

As the DP World Tour season comes to a close, Ryan Fox has one last chance to put the cherry on top of a career year.

Fox will tee off at the Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai this evening for the final event of the season looking to secure the top available PGA Tour card for 2024. He has already secured his card for the Tour next year, but earning the top card through the DP World Tour will give him better priority rights for entering events on the PGA Tour next year.

The top card makes the holder fully exempt for the 2024 PGA Tour season, similar to players who finish in the top 125 in the FedExCup. That player also earns a spot in The Players’ Championship. The other nine available cards are given a lower priority ranking and are subject to rankings reshuffles at certain points in the season.

Right now, that top spot is held by Poland’s Adrian Meronk, who sits 66 points ahead of Fox on the season standings. But with 2000 points – and a $3 million purse - on offer for the winner this week, there will be opportunity for Fox to leapfrog Meronk with a good, consistent tournament.

Adding to the occasion, Fox and Meronk will be playing partners for the opening round.

The pair will be the penultimate group off the tees, with Jon Rahm and season winner Rory McIlroy the last away.

Only the top 50 players in the standings compete in the final event of the DP World Tour season, and Kiwi Daniel Hillier will also be there looking to wrap up his rookie season on the tour in fine form.

Daniel Hillier will look to end his debut season on the DP World Tour on a high. Photo / Photosport

Hillier remains an outside chance of sneaking into possession of one of the 10 available PGA Tour cards for 2024. Currently 29th in the standings with 1,416.96, he sits about 320 points back from Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard who holds that 10th card heading into the tournament. A lot would need to go in Hillier’s favour to secure that card, but he has shown his abilities by winning the British Masters in early July and securing three other top-10 finishes this season.

Hillier tees off alongside Pablo Larrazábal of Spain at 7.15pm (NZT) tonight, with Fox and Meronk getting away at 9.35pm.

While Fox and Hillier are set to end their season on the DP World Tour, fellow Kiwi Sam Jones punched his ticket to join the European series next year with a sixth-placed finish at the final event of qualifying school this week.

The Taranaki golfer finished at –22 over six rounds at Infinitum Golf in Spain to finish well inside the mark for graduation to the main tour.

While the 2023 season finishes this weekend, it isn’t long before the 2024 DP World Tour begins, with the opening swing across Australia, South Africa and Mauritius beginning in late November and with tournaments throughout December.

Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.