DP World Tour announces significant card changes as 2026 schedule is released
Reduction of full cards and fewer spots up for grabs through Qualifying School and HotelPlanner Tour
The number of full cards up for grabs on the DP World Tour is being reduced next season, when fewer spots will be on offer through the circuit’s Qualifying School and also the HotelPlanner Tour.
The cut-off to retain a full card through the 2026 Race to Dubai Rankings will be reduced from the top 110 to the top 100.
Players finishing in positions 101–110 will be eligible for Category 18, which is a conditional card, and will be initially ranked below the Qualifying School graduates for the 2027 season.
In addition, the number of cards available to top finishers on the HotelPlanner Tour will be reduced from 20 to 15 while the DP World Tour cards available at the 2026 Qualifying School will be reduced from the top 20 and ties to the top 15 and ties.
The changes, which were approved by the DP World Tour’s Tournament Committee, are “designed to provide greater schedule certainty and more balanced playing opportunities for all players who earn a card through any of the existing pathways”.
Meanwhile, the newly-released 2026 DP World Tour schedule includes a blank summer slot that is expected to be filled by the Nexo Championship.
Nexo Championship likely to fill vacant 2026 schedule spot
It was held at Trump International Golf Links, where Grant Forrest landed a Scottish success, in August and The Scotsman understands that it is just a case of a 2026 edition being rubber-stamped at the Aberdeenshire venue.
Next year’s Amgen Irish Open will be staged at Doonbeg - another venue owned by US President Donald Trump.
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