The DP World Tour Play-Offs are in full swing in the UAE, and four MENA Golf Tour graduates – Matt Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre, Thriston Lawrence and Todd Clements – have featured in the back-to-back Rolex Series events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, underlining the Tour’s status as a proven springboard to the elite level.
Pathways Proven at the Highest Level
MENA Golf Tour Q School kicks off at Troia Golf Course next week, with entries closing on Saturday 15 November, giving ambitious players across the region and beyond the chance to follow in the footsteps of the illustrious alumni.
Fitzpatrick, a Ryder Cup star and Major champion, has long championed the need for genuine pathways for ambitious players. “To give players opportunity is always a real positive – particularly out here in the Middle East,” he said. “The MENA Golf Tour is a proper testing ground; if you can win a few times, it bodes well for progressing to the next level.”
Lawrence, the 2015 MENA Tour Order of Merit winner and now a five-time DP World Tour champion, added: “I had nowhere to play in 2015. The MENA Tour gave me a run of events and that was the right step – winning the Order of Merit gave me the confidence and platform to push on.”
Clements, a DP World Tour winner, praised the revamped Tour’s practical, player-centred ethos. “When I heard the news about the MENA Golf Tour coming back, I was absolutely delighted because it means so much to me and what it did for the start of my career,” he said. “The young players can learn so much – all the tricks of the trade, getting used to traveling, playing on different grasses. I’d encourage any aspiring golfers to book their spot at Q School before the deadline.”
A Bigger, Better, Player-Focused Tour
The 2025–26 schedule features 12 events across Portugal, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and the GCC, routed in logical swings to cut travel time and costs. Every regular-season event carries a guaranteed, tax-free USD $100,000 purse, with payouts initiated within 48 hours of the final putt. A mid-season Q-Sprint (22–23 Feb 2026, Al Houara) adds a second pathway to status and a re-rank opportunity, with a USD $50,000 purse.
“Everybody wants to play for as much money as possible and when I saw they were guaranteeing USD $100k per event it was quite refreshing to see that the Tour and the region is really putting back into the grassroots,” added Clements. “That prize money goes back into the players’ development and gives them more opportunities to play in different places so it’s massive.”
