DP World Tour: Ten players who could be worth following in 2026

The general idea of this column is to identify some of the best emerging talents on the DP World Tour, players it could pay to follow during the year ahead. But this is not a literal headline. Decisions will be made week-to-week, as ever; so much changes during the course of a season that wedding ourselves to players sounds like a bad idea.

The only other point of order is that I decided against arbitrary criteria, having initially thought to focus on those yet to have won, although only three of the below 10 have done so before. With that all settled, here's who I've settled on, beginning with the obvious potential superstar before something a bit more subtle.

Ready to win

Angel Ayora

In June 2000, my sister went to The Charlotte, a Leicester music venue which before its demise had hosted some of the greatest bands there have been. Nirvana, Oasis, and Radiohead all played there and I'm sure there are others of that ilk. On this day, the headline act was a band named Coldplay, whom my dad had read about in Q Magazine but were a month away from releasing Parachutes. Whatever your views on them, we can all surely agree that this is one of the biggest bands of the century, perhaps even the biggest.

My sister still talks of the day she saw them for a fiver, crammed into a small music venue on the inner ring-road of one of this country's more brutalist city centres. Her little brother saw Coldplay a year later in an arena, queuing for hours to get to the front. Their ascent from that grubby, loveable place to the flashy arena in the East Midlands' sexier city was rapid. Those who caught them at the start still go on about it.

ANGEL AYORA IS COLDPLAY, THE HOTELPLANNER TOUR IS THE CHARLOTTE, THE DP WORLD TOUR IS NOTTINGHAM ARENA AND THE PGA TOUR IS, I DON'T KNOW, MARRYING GWYNETH PALTROW? GET IT???

In other words, we were there. We were trawling the Instagram page of this young pup and falling in love with his swing. We were the spies, we saw the sparks. We knew. And we have to accept that we may not benefit, because already this young Spaniard is one of the best players on the DP World Tour, he's going off at odds which reflect that, and if we're going to win backing him we'll have to get it absolutely right. Following Ayora blind is unlikely to pay off, because he'd have to win multiple times. Even for a player of such talent that's hard to do.

Now, that's not to say the challenge should be shirked, especially given that we were a bit irked by seeing Jayden Schaper smash-and-grab not one but two DP World Tour titles to end last year. Schaper, 12/1 and 7/1 for those two victories, has not repaid those who followed him blind. But here's the thing: you don't have to do that. He won where it was always possible he might, back home. So where might Ayora?

Doha maybe, South Africa if he travels, Mission Hills if it's still at the Blackstone Course. All of these appear reasonable, particularly the latter, which is where Marco Penge (hits it miles), Kristoffer Reitan (hits it miles) and Sean Crocker (hits it miles) filled the first three places last spring. These are great opportunities for Ayora to win as one of the favourites at a lower level before he follows the Penge path to the PGA Tour.

And yet I find myself tempted by something far more immediate, even if it means having to beat Rory McIlroy at one of his playgrounds. At least there, in Dubai, we ought to get a price.

Set for big improvement

Wenyi Ding

Quite why Ding didn't pursue the season-ending play-off events on the DP World Tour I don't know, but after wrapping up his debut campaign with a missed cut in Spain (just his fifth), he went 3-6-2-18 to sign off the year. Two of these were on the Asian Tour, the following two in Australia, where he chased home a dominant David Puig and backed that up with a top-20 finish in stronger company.

It felt like a very good end to a solid but unspectacular season, one packed with promise if you're willing to look beneath the surface. It was only in starts 23, 24 and 25 that the young Chinese earned a payout for each-way punters, before which he'd managed a best of eighth, that back home in China. Yet we have to remember this was his first year as a professional; time will show how high he's set the bar for those following the 'Global Amateur Pathway' which Cameron Adam is the latest to take advantage of.

Back to Ding, who turned 21 in November, and this is potentially the best player China has so far produced in the men's game. He was the third-ranked amateur and, crucially, he picked up plenty of experience playing in the United States, which is where he'll end up should his progress continue. Whether at the end of 2026 or perhaps a year on, he should benefit from the system which sees the top-performing DP World Tour players given access to the PGA Tour.

Ding's strength is that he doesn't really have a weakness. He's long enough and straight enough, a generally excellent driver of the ball in fact, and his short-game is very good. He can certainly putt. And while his approach play is the missing piece of the puzzle, this is common among younger players. From just below DP World Tour average, he has plenty of scope to improve this crucial department and as soon as that happens, he'll find himself in the mix often.

Based on what we've seen so far, that's somewhere he's comfortable, somewhere he belongs.

Oliver Lindell

Iron play is not a problem for Lindell, the Finn who to purists feels like he's been around forever, yet only turned 27 in September. That's because he turned pro as a teenager and has played more than a hundred events on what was the Challenge Tour, where his rookie season came in 2017 but his first graduation ceremony had to wait until 2024.

Lindell is experienced in many ways as he approaches his 200th tour-level start, but inexperienced in others. He's yet to win a title of note, his successes so far coming on satellite tours, and he's just completed his rookie campaign on the DP World Tour, where he made it all the way to the final event in Dubai.

Quality iron play is probably the most sustainable part of this confounding sport so in ranking eighth for the season, or second among those with 40-plus rounds, Lindell strongly hinted that he's laid the foundations for a long and successful career now that he's finally where many back home have always felt he belonged. He was certainly considered a brighter prospect than even Sami Valimaki, the same age and now a PGA Tour champion.

Lindell for now will have his sights set on becoming the first Finnish DP World Tour winner since Valimaki and the formula for doing so is clear: fix the putter. It became a major problem towards the end of 2025, but we saw in summer what he can do when holing his share. In a run of eight successive displays of positive putting, Lindell bagged four top-10s and three more top-25s.

Yes, he can still improve a little off the tee, but if he can just solve that issue on the greens he'll contend in 2026. That's one thing he really didn't do last year, never entering the final round within four of the leader. Expect that to change this spring.

Tom Vaillant

This pocket rocket has been more promise than end product so far, with just two DP World Tour top-10s in two seasons, but this could be the year that he puts it all together.

The reason for that belief is that he's found consistency and he's regularly flirted with the lead over the past six months, having made 12 cuts in 13 since mid-July. In 10 of these he's entered the weekend closer to the leaders than the cut-line and six rounds of 65 or lower during this period demonstrate scoring power that he's yet to extend through 72 holes.

Strong off the tee and a good putter, I suspect Vaillant will blast his way into contention soon enough. Anyone backing him might be put through the mill on Sunday – he's fiery, with a touch of Angel Hidalgo about him – but two Alps Tour wins are a good sign and he's definitely up to winning a small event. It's a pity that some of the best courses for big hitters have been removed from the schedule in recent years.

Dangerous dropping in grade

Antoine Rozner

Last year's batch of PGA Tour graduates undeniably struggled to make an impact and, looking back, that's perhaps not a big surprise. For the likes of Jesper Svensson and Niklas Norgaard it just happened a bit too fast and their collective failure emphasises that it is not necessarily the best and most prepared players who get those cards.

Svensson though did more than enough to suggest he can actually compete on the PGA Tour, finishing 111th in FedExCup points despite carrying a cold putter virtually all year. Just inside the top 50 in strokes-gained tee-to-green and just outside the top 50 in strokes-gained total, a couple of better putting weeks here or there and he'd have sailed to full status for the year ahead.

From 111th he has the option of remaining in the US and perhaps piecing together a similar schedule whereas for Rozner, who dropped to 158th after a poor end to the season, that's not the case. The Frenchman then will be back in Europe and I suspect he'll soon remind us all of his capabilities, perhaps adding to his three wins by the end of the campaign.

Rozner has hinted as much in recent DP World Tour starts, finishing 12th in France and 14th to sign off the year in Johannesburg, and as he returns at the top of category 10 he will get into everything, starting with the Dubai Invitational.

One of the best iron players on the circuit, he'll be a big threat whenever the putter behaves but watch out for his driver. That club was probably his main strength early on in his career but has become unreliable. How good he is off the tee may determine whether he's back fighting for another go at the PGA Tour.

A new lease of life

Joost Luiten

Ahem, there may be reasons I'm increasingly of the view that life begins at 40, but if you'll allow me a moment, ever since the great Keith Elliott first put forward the theory of golfers improving for certain life milestones, there have been many instances to validate that suggestion. No, it isn't an exact science and it will never be the primary reason behind good performances, but in a game of fine margins it's a potential difference-maker.

I'll always remember Soren Kjeldsen winning the Irish Open soon after turning 40 and at the odds he went off that week, you don't need many to fall your way to make it an avenue worth pursuing. More recently, Bernd Wiesberger turned 40 in October and bagged four top-25s in his next five starts, his first since May and double the number he managed during the entire year he spent as a 39-year-old. James Morrison turned 40 at the beginning of the year and went on to win twice on the HotelPlanner Tour.

And perhaps the best recent example, Pablo Larrazabal, turned 40 on May 15, 2023, when he flew to the USA to prepare for the PGA Championship. Before doing so he'd won in Korea, then immediately after missing the cut at Oak Hill, he won again in the Netherlands. Back-to-back DP World Tour victories either side of his 40th birthday. For the record, he turned 30 following four top-10s in five.

So, I note than Luiten turns (or turned, depending on when you're reading this) 40 on January 7, just before the new season begins. Given the promise with which he ended 2025, maybe he'll finally get his hands on the Indian Open trophy, but watch out too for the two events in South Africa. It's interesting that he's produced six top-10 putting displays in 18 measured starts there, some return given that this is often a weakness.

If not Luiten, note that Jorge Campillo turns 40 in June, while I would be keeping an eye on Wiesberger over the coming months, too. And for what it's worth, Henrik Stenson, who has departed LIV Golf and will play on a career money exemption, is 50 on April 5...

Shubhankar Sharma

Back on the DP World Tour after a fine effort at Q-School, Sharma was a big eye-catcher in the early-season strokes-gained stats. It should be said that these are to be treated with some caution, because they're far less reliable than those produced on the PGA Tour, but at the very least Sharma has demanded that we continue to monitor him throughout the coming months.

When I wrote a piece on the Qualifying School graduates, I noted that Sharma ranked 164th of 175 players in strokes-gained tee-to-green last season and wasn't hitting his irons anywhere near well enough to overcome the sort of weak driving which has always held him back. For that reason he wasn't a player for whom I'd have been making bold predictions, with others offering far more compelling profiles.

It may soon be time to revise that. Sharma has played three times, he's made three cuts, and he's averaging more than 2.3 strokes-gained per round from tee-to-green. Were that to remain his average by the end of the season he'd likely rank first on the DP World Tour or at least close to it, and as it's built on elite approach play, historically his strength, I wonder if it might be a decent enough clue that something has clicked.

We shouldn't get carried away, but Sharma could be one who is on the radar at big prices when he next gets a game. From his category that may take a while.

The kids are all right

Daniel Rodrigues

Let's end with the youngsters and I'll start with Rodrigues, a Portuguese talent who came through all three stages of Q-School. Rodrigues only turned pro 18 months ago but has already bossed a minor tour in Portugal which featured some of the country's best players, and he might be the most exciting they've produced so far.

We'll find out in years, not months, just how good Rodrigues can be but already he's led the Australian Open at halfway, his ball-striking stats are hugely encouraging, and while keeping his card out of a low category won't be easy, he's made a solid start.

Oihan Guillamondeguy

Like compatriot Martin Couvra, winner of the Turkish Open last spring, Guillamoundeguy didn't want to hang around as an amateur and turned pro as a teenager, having already won on the Alps Tour. After making the switch he won again to earn HotelPlanner Tour membership and it took just two years at that level to reach this one with something to spare.

His first notable victory, in the Irish Challenge, was impressive for all that the field wasn't strong, and a top-10 finish in Mauritius (T9) made it an excellent start to his rookie DP World Tour season. He drove the ball wonderfully well there and made stacks of birdies, which is pretty much what we can expect going forward. I'd still advise caution with one so young and don't have him in the Ayora bracket, but he can keep his card at least.

Rocco Repetto Taylor

There are other HPT graduates I'd have been more bullish on but I've written about them in an earlier piece, and I wanted to take this chance to make note of Repetto Taylor's start to life on the DP World Tour. He's been busy, playing four times, and has made four cuts. What's eye-catching though is that he ranked first in strokes-gained off-the-tee in two of them, fourth in another, and top 10 in distance each time.

Anyone with freakish power and the ability to harness it and gain a stroke or so per round off the tee has an excellent chance to make a long career at this level and the Spaniard, relatively unknown before powering through the Alps and HotelPlanner circuits in 2025, remains in the could-be-anything category. Maybe he's worth following for the first-round lead, but certainly keep him in mind at courses where driver is key.