There was jubilation for a group of DP World Tour players following the end of the season-long Race to Dubai in 2025.
Like every year since 2023, the top 10 not otherwise exempt were awarded PGA Tour cards.
As a result each of them had a good chance of making it into the field for the PGA Tour’s flagship event, The Players Championship, as they began the season. However, only some of them got a look in.
There are various ways PGA Tour pros can reach the TPC Sawgrass tournament, including world ranking.
Among the most accessible for the latest graduates from the DP World Tour were a place in the top 50 of the world rankings the week before the event, and a high placing in the FedEx Cup points standing the week leading up to the tournament.
Not all of them did enough to get there, with Adrien Saddier, Keita Nakajima and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen missing out entirely and John Parry and Dan Brown, who earned his card after Laurie Canter moved to LIV Golf, named as alternates.
However, for five others, a coveted tee time at the big event awaits. Here are the details.
Marco Penge
Penge was a sensation on the DP World Tour in 2025, claiming three victories, the Hainan Classic, the Danish Golf Championship and the Open de Espana, as he placed second behind Rory McIlroy in the Race to Dubai rankings.
That brilliant form saw him break into the world's top 50 for the first time in his career, while he entered the week in 38th.
That status means he'll make his maiden Players Championship appearance.
Kristoffer Reitan
The Norwegian won the 2025 Soudal Open on the way to finishing eighth in the Race to Dubai rankings, and for good measure he wrapped up the year with victory in the Nedbank Golf Challenge with his PGA Tour card already secured.
The latter was enough to see him climb into the world's top 50 for the first time, and he was still there when the field was finalized for The Players Championship, handing him a maiden appearance too.
Alex Noren
Unlike Penge and Reitan, Noren is no stranger to the TPC Sawgrass tournament, having first played in it in 2017, when he finished T10.
Since then, he's not missed an edition, and that run will continue in 2026 thanks to his top 50 world ranking the week before the event, which was helped by victories in the 2025 Betfred British Masters and the BMW PGA Championship.
Haotong Li
Li has played in the tournament twice before, in 2018 and 2019, and each time it was thanks to a top-50 world ranking.
However, he wasn't above the threshold ahead of the 2026 edition, leaving him to get there as one of the 10 highest-ranked players in the current FedEx Cup standings not otherwise exempt.
As a result, he has a third bite of the cherry, having missed the cut in each of his first two outings.
Jordan Smith
Another beneficiary of his current FedEx Cup ranking is Smith, and as a result, he will make his Players Championship debut.
Smith's place in the standings has been helped by an assured start to his PGA Tour career, which included T16 at the WM Phoenix Open.
That good start to the year follows an equally impressive DP World Tour season that featured two runner-up placings to earn his card on the US-based tour.
Which Graduates From Previous Years Are In The Field?
There was also a crop of graduates from the 2023 Race to Dubai as well as another 10 from the 2024 contest.
Of those, just six will be teeing it up at the 2026 Players Championship. One is Matthieu Pavon, who plays thanks to his position in the FedEx Cup standings.
Robert MacIntyre is in thanks to his final FedEx Cup position in 2025, and that also applies to Thorbjorn Olesen and Rasmus Hojgaard.
That leaves two of last year's PGA Tour winners. One is Ryan Fox, who won the Oneflight Myrtle Beach Classic and the RBC Canadian Open to qualify, with the other being RMS Classic champion Sami Valimaki.
