Meronk was one of 10 DP World Tour pros who punched their tickets to the PGA Tour Sunday at the DP World Tour Championship.
As part of the expanded strategic alliance between the two tours, for the first time ever this season, the top 10 finishers in the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai standings not otherwise exempt, were awarded PGA Tour cards.
After a T32 finish in Dubai this week, Meronk locked up the No. 4 spot in the order of merit but will be the top player in the new exemption category. The top finishers in the Race to Dubai were Rory McIlroy, Nicolai Hojgaard and Jon Rahm who all already have PGA Tour status for next season and don’t count toward the new cards allocated.
Hojgaard secured his PGA Tour card as a Special Temporary Member and accumulated the requisite number of non-member FedEx Cup points. Min Woo Lee, who finished 10th in the Race to Dubai, also secured his card via Special Temporary Membership and doesn’t count toward the 10 cards.
And while Hojgaard, who won the DP World Tour Championship by two shots over Viktor Hovland, Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Wallace, already had his PGA Tour status secured, his twin brother Rasmus wasn’t as fortunate.
Rasmus entered the final event of the DP World Tour season 16th in the season-long standings but watched as Matthieu Pavon birdied his final four holes to rocket up the leaderboard and bump Rasmus out of a PGA Tour card.
Pavon ended up finishing 15th in the standings, nabbing the 8th PGA Tour card while Rasmus was 18th and just 27 points short of the last of the 10 PGA Tour cards.
Here are each of the 10 DP World Tour players who just earned their PGA Tour cards.
Jack Hirsh is the Associate Equipment Editor at GOLF. A Pennsylvania native, Jack is a 2020 graduate of Penn State University, earning degrees in broadcast journalism and political science. He was captain of his high school golf team and recently returned to the program to serve as head coach. Jack also still *tries* to remain competitive in local amateurs. Before joining GOLF, Jack spent two years working at a TV station in Bend, Oregon, primarily as a Multimedia Journalist/reporter, but also producing, anchoring and even presenting the weather. He can be reached at jack.hirsh@golf.com.