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Professional golfers are on the verge of having a new route to the HotelPlanner Tour and the DP World Tour as early as next year.
Keith Waters, chairman & commissioner of the revived MENA Tour, is ‘confident’ the Dubai-based development circuit is close to offering players pathways to both.
It’s unclear how many places will be available in each, but the tour is in talks to secure spots on the HotelPlanner Tour and in the DP World Tour’s Qualifying School.
A review was started two years ago and is currently in progress to determine how many exemptions third level tours, also including the Alps Tour and Clutch Pro Tour, will receive.
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“There’s nothing confirmed yet,” Waters told bunkered.co.uk. “That review is nearly complete, it’s going to be approved by the [DP World Tour] players tour committee in January, so we’re going to wait to see what comes out of it.
“I’ve been told we’ll get some spots, it’s just how many. But we’re a new tour, so we’re happy to prove ourselves over a period [and] I’m confident we’ll get some exemptions.”
The MENA Tour, revived in August ahead of a 12-event season that got underway in Portugal last week, is also in conversations with the Asian Tour.
But Waters, a former chief operating officer of the DP World Tour, said “it’s tricky” trying to replicate the number of exemptions on each tour.
“If you get three or five spots for one tour, you’re basically saying to players you have two different exemptions on two different tours,” he said. “That’s not the right thing to do because you’re going to let one of the tours down.”
Another potential option for players on the MENA Tour – which is set to host four events in Egypt after a two-week stint in Portugal – is exemptions for leading players into DP World Tour events.
The tour has received approaches from tournaments looking to offer a leading player on the order of merit a place in its field. Cut-off dates for that remain in the balance.
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Former Ryder Cup star Chris Wood has told bunkered.co.uk of his desire to take the unconventional route back to the DP World Tour. The Englishman revealed this week that he will play in the first four events of the 2025/26 MENA Tour season before teeing it up in the DP World Tour’s Qatar Masters.
Speaking of his return to competitive golf, Waters said: “It’s been fantastic. He tried to get some invites to Australia for the next couple of DP World Tour events but was unsuccessful, so we have benefitted from that.
“We are delighted he’s played and it’s great to see him back doing well because he was a great player who lost his way. I hope he gets his confidence back and can really push on and get back on tour again. He’s still a quality player; he hasn’t lost his game.”
Wood, 36, admitted to still facing some “inner battles” on the golf course. The Bristolian weighed up a run at Asian Tour Q School but settled on a fresh start on the MENA Tour.
“I really need some competitive golf,” he said. “Fortunately, in professional golf there are options and this was one.
“I felt like the MENA Tour offered much easier travel, a condensed schedule, which is brilliant, and hopefully a place where I can build confidence.
“I still feel like I have ten years of a really good career ahead of me. The fire has never gone away; it’s just been a really tough road.”
