The current top three in the Race to Dubai Rankings are ready to continue their early season success, with John Parry, Johannes Veerman and Elvis Smylie set to tee it up at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship from January 30-February 2.
Last season, the DP World Tour returned to the Kingdom for the first time since 2011, and in 2025 the event at Royal Golf Club will once again be part of the International Swing on the Race to Dubai, with Bapco Energies as the new title sponsor.
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Parry, Veerman and Smylie are aiming to get the International Swing off to a strong start following confirmation they will play three events in a row in the Middle East, teeing it up in Bahrain after this week’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club and next weeks Ras Al Khaimah Championship at Al Hamra Golf Club.
They join defending champion Dylan Frittelli, Major champions Pádraig Harrington and Jimmy Walker and fellow DP World Tour winners Thorbjørn Olesen and Jorge Campillo at Royal Golf Club.
Parry soared to the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings after claiming his second DP World Tour title, and first for 14 years, at the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open in December. That victory capped an incredible year in which he won three times on the Road to Mallorca to seal his promotion from the European Challenge Tour.
Parry said: “I can’t wait to make my debut at the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship as part of a great run of events in the Middle East. I love playing in the region, so it’s the perfect place to start off the new year.
“Last year will be hard to beat, after having so much success on the Challenge Tour and getting the 2025 season off to a fast start with a DP World Tour victory, but my game is in a great place and I can’t wait for the challenges ahead.”
American Veerman also celebrated his second DP World Tour title at the start of the season, ending a three-year wait for victory when he lifted the trophy at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in December. The 32-year-old enjoyed an eye-catching finish to ‘Africa’s Major’ – making up a five-stroke deficit on Sunday – and he’s set for a second appearance in Bahrain after making his debut in the event in 2024.
Veerman said: “I really enjoyed the week at Royal Golf Club last year and it will be great to head back with a spring in my step after the win in South Africa.
“This series of events in the Middle East is a great opportunity to continue building on all of the hard work of the past few years, and hopefully continue the early season success.”
Smylie earned the distinction of becoming the first winner on the 2025 Race to Dubai when he sealed his maiden DP World Tour title with a wire-to-wire victory on home soil at the BMW Australian PGA Championship.
The 22-year-old earned his first professional victory on the PGA Tour of Australasia just weeks before he secured his DP World Tour status with his two-shot triumph at Royal Queensland Golf Club, and he is looking forward to his first trip to the Kingdom.
Smylie said: “It’s so exciting to take my game around the world and get the chance to add Bahrain to the list of new places I’ll tee it up this season.
“My first DP World Tour win back home was an important moment that has opened up a lot of opportunities, and I’m hoping to continue that form by getting this run of events under my belt at the start of the year.”
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