MENA Golf Tour Alumni Shine in UAE as 2025–26 Season Tees Off

The DP World Tour Play-Offs are in full swing in the UAE, and four MENA Golf Tour graduates — Matt Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre, Thriston Lawrence, and Todd Clements — have featured in the back-to-back Rolex Series events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, underscoring the Tour’s reputation as a proven springboard to elite competition.

The next generation will soon get their shot, as MENA Golf Tour Q School gets underway next week at Troia Golf Course. Entries close on Friday, 15 November, offering aspiring players from across the region and beyond a chance to follow in the footsteps of the Tour’s celebrated alumni.

Ryder Cup star and Major champion Matt Fitzpatrick praised the Tour’s role in creating meaningful pathways for emerging talent. “To give players opportunity is always a real positive — particularly out here in the Middle East,” he said. “The MENA Golf Tour is a proper testing ground; if you can win a few times, it bodes well for progressing to the next level.”

Five-time DP World Tour champion Thriston Lawrence, who topped the 2015 MENA Tour Order of Merit, credited the Tour with giving him his professional start. “I had nowhere to play in 2015. The MENA Tour gave me a run of events, and that was the right step — winning the Order of Merit gave me the confidence and platform to push on.”

DP World Tour winner Todd Clements echoed those sentiments, calling the Tour’s revival “hugely important” for player development. “When I heard the news about the MENA Golf Tour coming back, I was absolutely delighted because it means so much to me and what it did for the start of my career,” he said. “Young players can learn so much — all the tricks of the trade, from travel to adapting to different grasses. I’d encourage any aspiring golfer to book their spot at Q School before the deadline.”

The 2025–26 MENA Golf Tour season will feature 12 events across Portugal, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, and the GCC, scheduled in logical swings to reduce travel time and costs. Each regular-season event will offer a guaranteed, tax-free USD $100,000 purse, with prize payouts processed within 48 hours of the final putt.

A mid-season Q-Sprint (22–23 February 2026, Al Houara) will provide a second route to Tour status and re-rank opportunities, featuring a USD $50,000 prize fund.

“Everybody wants to play for as much money as possible,” Clements added. “Seeing USD $100,000 guaranteed per event shows real investment back into grassroots golf. That prize money supports player development and opens doors to compete in different places — it’s massive.”