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Golf’s rising stars look to showcase their skills on new-look 2024 Race to Dubai

Dan Bradbury, Alex Fitzpatrick, Yannik Paul and Jordan Smith travel to Al Hamra Golf Club in Ras Al Khaimah and Royal Golf Club in Bahrain during the International Swing

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England's Jordan Smith has committed to playing in both the Ras Al Khaimah Championship and the Bahrain Championship on the 2024 DP World Tour's Race to Dubai.- Supplied photo

Published: Thu 21 Dec 2023, 11:36 PM

A quartet of rising stars on the DP World Tour will all tee it up in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship and the Bahrain Championship in early 2024.

Dan Bradbury, Alex Fitzpatrick, Yannik Paul and Jordan Smith will travel to Al Hamra Golf Club in Ras Al Khaimah and Royal Golf Club in Bahrain during the International Swing on the new-look 2024 Race to Dubai.

The events follow back-to-back weeks in Dubai with the Dubai Invitational and the Hero Dubai Desert Classic and precede the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters.

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The Magical Kenya Open, the SDC Championship and the Jonsson Workwear Open will then bring the International Swing to a close.

Bradbury, who enjoyed a stand-out debut season in 2023, is looking forward to progressing further in 2024 after finishing 36th in his maiden year on the Race to Dubai.

“I enjoy playing golf in the Middle East so I’m excited to head back to Ras Al Khaimah and also visit Bahrain for the first time. They should be great events,” said Bradbury.

Countryman Fitzpatrick earned his playing privileges for 2024 through a combination of the Challenge Tour’s Road to Mallorca and strong performances in limited starts on the DP World Tour, including a tie for 17th in The Open at Royal Liverpool, and is now able to play a full schedule on the Race to Dubai.

Fitzpatrick said: “There was quite a lot of pressure last year because I felt like I had to play well in the limited opportunities I got to play, so it’s quite nice now to be able to plan my schedule a bit more.

“It’s always nice to go out to the Middle East so I’m looking forward to getting out there next month.”

Germany’s Paul, who won the 2022 Mallorca Golf Open, is also looking to build on a strong 2023 which included two runner-up finishes and five other top-tens.

“I felt like I played some good golf last season, particularly in the first part of the year, so hopefully I can do that again next year.,” he said.

“I can’t wait to see everybody in Ras Al Khaimah and Bahrain.”

Two-time DP World Tour winner Smith is someone who knows Al Hamra Golf Club well, having won the Challenge Tour’s Ras Al Khaimah, 2016 Golf Challenge, and always enjoys returning to a place where he’s enjoyed previous success.

“That victory in 2016 effectively secured the number one spot on the Challenge Tour Rankings for me, so I’ll always enjoy going back to Al Hamra,” Smith said. “This event, in addition to Bahrain, will be a really fun part of the schedule and I’m looking forward to getting out there.”

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There are five Global Swings in the first part of the season, with the International Swing running from January to March. Each Swing will have its own identity and its own Champion who will each earn $200,000 from an overall $1million Bonus Pool. Swing Champions will also qualify for each of the ‘Back 9’ events later in the season.

Published: Thu 21 Dec 2023, 11:36 PM

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