After 19 years: Pablo Larrazábal loses his DP World Tour card
After 19 consecutive years, Pablo Larrazábal has lost his full playing privileges on the DP World Tour and will have to go through Qualifying School in November for the first time since 2007.
Spain's Pablo Larrazábal missed the cut at the Genesis Championship in Korea with two rounds of 73 strokes each, thereby missing his chance to secure his tour card for 2027. The 43-year-old, a nine-time winner on the DP World Tour, traveled to Cheonan ranked 165th in the Race to Dubai with 173.57 points. To break into the top 100, he would have needed at least a tie for second place at Woo Jeong Hills Country Club. This brings to an end a streak that began in 2008 with his first Tour card. Instead of a 20th season with full status, Larrazábal will now head to the Final Stage of Qualifying School from November 6–11.
Click here for the leaderboard of the 2026 DP World Tour Genesis Championship.
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Larrazábal needed to finish first or second in Korea
The situation heading into the tournament was clear. Viktor Hovland held 100th place in the Race to Dubai with 508.83 points, while Larrazábal trailed by 335.26 points. At the Genesis Championship, even a solo third-place finish worth 312.00 points wouldn’t have been enough—exactly how many points are awarded depends on the number of players who make the cut.
Larrazábal knew the math exactly. “I know what I have to do, and I’m going for it,” he said in an interview with the DP World Tour before the tournament. “I need to finish first or second. If I finish fourth or third, I’ll still lose.” He summed up his strategy succinctly: “I have to attack, and that’s all I’ve got.”
The tournament held special significance for him: Larrazábal had won the Genesis Championship himself in 2023. Our preview of the 2026 Genesis Championship looks ahead to the battle for Tour cards in Korea.
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The worst season in 19 years
2026 was the worst year of his career. For the first time in 19 seasons, Larrazábal failed to record a single top-10 finish. He missed the cut nine times in a row before making it through to the weekend at the Open d’Italia. Before Korea, he had missed the cut 16 times this season, most recently at the DP World India Championship in Delhi, which Eugenio Chacarra won. In Korea, he added his 17th.
“Of all years, the very year I’m playing my worst golf, I have to defend my card,” Larrazábal said ahead of the tournament in Korea. He described the past 20 months to the DP World Tour as some of the toughest of his career. He cited losing the lead in Bahrain last year, a caddie struggling with family problems, and a lack of form as the reasons.
After his elimination in Korea, he sounded disheartened. “It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that I’m going back to Q-School in twelve days,” he told the DP World Tour. Still, he has no intention of giving up: His goal remains a tenth title. “I think I want to win again. I want to win.”
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494 starts, nine wins: Larrazábal's career on the DP World Tour
Larrazábal was a fixture on the Tour for nearly two decades. In 494 starts, he recorded nine wins, five second-place finishes, and 65 top-10 finishes. He won his seventh title in 2022 at the ISPS Handa Championship, followed a year later by victory at the Genesis Championship.
Since earning his first tour card in 2008, he has finished every season in the top 100 of the year-end rankings—with one exception: In 2021, he fell out of the top 100 but retained his status through Category 3. Players in the top 100 of the Race to Dubai retain their playing privileges for the upcoming season; those who finish below that lose their full eligibility. Victories grant playing privileges for two years. Even if a player does not finish in the top 100 of the Race to Dubai the following season, they retain their card.
How the Final Stage of Q-School Works
The Final Stage of Qualifying School will take place from November 6 to 11 at INFINITUM in Tarragona. 156 professional golfers will compete there over six rounds. The tournament consists of 108 holes played across two courses; a cut is made after 72 holes, and the final 36 holes are played on the Lakes Course.
The top 15, including those tied for that position, will earn playing privileges on the DP World Tour. In addition, they will receive full status on the HotelPlanner Tour for 2027. For Larrazábal, it’s a return to his roots: he last played in Q-School in 2007—almost 20 years ago.
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What's Next
The Genesis Championship concludes on Sunday, October 25. The Second Stage of Qualifying School will take place in Spain from October 29 to November 1, followed by the Final Stage in Tarragona from November 6 to 11, where the 15 cards will be decided. There, Larrazábal hopes to earn his way back onto the DP World Tour—and keep his chances alive for a tenth title.
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Release date
23 Oct 2026
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Pablo Larrazabal has lost his card after 19 years on the DP World Tour. (Photo: Imago / Zuma Press Wire)
