Rory McIlroy got the opportunity to play alongside Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen during the final round of the DP World Tour Championship as the Dane went on to secure his PGA Tour card for 2026.
Most eyes were on Rory McIlroy on Sunday at the DP World Tour Championship as he looked to secure his seventh Race to Dubai title.
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He had the opportunity to move ahead of Seve Ballesteros in style, with McIlroy also in the final group for the last round at Jumeirah Golf Estates.
His playing partner was Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who went into the week with a reasonable chance of booking his ticket to the PGA Tour for next season.
Rory McIlroy says what impressed him about Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen during the final round of the DP World Tour Championship
Neergaard-Petersen had only earned his full DP World Tour card in 2024. He won three times on the Challenge Tour last season.
Ultimately, he was unable to secure the biggest victory of his career in Dubai this week. However, he was able to leave an impression on McIlroy.
The 26-year-old had an eagle putt on the 72nd hole to join McIlroy and Matthew Fitzpatrick in the playoff. And the Northern Irishman claimed that he was impressed with how the youngster fought back from making three bogeys on the front nine.
“It’s amazing. I was really looking forward to playing with Rasmus today because I heard so many good things about him. He went through college system, played at Oklahoma, overlapped a little bit with Viktor [Hovland] at Viktor’s time at Oklahoma,” he said in his press conference after losing out to Fitzpatrick.
“I guess he’s been on the radar of a lot of people for the last year, and I thought his attitude today was good. He didn’t get off to the best of starts, but he hung in there and he played a great back nine to give himself a chance to win the golf tournament.
“Yeah, he’s got a really bright future. I keep saying this, anyone that keeps coming through, most of them – you look at Ludvig [Aberg] a couple years ago, and now you’ve got Rasmus. There’s an incredible line of young Europeans coming through, and that’s good to see.”
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen’s strokes gained statistics in 2025
It will be interesting to see whether Neergaard-Petersen decides to take up his card for 2026. Some of those who have made the step up this year have not found it too easy.
Based on some of his statistics, he is going to need to improve in and around the greens if he is going to hit the ground running stateside.
| Strokes gained category | Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen’s DP World Tour rank (2025) |
| Off the tee | 6th |
| Approach | 18th |
| Around the green | 68th |
| Putting | 78th |
| Total | 11th |
However, he is one of the best players on the DP World Tour off the tee.
And given how rapid he has risen from the second tier of European golf to the cusp of the PGA Tour, it should surprise no one if he goes on to catch the eye on the other side of the Atlantic.
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