Chris Wood is fully primed to take his 2025/26 MENA Tour No. 1 victory form and hopefully repeat the effort over the course of the remaining 20 events on the HotelPlanner Tour and, if successful, secure an historic three different tours first.
Wood captured three of the eight 2025/’26 MENA Tour season events he contested to finish No. 1 on the money-list to automatically progress to the secondary HotelPlanner Tour and if should finish top-20 then he’s earned full 2027 DP World Tour status.
If so, it would be a remarkable ‘treble tour’ first.
Wood makes his HotelPlanners debut the first week of May after fears over the War in Iran sensibly forced the HotelPlanner Tour two move UAE events set down for April to be move back to September, hopefully when it may be a lot safer.
It still means there is a remaining 24 tournaments to be staged in season 2026 starting in Italy during the first of May.
LET’S MAKE IT A #MENATOUR & @HPlanner_Tour DOUBLE …
As Chris Wood has the remaining 20 @HPlanner_Tour starts to secure a top-20 season finish & a guarantee of full 2027 @DPWorldTour status
What a first that would be for Wood
Read: https://t.co/MtNmpcGl7c
Getty… pic.twitter.com/tUqK24TKgY
— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) March 25, 2026
Those HotelPlanner Tour events include the Abu Dhabi Challenge, Al Ain Golf & Shooting Club and the RAKBANK UAE Challenge at Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club, Ajman, each carrying a prize fund of USD 350,000 and now scheduled for the last two weeks of September 2026.
As Chris Wood and Pierre Pineau are exempt, the leading three players to be invited to play in the UAE in September will be Juan Salama, who finished second in the MENA Golf Tour Rankings, Jack Davidson (fourth) and Ludovico Addabbo (fifth).
There will be four additional exemptions to HotelPlanner Tour tournaments for Juan Salama and Jack Davidson in the next four tournaments commencing with the Italian Challenge Openin early May.
Wood’s triumph represents a remarkable chapter in one of professional golf’s most compelling comeback stories. The three-time DP World Tour winner – whose career highlights include the 2016 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and a place in Europe’s Ryder Cup team at Hazeltine that same year – spent several years battling chronic anxiety and burnout before returning to competitive golf.
Having secured his MENA Golf Tour card by winning Q School in Portugal by six shots, Wood claimed victory in each of the three countries the Tour visited this season – the Rolear Algarve Classic in Portugal, the Address Marassi Golf Resort event in Egypt, and the Al Houara Classic in Morocco – before sealing the Rankings title by a commanding margin.
Wood said: “I’m very proud to have won the Order of Merit. There are some impressive players on the MENA Golf Tour, which shows the depth of golf worldwide nowadays – I was pushed all the way to my three victories, which is great for me to have those pressure situations.
“Each win offered me something different, and to win in three different countries is something I’m very proud of. The MENA Golf Tour has offered me a realistic route back to where I want to be playing, and I can’t wait to get going.”
Of course, if Wood can reproduce his superb winning MENA Tour form on the HotelPlanner, and there is more than a few who believe he can, then he need only to be among the leading 20 then he will be back on the main DP World Tour for 2027.
Keith Waters, Chairman and Commissioner of the MENA Golf Tour, added: “Winning three times in three different countries and topping the Rankings from start to finish – that is a remarkable achievement and Chris thoroughly deserves everything that comes with it.
“His story is one of real resilience and determination, and watching him compete week after week this season has been a privilege.
“We also want to pay tribute to General Abdullah Al Hashmi, President of the Emirates Golf Federation and MENA Golf Tour Board Member, whose support has been instrumental in making these opportunities available to our leading players.
“We wish to acknowledge the disappointment caused by the removal of our final four events, which were due to take place in the GCC, from the schedule – the safety and wellbeing of our players, caddies, officials and all tournament personnel is always our absolute priority, and those decisions were not taken lightly.
“We thank everyone for their understanding during a challenging period. The final Rankings standings reflect the results across all completed events, and we are proud of what this season has delivered.”
