Very consequential weeks in November await Coloradans Davis Bryant (DP World Tour) and Mark Hubbard (PGA Tour)
By Gary Baines
They’re both Colorado natives, veterans of high-level tour golf, and they sit between 180-190 in the official world rankings.
And now they’re both facing crucial November tournaments that will decide on which tours they’ll compete in 2027.
For Davis Bryant of Aurora, it’s the DP World Tour Championship Thursday through next Sunday at Dubai in the United Arab Emeriates.
For Denver native Mark Hubbard, it’s the PGA Tour’s Austin (Texas) Championship (Thursday through next Sunday) and the RSM Classic Nov. 19-22 at St. Simons Island, Ga.
— Davis Bryant: The Eaglecrest High School and Colorado State University alum had a very good season on the DP World Tour to qualify for the DP World Tour Championship as he stands 28th on the season-long points list going into the season finale, having finished second twice and ninth once in 2026. No matter what, he’ll be exempt on the DPWT for a third straight year. But with an outstanding finish next week against a very strong field at the Tour Championship, he has a chance to earn a 2027 PGA Tour card.
The top 10 finishers in the final DPWT points standings — not otherwise exempt on the PGA Tour — land spots on the PGA Tour for ’27. After a 49th-place showing on Sunday at the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, the 2024 Inspirato Colorado Open champion sits at 1,405 points, about 354 behind the 10th player on that not-otherwise-exempt list, Joe Dean.
Depending on how the not-otherwise-exempt players on the points list fare at the Tour Championship, Bryant will likely need to finish sixth or better there to land a 2027 PGA Tour card — and even that might not be enough. But with 2,000 points going to the winner next Sunday, 1,335 to the runner-up and 752 to the third-place finisher, showings in that range would work wonders. Among those also in the field are Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton and Adam Scott.
Reached Sunday via text, Bryant said his next event after the Tour Championship will be the DPWT’s Nedbank Golf Challenge in South Africa Dec. 3-6 — one of the first events of the 2026-27 DP World season. He started competing on the DPWT two years ago.
As for now, Bryant said family members have traveled to join him in Dubai, where the final two DP World Tour events of the 2025-26 season are being held.
“It’s been awesome so far,” he texted regarding his experience in Abu Dhabi. “Family came out a couple of days ago. Very enjoyable!”
Bryant went 76-70-71-69 this week, going bogey-free on Sunday, to finish at 2 under par in the Aldar Championship. With the 35,411 euro payday, Bryant has career earnings of 1,251,568 euros (roughly $1.39 million) on the DPWT over the last two years.
For all the results from the Aldar Championship, CLICK HERE.
Denver native Mark Hubbard has played on the PGA Tour regularly since the 2019-20 season.
— Mark Hubbard: The Denver native and Colorado Academy graduate has played essentially full-time on the PGA Tour for 10 years — from 2014 through ’16 and since the start of the 2019-20 season. But he’ll need a strong finish to the 2026 campaign to remain fully exempt.
After missing the cut the last two weeks in Mexico, the 37-year-old dropped to 132nd in the FedExCup Fall standings. He’ll have to move into the top 100 when the season concludes on Nov. 22 to keep his full card — and into the top 125 to be conditionally exempt for 2027.
Hubbard hasn’t posted at top-30 finish on the PGA Tour since May, which has dropped him on the points list. In the first half of May, he could have rendered this all mute had he won the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Classic — which would have given him exempt status through 2028. But he bogeyed two of the last three holes and finished solo second, a stroke behind champion Brandt Snedeker.
As it is, the 2007 CJGA Player of the Year needs a very good next two weeks to retain his full status on the PGA Tour, where he’s recorded two second-place and four third-place showings in his career.
For his lifetime, Hubbard has played in 288 PGA Tour events, making 187 cuts.
For all the scores from the World Wide Technology Championship, CLICK HERE.
