Stepping Up

Coloradan Davis Bryant makes inroads on DP World Tour season-long rankings in quest for spot on PGA Tour in 2027; former CU golfer Justin Biwer ties for 2nd in PGA Tour Americas event 3 weeks after posting a win

By Gary Baines 

Davis Bryant of Aurora didn’t have the final day he wanted while in contention at the BMW PGA Championship, which featured a very strong field. But he still climbed three spots in the crucial season-long rankings on the DP World Tour.

The former Colorado State University golfer finished tied for 27th place on Sunday in Surrey, England after going into the final day two strokes out of the lead. The 2024 Inspirato Colorado Open champion posted round of 68-70-67-73 for a 10-under-par total, which left him seven strokes behind champion JJ Spaun.

But the good showing at the BMW PGA moved Bryant from 20th to 17th place in the season-long Race to Dubai Rankings. The top 10 in those rankings — not otherwise exempt — at the end of the season on Nov. 15 will earn PGA Tour cards for 2027. And there are several players in the top 17 in the rankings who are already exempt onto the PGA Tour — Rory McIlroy, Ryan Fox, Aaron Rai and Shane Lowry — meaning Bryant has to move up only another three spots or more to earn a PGA Tour card via that route.

Bryant is eventually headed to the DP World Tour playoffs, where the top 70 players in the rankings will tee it up at the Abu Dhabi Championship Nov. 5-8. Then the top 50 after that head to Dubai for the DP World Tour Championship Nov. 12-15.

The BMW PGA gave Bryant 17 consecutive made cuts on the DP World Tour. On Sunday, he was paired with Joaquin Niemann, one of the top players on the LIV Golf circuit. In the twosome that teed off ahead of him on Sunday were McIlroy and Adam Scott.

With Bryant’s showing in England, he earned 67,428 euros ($77,431).

For all the scores from the BMW PGA, CLICK HERE.

Elsewhere in major tour golf regarding players with strong Colorado ties: Former University of Colorado golfer Justin Biwer took a big step toward locking up his 2027 Korn Ferry Tour card by tying for second on Sunday in the ATB Classic in Edmonton.

Biwer, who won a PGA Tour Americas Tour event in late August, made a run at another victory before falling two strokes shy of champion Charlie Crockett of England in the ATB Classic. Biwer carded rounds of 64-65-70-65 for a 16-under-par total. For the week, he made 27 birdies, nine bogeys and a double bogey.

With the top 10 players on the season-long Americas points last on Oct. 18 earning Korn Ferry Tour cards for next year, Biwer sits in fifth place. The only remaining tournament of the season is the Dominican Republic Tour Championship Oct. 15-18 in the Dominican Republic.

For all the scores from the ATB Classic, CLICK HERE.

About the Writer: Gary Baines has covered golf in Colorado continuously since 1983. He was a sports writer at the Daily Camera newspaper in Boulder, then the sports editor there, and has written regularly for ColoradoGolf.org since 2009. The University of Colorado Evans Scholar alum was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame in 2022. He owns and operates ColoradoGolfJournal.com