Bahrain Championship 2025 Preview, Picks & Analysis

Defending champion Dylan Frittelli will tee it up alongside fellow DP World Tour winners Thorbjorn Olesen and Jorge Campillo at the Bahrain Championship.

Last season, the DP World Tour returned to the Kingdom for the first time since 2011, and in 2025 the event at Royal Golf Club will once again be part of the International Swing on the Race to Dubai, with Bapco Energies, the integrated energy company leading the energy transition in the Kingdom of Bahrain, as new title sponsor.

South African Frittelli claimed his third DP World Tour win and his first in seven years with a two-stroke victory on a thrilling final day in Bahrain last year. He birdied three of his closing six holes to secure the victory and is looking forward to defending his title.

Frittelli said: "It will be great to be back at Royal Golf Club, and I’m excited to see if I can make it back-to-back wins there. It’s obviously a course that I enjoy playing, and I had such a great experience in Bahrain last year. I can’t wait to return and challenge again for the title."

Olesen won for the first time in the Middle East last year with victory at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship, a result that saw him become an eight-time DP World Tour winner.

The Dane will also be experiencing Bahrain for the first time and is hoping for a strong outing as part of a run of events in the Middle East at the start of 2025 on the Race to Dubai.

Olesen said: "It’ll be my first trip to Bahrain so it will be a new course and a new challenge which is always enjoyable. I’ve played some good golf in the Middle East over the years, and a good result at the beginning of the year can help to set up your season, and that’s what I’ll be aiming for."

Spaniard Jorge Campillo found his best form of 2024 during the ‘Back 9’ on the Race to Dubai, booking his place at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship for a third successive year after a second-place finish on home soil in the Estrella Damm N.A. Andalucia Masters.

The three-time DP World Tour winner returns to Royal Golf Club excited to kick-start his 13th straight year on golf’s Global Tour.

Campillo said: "I learned a lot playing at Royal Golf Club last year and I’m looking to use that experience to my advantage this time around. I felt like my game got better the longer last season went on, and I really found something down the final stretch. I’ll be working hard to make sure that continues in Bahrain."

John Parry, Johannes Veerman and Elvis Smylie, who have already won this season, are also all in action.

Parry soared to the top of the Race to Dubai Rankings after claiming his second DP World Tour title, and first for 14 years, at the Mauritius Open in December, although he has now been displaced by Tyrrell Hatton. That victory capped an incredible year in which he won three times on the Road to Mallorca to seal his promotion from the European Challenge Tour.

Parry said: "I can’t wait to make my debut at the Bahrain Championship. Last year will be hard to beat, after having so much success on the Challenge Tour and getting the 2025 season off to a fast start with a DP World Tour victory, but my game is in a great place and I can’t wait for the challenges ahead."

American Veerman also celebrated his second DP World Tour title at the start of the season, ending a three-year wait for victory when he lifted the trophy at the Nedbank Golf Challenge in December. The 32-year-old enjoyed an eye-catching finish to ‘Africa’s Major’ - making up a five-stroke deficit on Sunday - and he’s set for a second appearance in Bahrain after making his debut in the event in 2024.

Veerman said: "I really enjoyed the week at Royal Golf Club last year and it will be great to head back with a spring in my step after the win in South Africa.

"This series of events in the Middle East is a great opportunity to continue building on all of the hard work of the past few years, and hopefully continue the early season success."

Smylie earned the distinction of becoming the first winner on the 2025 Race to Dubai when he sealed his maiden DP World Tour title with a stunning wire-to-wire victory on home soil at the BMW Australian PGA Championship.

The 22-year-old earned his first professional victory on the PGA Tour of Australasia just weeks before he secured his DP World Tour status with his two-shot triumph at Royal Queensland Golf Club, and he is looking forward to his first trip to the Kingdom.

Smylie said: "It’s so exciting to take my game around the world and get the chance to add Bahrain to the list of new places I’ll tee it up this season. My first DP World Tour win back home was an important moment that has opened up a lot of opportunities, and I’m hoping to continue that form by getting this run of events under my belt at the start of the year."

Also in the field is former Masters champion Patrick Reed. The American, who plays on the LIV Golf tour, is desperate for world ranking points. He has a lifetime exemption at Augusta but has tumbled down the world rankings and unless he can climb back into the top 50 then he will miss out on the US PGA, US Open and Open Championship. It is easy to dismiss Reed as a divisive figure but he remains a hugely talented golfer and enjoyed a good finish at the Dubai Desert Classic.

Tournament Winners:

The inaugural event was won in 2024 by Dylan Frittelli.

The Course:

Royal Golf Club is a par 72 that measure 7,261 yards and has bene carved out of desert. Designed by Colin Montgomerie, it features several water hazards, plenty of bunkers and generous fairways - and that means the scoring is going to be low.

Form Guide:

Ewen Ferguson is a mercurial talent who has shown some fine early-season form and who loves this part of the world.  Elvis Smylie looks like he might just be a generational talent and it is difficult to ignore the claims of Patrick Reed.

Prize Money:

The total prize fund is $2.5m, with 3,500 Race to Dubai and 1,000 Ryder Cup points also up for grabs.

How to Watch:

Thursday, January 30, Friday, January 31, Sky Sports Golf, 8am; Saturday, February 1, 9am; Sunday, February 2, 8.30am.

To Win:

Ewen Ferguson. Fabulous short game

Each Way:

Patrick Reed. Hard to ignore

Each Way:

Elvis Smylie. Could be a proper star

Five Players to Follow:

Ewen Ferguson. Mercurial talent

Patrick Reed. Desperate for ranking points

Elvis Smylie. Fabulous prospect

Guido Migliozzi. When he’s good he is really good

Laurie Canter. Loving life at present

Five Outsiders to Watch:

Daniel Hiller. Needs to show Dubai was not a fluke

David Puig. Hugely gifted young Spaniard

Kiradech Aphibarnrat. Fun to watch

Robin Williams. Keep an eye on him

Rafa Cabrera Bello. Bene there, done that - needs to do it all again