Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship 2026 preview, picks & analysis

Jayden Schaper looks to continue his astonishing start to the season as the DP World Tour tees it up at the Bahrain Championship this week.

He will be joined by, among others, Padraig Harrington, Dylan Frittelli and 2025 Rookie of the Year Martin Couvra at Royal Golf Club in the Kingdom of Bahrain for the third edition of the tournament 

Harrington returns for a second time, having finished five-under-par and tied for 38th in last year’s tournament. The World Golf Hall of Fame inductee, who won back-to-back Open Championships in 2007 and 2008, followed by the 2008 PGA Championship, continues to compete at the highest level, adding two senior major championships to his list of achievements in 2025.

"Having really enjoyed last year’s tournament, I’m looking forward to returning to Royal Golf Club later this month," said Harrington. "The Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship brings a great deal of excitement to the Kingdom of Bahrain, and I’m delighted to once again be part of the event."

Schaper will look to continue his dominant start to the 2026 season. The South African has claimed consecutive DP World Tour victories, securing back-to-back playoff wins at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and Mauritius Open.

"I’m excited to be coming back to Bahrain and joining the field for this special event," said Schaper. "Royal Golf Club is a fantastic venue and hopefully we can showcase some great golf for the local fans."

Schaper, 24, had a successful amateur career and was the top ranked junior golfer in South Africa by age 15. In 2017, at the age of 16, he won both the South African Boys U17 Stroke Play Championship and the South African Boys U19 Championship, to become the first player to win the "grand slam" of junior titles in South Africa, having previously won the U13 and U15 championships.

In 2019, he won the All Africa Team Championship in Mauritius, and the Junior Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass.

He was a member of the South African national team and represented his country at the 2017 Junior World Cup and played on the International Team in the 2017 and 2019 Junior Presidents Cup.

In January 2020, Schaper tied for sixth at the South African Open in Johannesburg, the best amateur finish in the tournament since Ernie Els in 1989.

He turned professional in 2020, at the age of 18 and joined the Sunshine Tour, where he finished runner-up at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in December and won rookie of the year in 2020-21.

In 2021, he also joined the Challenge Tour and in 2023 the DP World Tour, where he tied for 16th at the Barbasol Championship, a PGA Tour co-sanctioned event.

In the 2024 season, Schaper finished top-10 in all four DP World Tour and Sunshine Tour co-sanctioned events. He shared the lead heading into the final round of the South African Open and eventually finished tied fifth after a final round 74.

He won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in his 95th start and added the Mauritus Open the next week and is on the fringes of the top 50 in the world rankings. 

He also has two runner-up finishes, one third and 17 other top-10s.

Fellow South African Frittelli comes into the event with one title under his belt, having made three birdies in his final six holes to record a two-shot victory in the 2024 edition. It marked the 35-year-old’s third DP World Tour win and his first in six years.

"Bahrain will always hold a special place in my heart," said Frittelli. "I’m looking forward to returning and hopefully creating some more great memories at Royal Golf Club later this month."

The Bahrain Championship is the third event on the Race to Dubai’s International Swing, and the third consecutive event to be played in the Middle East after the Dubai Invitational and Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

Also in the field is American Patrick Reed, fresh from his victory at the Dubai Desert Classic. The total prize fund in Bahrain is less than $3m - the LIV Golf season gets under way next week, when Reed will be playing for a first prize of $4m. Or will he?

The former Masters champion has been making noises about rejoining the PGA Tour but in order for that to happen he would not be offered the same route back as Brooks Koepka and would almost certainly have to serve a suspension and some sort of financial penalty. 

After his Dubai win he revealed that he has yet to renew his LIV contract for 2026. Love him or loathe him, Reed is to be admired for wanting to compete wherever he is able to in order to continue accumulating world ranking points. While many of his LIV colleagues languish in the nether regions of the world rankings, Reed remains comfortably within the top 50 - and that guarantees his place in the majors in 2026. Of course, he gets into The Masters as a past winner, but he is a ferocious competitor. If the PGA Tour make him wait then we could be seeing plenty of him on the DP World Tour in the weeks and months ahead. And with his superb play at the Dubai Desert Classic, it has to be said that he would be an asset. I am fascinated to see how things pan out with Reed’s future.

Twelve months ago, Pablo Larrazabal suffered heartbreak when he failed to par the final hole in regulation play and ultimately lost the title in a playoff.

The Spaniard led for much of the final day but pulled his approach at the 18th and left himself a treacherous 40-foot putt. He left his first effort eight feet short, missed and ended the day tied with English pair Laurie Canter and Dan Brown. 

Canter went on to win his second DP World Tour title at the first playoff hole with a magnificent birdie after Larrazabal found the water and Brown failed to get up and down from the sand and finished with a bogey. Canter hit a glorious approach on the playoff hole and, with two putts to win, calmly rolled in the birdie putt.

Canter would go on to enjoy a wonderful season and gain a PGA Tour card. Astonishingly, he chose to turn it down and return to LIV, which had discarded him two years earlier. It remains to be seen whether this is a move that comes back to bite him. The Englishman is back to defend his title before embarking on his spell spell with LIV.

Having seen off the challenge of Shane Lowry at the recent Dubai Invitational, Nacho Elvira might be worth keeping an eye on as he aims for his fourth DP World Tour title.

Tournament Winners:

The inaugural event was won in 2024 by Dylan Frittelli and last year by Laurie Canter.

The Course:

Royal Golf Club is a par 72 that measure 7,261 yards and has been 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 and it is difficult to ignore the claims of Patrick Reed.

Prize Money:

The total prize fund is $2.75m, with 3,500 Race to Dubai points up for grabs.

How to Watch:

Thursday, January 29, Friday, January 30, Sky Sports Golf, 8.30am;  Saturday, January 31, 9am; Sunday, February 1, 8.30am.

To Win:

Patrick Reed. The class act in the field

Each Way:

Martin Couvra. Glorious golf swing

Each Way:

Jayden Schaper. Dream start to the season

Five to Follow:

Patrick Reed. Ferocious competitor

Martin Couvra. Has a big future

Jayden Schaper. Wonderful short game

Sergio Garcia. Still a fabulous ball striker

Ewen Ferguson. Elegant Scotsman

Five Outsiders to Watch:

Andrew Johnston. Playing for his future

James Morrison. Veteran who still has what it takes

Alex Fitzpatrick. Trying to emerge from shadow of brother Matthew

Alexander Levy. Still searching for his best

Johannes Veerman. Can turn it on