The HotelPlanner Tour resumes competition this week with the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge taking place in Scotland. There is a major novelty: this is the fourth edition of this tournament on the second-tier European calendar, but it debuts a new venue, the Schloss Roxburghe course, located in Kelso, Scotland, southeast of Edinburgh and about seventy kilometres by road. It is a charming parkland-style course (yes, they do exist in Scotland, indeed they do), with a rather technical profile.
After a one-week break, the HotelPlanner Tour picks up momentum again with the last eight tournaments taking place in consecutive weeks, without further breaks (from tomorrow, Thursday, 31st July until 21st September), before facing the final three more selective tournaments in October: the first two in China, with a reduced field (you need to be within the top 75 to have a chance of entering), leading up to the grand final at the Club de Golf Alcanada in Mallorca, where only the top 45 qualify.
Therefore, everyone should focus on their goals, but in reality, this week in Scotland marks the start of the final stretch, and almost everything is still to be decided. The key, for those who still have more work to do at this stage, will be to get into those top 75 who earn a spot in the two tournaments in China (an approximate calculation based on what happened last year), where the prize pool is much larger, and more ranking points are distributed. The twists in this Road to Mallorca, the timely redemptions of some players, and the ‘stagnation’ of others will be the order of the day.
And it seems that the vast majority are clear that they need to push as soon as possible. This week, for example, seven of the top ten in the ranking are present, led by young Englishman Joshua Berry, the current leader. And thirty of the top 45. No joke.
Up to fourteen Spanish players will seek to replicate Javier Sainz’s victory from three years ago (2022) in this tournament, although it wasn’t on this course, including Sainz himself. Also playing are: Joseba Torres, Adri Arnaus, Javier Calles, Alejandro Cañizares, Sebas García, Santi Tarrio, Asier Aguirre, Álvaro Quirós, Rocco Reppeto, Borja Virto, Lucas Vacarisas, Quim Vidal, and Albert Boneta. As seen, of the eleven Spaniards currently within the top 754 of the ranking, only Víctor Pastor and Luis Masaveu are missing. Vidal and Reppeto, the two currently within the top twenty (which secures DP World Tour playing rights), will continue to fiercely defend their position. And if we look at the other side of the coin, others like Sainz, Aguirre, Barcos, Quirós, or Cañizares, who are far behind, need to start climbing the ranks almost two steps at a time.
