Thirty years after its first edition, the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A takes place in Alcudia, the major annual test for promotion to the elite of European golf. Up for grabs are the twenty cards for the DP World Tour 2026, the battle for the Order of Merit, and the pride of finishing the season at the top. After 29 gruelling tournaments, the Road to Mallorca reaches its final kilometre at the Club de Golf Alcanada, a venue that has earned the title of ideal host: beauty and an air of grandeur that settles a little more each year.
This edition brings together players from 17 different nationalities, from South Africa to Norway, including United States, Peru, and New Zealand. The Armada is well represented. Five of our own reach the final, three with the DP World Tour card already secured —Sebas García, Quim Vidal, and Rocco Repetto— the latter almost there, and two more with the dream still in the air: Adri Arnaus and Víctor Pastor.
The Club de Golf Alcanada, with its lighthouse watching over the Bay of Alcudia, once again presents a postcard course. The players agree: the course is better than ever, with fast and uniform greens, and a new addition that adds colour to the finish —a new grandstand on the 18th hole, ready for celebrations and last-minute dramas.
The weather forecast promises a slightly wet start, with rain on Thursday, but stable weather for the rest of the week. If the greens soften slightly, everything points to low scores, closer to the -23 with which Reitan won last year than the tighter figures of previous editions.
Víctor Pastor enters the scene with a story that could be epic. The Cordoban was the last player to secure a place in the final: 45th in the Road to Mallorca, the last available ticket. Just three weeks ago, his season seemed over. A sixth place in the Hangzhou Open changed everything. Fate, this time, has left a crack open… and Pastor is ready to slip through.
“I know I can’t go all out, but I can’t hide either. Being tenth or last doesn’t change much for me,” admits the Andalusian. With a top 5, he could have a slim chance of promotion. From the fourth place onwards, the numbers start to add up. Two bullets, two paths: this final and the final stage of the School. Suddenly, a year that seemed lost has a taste of opportunity.
The mirror is clear. Kristoffer Reitan in 2024 and Marco Penge in 2023 arrived outside the card positions… and left with the ticket in their pocket. Little more to add.
On the other side of the coin, JC Ritchie, leader of the Order of Merit, arrives with the opportunity to make history: no South African has ever won the Challenge Tour. The experienced player seeks to put his name in gold letters in the thirtieth edition of the circuit.
Meanwhile, Spain can break its own ceiling. Never have four Spaniards ascended to the DP World Tour in the same year through the HotelPlanner Tour. Three already have the card guaranteed, or almost, and both Arnaus and Pastor have chances to join that list. A feat that would make 2025 a historic year for the Armada.
The Grand Final of the HotelPlanner Tour 2025 arrives bigger than ever: more sponsors, more spectators expected, and the same excitement as every year. We don’t know the names, but on Sunday there will be tears of joy and despair. For many, it will be the week that changes their careers, just ask Reitan twelve months ago. Calculator and many calculations, weeks we love.
