Scottish golfer not feeling 'flat or deflated' after DP World Tour card blow

The four-time DP World Tour winner came up one shot short in the circuit’s Qualifying School Final at Infinitum Golf in Spain in November.

It means he’s starting his 2026 campaign in South Africa on the HotelPlanner Tour rather than potentially being in Bahrain last week or Qatar this week on the DP World Tour.

However, Warren was heartened by his top-25 finish in the second-tier circuit’s season-opener, the SDC Open in Limpopo, and is looking to get in the mix again in this week’s CIRCA Cape Town Open.

“First week of the year I was delighted to be in the position I was heading into the final round,” said the Dundonald Links-attached player of carding a 65 in the third circuit at Zebula Golf Estate and Spa to sit joint-fifth.

“Yeah, I did,” he added in reply to being asked if he’d taken confidence from coming close to being back on the main tour after having to pass a second-stage test on this occasion.

‘I took a lot of confidence from O-School bid’

“We all know it’s a slog and a marathon but, bizarrely, even though I missed out by one shot in the end, I didn’t feel flat or deflated at all.

“I felt as if I played really well, especially the last couple of rounds. I think I was ten or 11 under and lipped out from 12 feet on the last otherwise it could have been a different story.

“I took a lot of confidence from that. I was looking forward to this year knowing I had more of a schedule after not playing in many last year.

“Over the winter, it was nice just trying to keep things ticking over rather than trying to chance things and re-invent my swing or whatever it may be to try and find something. It was just keeping the same things and, yeah, it is trending nicely.”

On the back of David Law, Daniel Young and Euan Walker all securing DP World Tour step ups at the end of last season, Warren is aiming to be a card contender on the HotelPlanner Tour this time around along with the likes of Calum Fyfe and Ryan Lumsden.

‘Aim is to keep showing good form’

“My game felt close to being good the first couple of days. I drove the ball great and had a bit of accuracy as well with my wedge game,” he said of his opening effort last week.

“On Saturday, I got off to a great start before having to stay patient in the middle of the round then finished with three birdies in a row.

“Hopefully, if I can keep showing some good form, I can put myself in a position where, if I’m not getting into events through my ranking, then I can get in through invites.”