The 11 Scottish golfers with DP World Tour cards for 2026 - and there could be more to come

Bob MacIntyre, Calum Hill, Grant Forrest, Ewen Ferguson, Connor Syme, Scott Jamieson and Richie Ramsay all started out this season with cards and have retained them through a full set finishing in the top 110 in the Race to Dubai.

That tally was bolstered when Cameron Adam secured a card for the first time as the winner of a Global Amateur Pathway before David Law, Daniel Young and Euan Walker all earned step ups on Sunday as HotelPlanner Tour graduates.

It will be the biggest Scottish representation on the circuit for some time and now Gregor Graham, Craig Howie, Sam Locke and Marc Warren have a chance to have even more Saltires in fields next season.

The quartet are among the hopefuls in the DP World Tour Qualifying School Final Stage, a six-round marathon that gets under way on Friday at Infinitum Golf in Tarragona, which is an hour’s drive south of Barcelona.

Graham, Howie and Locke have already come through the First and Second Stages while Warren cleared his first hurdle in the Second Stage. Graham through progressed comfortably on 11 under at Fontanals, where Locke squeezed in on eight under thanks to a closing 67 Howie birdied first play-off hole to progress at Golf Las Pinaillas while Warren progressed at Isla Canela Links with a 14 under total that included a second-round 65.

It’s the first time that Graham, who is in his first season in the paid ranks, and Locke, who has been a professional since 2018, are appearing in the Final Stage, which will see the top 20 and ties at the end of a six-round marathon secure a coveted card.

“It was actually the first time that I’ve got through the Second Stage, having played in it probably five times,” said Locke, the Silver Medal winner as leading amateur in The Open at Carnoustie in 2018. “So I was really glad to get through at the weekend, especially as I didn’t quite have my game last week. I had to sort of fight for it and that was quite pleasing that I was able to get through.”

‘It’s a chance to turn a disappointing year into a great one’

Locke, who is managed by Paul Lawrie’s Five Star Sports Agency, played on the HotelPlanner Tour this year after earning that opportunity through the Tartan Pro Tour. He played in 22 events but finished a disappointing 131st in the Road to Mallorca Rankings.

“Obviously my results on the HotelPlanner Tour this year haven’t been what I wanted,” he admitted. “But I felt towards the end of the season that I was definitely getting closer to getting better results and as well as feeling my game is getting better, I also feel better mentally as well. Hopefully this week I can play a bit better and keep that mentality.

“It’s a marathon and all you can do is try your best and see where that leaves me at the end of each day. It is really exciting to have a chance to turn a year that hasn’t really gone how I wanted it to into a really good year if I could end up with a DP World Tour card.”

Graham also held a HotelPlanner Tour card this year after earning it through the aforementioned Global Amateur Pathway. Unfortunately, he missed a chunk of the campaign due to a wrist injury but, after making the cut in his final three outings and getting through the First and Second Stages, the Blairgowrie man is feeling buoyant.

“Yeah, really looking forward to getting started here on Friday as I’ve been playing some really nice stuff,” said Graham. “The game feels good and I am going to try and do the same things I did at the First and Second Stages.

‘It’s been a really cool experience so far’

“It’s been a really cool experience so far and I’m excited to see how it goes in this event. The courses are good for the Final Stage. It’s a really nice part of Spain and hopefully the weather stays nice.”

Howie is aiming to regain a seat at the top table after graduating along with Ewen Ferguson from the Challenge Tour at the end of the 2021 season.

“Obviously delighted to get myself through the Second Stage,” he said. “I didn’t have my best stuff, particularly on the weekend, but was happy with how I dug deep and birdied 16, 17 and holed a ten-foot putt on 18 to make the play off.

“Made a nice birdie on the first extra as well, which gave me a bit of a boost. I left the week feeling like I’d won something, despite finishing. Final stage is a good opportunity for me. I really have nothing to lose, so, hopefully, that can free me up and I can play some decent stuff.”

The first four rounds are split between the Hills Course and the Lakes Course, with other card contenders including Eddie Pepperell, Chris Wood, Matthew Baldwin, Yannik Paul and Matthew Southgate.

“Yeah, it’s great to see the Scottish lads doing well,” said Locke of the tartan tally in terms of cards already for next season. “Euan has been really close the last few years and good for him that he has managed to get it over the line this year.

“The same with Davy and Danny as it’s not easy to play the quality of golf they have produced all year. I want to be up there as well and this week I’ve got a chance to do that and we’ll see what I can do.”

Elsewhere, Stephen Gallacher is aiming to cement his top-ten position in the Legends Tour Order of Merit when he tees up in the Champions UK plc European Senior Masters, which is being hosted by Peter Baker at La Manga.

The Lothians man heads into the event sitting eighth on the circuit’s order of merit and needs to finish inside the top ten to secure a spot in next year’s US Senior Open, as well as the Portugal Invitational, a new event on the Champions Tour in 2026.

Gallacher is flying the Saltire in this week’s event along with Greig Hutcheon, David Drysdale, Andrew Oldcorn, Euan McIntosh, Raymond Russell and Scott Drummond while the amateurs taking part include Scottish football legends Kenny Dalglish and Gordon Strachan.