Marc Warren turns back clock in Mallorca as son's 2005 comment 'hits home'

At 45, the East Kilbride man is the oldest player in a 45-man field for the season finale at Club de Golf Alcanada in Port d’Alcudia, where the top 15 in the Road to Mallorca Ranking after the final putt of the season is holed on Sunday afternoon will secure a step up to the main tour for the 2027 campaign.

Warren, a four-time DP World Tour winner, including a triumph on home soil in the 2007 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, sits 20th on the season-long points list. Finishing first or second will guarantee a place back at the top table while ending up eight or better should get the job done.

“I know, bloody hell,” replied Warren, sitting in the Players’ Chill Zone at this week’s venue, to being reminded that it had been 2005 when he last played in this event, albeit at San Domenico in Italy on that occasion. “Archie (his 13-year-old son) said something this morning about 2005 and I said to him ‘that was the last time I played in this event’ and he was like ‘no way’. In fact, it was (PGA Tour sensation) Jackson Koivun, who was born in 2005, that he was talking about. I think little things like that certainly hit home (smiling).”

In 30 years, Warren, who won twice that season, is the sole Scot to top the standings on the second-tier circuit. “I knew I needed a good finish that week and ended up joint-second to win the Order of Merit,” he recalled. “In those days your first event was the HSBC Champions - a World Golf Championship event. Two or three weeks after winning the Challenge Tour as it was back then, that was a nice start to my DP World Tour career!”

After finishing 42nd in his rookie campaign then matching that position 12 months later, Warren lost his status at the end of 2010. At that stage of his career, he hated being back playing on the Challenge Tour, as Pete Cowen and Mike Walker, the two coaches he was working with at the time, could easily tell.

“I remember sitting down with them not longer after we started, having just played a couple of Challenge Tour events,” recalled Warren. “Mike basically said to Pete when we were sitting in Pete’s office in Rotherham ‘look, I don’t think it is good for Marc to be playing Challenge Tour golf’. He said that was based on what I was saying mentality-wise and asked Pete what he thought. His reply was to ask me ‘if I gave you six opportunities to get your main tour card back, would you back yourself to do it?’ and I said ‘yes, I think so’. He said ‘well, back yourself to do it’. Fortunately, I went out and I think I had my main tour card back after three or four events.”

Hampered by a neck injury, Warren lost his card again three years ago, admitting that couldn’t have come at a “worse” time as playing opportunities then “basically dropped off the cliff” for him. He openly admits that adapting to life away from the main tour and feeling as though he was “starting out” again even in terms of building up a new group of friends among fellow players was difficult in both 2024 and 2025. But, as he joins Calum Fyfe in flying the Saltire over the next four days in the Balearics, there’s a definite spring back in Warren’s step.

“Yeah, ideally you’d still be playing on the main tour, but I’ve had a strong second half to the season to be here, so I have given myself a chance to get a full card back and that is obviously the main objective for this week,” he declared. Yeah, it is all to play for. Obviously double points in a smaller field.

“Nothing has to be amazing, I don’t think. It just has to be a good week and see if people around you either do well or not do well. I guess it’s trying to use that experience of 20-odd years of playing my own game and seeing where that takes us at the end of the week, but there is a very clear goal, which is very different to most weeks.”

In addition to Archie, Warren’s wife Laura and daughter Sophie are out in Mallorca to cheer him on, as are his mum Cathie and dad Bobby. “I’m hoping history repeats itself,” said Warren of James Morrison having won this event 12 months ago at the age of 40 and having his 13-year-old son, Finley, on the bag, though a South African called Elvis is caddying for Warren as Archie lends his support from outside the ropes.

Jamieson, Warren’s closest friend on tour over the years, bridged a 14-year gap by returning to winning ways on the DP World Tour as he landed the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeenshire in August.

“Obviously, I was delighted for Scott,” said a smiling Warren. “I think him winning fires you up a bit more as well because you want to go out and do that again yourself. For me, it’s about trying to use that the right way and be motivated by him doing well. He messaged me yesterday, saying ‘play well and hopefully he will see me soon if I can have a good week’. That would be good as we haven’t seen each other much at all over the last couple of years.”

Hamish Brown, a Dane with arguably the most Scottish name in golf, tops the rankings heading into the season finale, closely followed by Swede Christofer Blomstrand, winner of this year’s Scottish Challenge at SCHLOSS Roxburghe. Others in the field include Englishman Chris Wood, who played in the 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine.

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