Scottish golfing trio set sights on lighting up DP World Tour in 2026 season

Decompressing will come next for David Law, Daniel Young and Euan Walker at the end of a season when they all played in 24 events or more on the second-tier circuit before all three will quickly turn their attention to exciting 2026 campaigns as DP World Tour card holders.

For Law, it’s a return to the top tier after stepping up along with Bob MacIntyre, Grant Forrest and Liam Johnston at the end of the 2018 campaign, winning in just his fifth start as a rookie before losing his card at the end of last season. Young and Walker, meanwhile, will both be heading into their first campaigns sitting at the top table in European golf.

Three seasons had passed by without a Scot securing a card through what was then called the Challenge Tour before being rebranded at the start of this year. It was a very welcome return, therefore, on this occasion, with three tickets matching the haul by Italy, France, Spain and Sweden while England and South Africa each secured two spots and the other one went to Austria.

Helped by two wins, Law finished second behind South African JC Ritchie in the Road to Mallorca Rankings and the 34-year-old Aberdonian is determined to hit the ground running when he heads Down Under to play in the season-starting BMW Australian BMW PGA Championship at the end of the month then the Australian Open as well before heading to South Africa for the Alfred Dunhill Championship before Christmas.

“Yeah, you never know what it might do for you,” admitted Law of jumping up a spot in the final standings. “It might be one event or whatever you get into and the chances are it could be a big event. Look, to finish second in the Order of Merit is amazing. I would have bitten your hand off for that this time last year. Slightly disappointed with the week. But, at the same time, I’ve come here and enjoyed the week, during which we’ve been looked after very, very well.

“I was obviously really disappointed at the end of last season to have lost my card. But, at the same time, I was really encouraged by how motivated I was to get it back and that was amazing for me because you can’t fake those things. That’s something inside you that thinks you’ve got a bit more to give and I certainly thought that and it inspired me to compete out here and have a good year.

“It is important that you spend time with the right people as well. To spend a lot of time this year with James [Morrison] was great. As much as he says that I sort of spurred him on a little bit, he won first, so he inspired me to then go on and win. So it was great for me to see that. And, when you spend time with people like James, it is always entertaining.

“I’m going to start straight away in Australia, spending two weeks down there then a week in South Africa as well to try and get off to the best possible start I can. I know how important it is. The better seasons I’ve had have started off really well, so I know how important it is to start well. I’ll obviously reflect a little bit the next couple of days but I will be trying to push on and start the new season well.”

Helped by landing a breakthrough win in the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A at Schloss Roxburgh, Young finished 11th in the standings after a disappointing final two rounds in Mallorca but that was never going to take the shine off his strong season.

“That’s the important one,” he said of securing a coveted card. “I think after last year I saw a few of my mates celebrating on the Sunday night and, not that it was really needed, I think it did give me a bit more fuel to work hard and make sure that I got the job done this year.

“We’re lonely people out there as golfers. You can’t do it without your family and Sandy Smith, my coach, has been amazing. I’ve spent the last two years working with Graeme Leslie as well and he’s helped me massively on the performance side of things.

“Katy, my fiancee, spends half the year at home. It’s more for these guys than me. I get to enjoy the perks of seeing some nice parts of the world and playing for a lot of money now. It’s where I want to be for the rest of my career.”

‘They have given me all the support in the world’

After agonisingly missing out three years in a row, Walker finally made the step up by finishing 14th on the points list. Having followed every shot he’d hit in the season finale, it was a lovely moment for his parents, Rona and Eric, to see the 30-year-old achieve what he’d described at the start of the week as a “lifetime ambition”.

Speaking at the end of it, he said: “I couldn’t have done it without them. They have given me all the support in the world and even now they are still supporting me as I am living at home and not paying them anything (laughing).”

While the odd eyebrow may have been raised about Walker deciding after each of his disappointments not to try and get a card instead through the Qualifying School, the 30-year-old felt comfortable about his strategy and, to the delight of lots of people, it paid off in the end.

“I just had to keep trying,” he said, smiling. “I showed that I was competitive by coming back here every year with a chance to finish in the top 20. I just had to persevere and work hard and I’ve worked so hard to improve my long game as that had been the area that had let me down in the past. I’ve worked so hard to try and get that to a level where I can compete. Not just finishing in the top 20 on this circuit but hopefully to play well on the DP World Tour as well.”