The Road to Mallorca heads to Newmachar Golf Club for this week’s Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A. Here are three men to keep an eye on this week…
Form horse
Mikael Lindberg arrives in Scotland in red-hot form after a third place finish at the Challenge de España. The Swede carded rounds of 69-73-71-70 in difficult conditions at Iberostar Real Club de Golf Novo Sancti Petri and currently sits in 15th position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings. The 29-year-old will be looking to continue his impressive start to the season and secure DP World Tour playing rights for 2023.
Local boy
Scotland’s Sam Locke enters the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A in terrific form after winning the Dundonald Links Classic on the Tartan Pro Tour earlier this month. The 23-year-old carded rounds of 73-67 to become the first three-time winner on the Tartan Pro Tour, which is owned by 1999 Open Champion Paul Lawrie, and he will be hoping for further success on home soil this week.
Locke had a glittering amateur career, which included victory at the 2017 Scottish Amateur and qualifying for the 2018 Open Championship. The Scotsman carded rounds of 72-73 to make the cut at Carnoustie Golf Links and emulated the likes of Major winners Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy by winning the coveted Silver Medal for the leading amateur.
The Outsider
16-year-old wonderkid Frank Kennedy will make his Challenge Tour bow at this week’s Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A. The Englishman sent shockwaves through the golfing world when he made the cut on his DP World Tour debut at the 2021 Hero Open last year at the age of 15. The amateur was on the cut line at Fairmont St Andrews but rolled in a birdie at the last to make the weekend field and eventually finished in a tie for 63rd.
Kennedy continued his meteoric rise in 2022 with a sensational wire-to-wire victory at the Portuguese Amateur Championship, following in the footsteps of two-time DP World Tour winner Eddie Pepperell. The 16-year-old will be looking to take his impressive form into the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A and become the youngest winner in Challenge Tour history.
