Joseba Torres made the ideal start in his pursuit of a DP World Tour card by posting a seven under par opening round of 65 to lead the Grand Final.
The Spaniard carded eight birdies and dropped just one shot to reach seven under at Club de Golf Alcanada and sit atop the leaderboard, one-stroke clear of American John Catlin and Frenchman Julien Sale who share solo second.
The Grand Final is the 28th and final event on the HotelPlanner Tour’s 2026 Road to Mallorca schedule, with the 45-man field in Alcúdia competing for one of 15 DP World Tour cards on offer.
Torres made the perfect start with two birdies in his opening three holes before dropping his only shot of the day on the fourth. He responded, however, with birdies on the seventh and eighth seeing him to the turn at three under.
He would rattle off back-to-back gains from the 12th before finding two more birdies on the 15th and 16th to climb to the top of the leaderboard. Torres recovered well from a wayward tee shot on the last to finish with a par and cap a fine opening day’s work.
"I'm very happy with that opening round," he said.
"I made a couple of really good putts and a few par saves which really helped. You have to be patient around this golf course, it's very tough. I hit some bad shots which ended up okay and some good shots that were punished. With the greens being as fast as they are, you have to read them well too.
"Things are working well for me at the moment and I'm just trying to keep things very simple. I have no idea what's changed. Having a good caddie and team around me has really helped. It's nice to play well here in Spain and I'm really happy to have my friends and family here supporting me."
The 24-year-old, currently 23rd on the Road to Mallorca Rankings, has enjoyed a fine end to the season, with a runner-up at the Hainan Open securing his Grand Final berth. He must match his performance in China to be assured of promotion to Golf’s Global Tour, while a top six finish will keep his hopes of a DP World Tour card alive, depending on the performances of his competitors.
Catlin also started fast with three birdies inside his opening four holes before dropping a shot on the fifth. The American responded with a birdie on the seventh to turn at three under and moved further under par with a birdie on the par five 11th.
He would drop his second shot of the day on the 12th before finding form during the closing stretch, with three birdies in his final six holes, including a closing gain, seeing the American sign for a six under par 66.
Catlin is teeing it up in his first Grand Final and arrived in Mallorca fresh off victory at the Link Hong Kong Open on the Asian Tour, his sixth national open victory after his win earlier this year at the English Open supported by HotelPlanner.
"This course really does favour a draw and that’s my normal shot shape," said the American.
"We started off with three consecutive left pins so that really made me feel comfortable. I like the course and I like the fact you have to be very precise with your approach shots.
"The greens have a lot of undulation in them and if you miss in the wrong spots, you pay the penalty. You have to think your way around and that’s something I do pretty well. I feel like a lot of hard work came together [last week in Hong Kong] and I’m just trying to continue that work and fine tune what I was doing well."
Sale joined Catlin on the same number late in the day, with four birdies in his last six holes vaulting the 29-year-old up the leaderboard. Sale, who sealed his maiden HotelPlanner Tour title at the Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge in July, is already guaranteed promotion to the DP World Tour and is looking to become the first French winner of the Rankings since Mike Lorenzo-Vera achieved the feat in 2007.
Santiago Tarrio and Pablo Ereño from Spain, England's Andrew Wilson and Dutchman Lars van der Vight share fourth position, entering Friday’s second round on five under.
