The 2026 HotelPlanner Tour season kicks off next week, with the Road to Mallorca visiting South Africa for four co-sanctioned events with the Sunshine Tour. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the new season…
Ranking points
Every event on the 2026 HotelPlanner Tour schedule provides an opportunity for players to earn Ranking points. Each player will accumulate these points throughout the season, which will then determine their position on the Road to Mallorca Rankings.
At the beginning of each week, a total of 2000 Ranking points are available to the field. The higher up the leaderboard a player finishes, the larger share of the points they will earn. The Hainan Open and Hangzhou Open, the penultimate events on the schedule, boast an additional 750 points, and a total of 4000 points are available at the season-ending Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A.
Last season, Road to Mallorca Rankings Number One, JC Ritchie, accumulated 1,647 points following his three victories, while Swede Albin Bergstrom, who sealed the last available DP World Tour card, ended the 2025 season with 683 points. Spaniard Victor Pastor, the last man in the field at the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A, ensured his place at Club de Golf Alcanada by amassing 431 points from his 24 starts prior to the season-ending finale in Mallorca.
30-event schedule
Following four events in South Africa, starting at the SDC Open on January 29 and ending at the Jonsson Workwear Durban Open on February 22, the Road to Mallorca heads to India for back-to-back co-sanctioned events with the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI) in March. A month later the HotelPlanner Tour makes its way to the United Arab Emirates for consecutive events in the Middle East, starting with the Abu Dhabi Challenge at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club before the UAE Challenge at Al Zorah Golf & Yacht Club.
The Italian Challenge Open at the start of May marks the start of ten straight events in Europe, ending at the German Challenge powered by VcG. Then, after a one-week break, the Raiffeisenbank Golf Challenge kickstarts a run of nine events with the Open de Portugal concluding the European stretch of the 2026 season in the middle of September. Back-to-back events in China follow in October, with the Hainan Open and Hangzhou Open the last opportunity to earn Ranking points before the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A takes centre stage between October 29 – November 1.
China cut-off
Upon the conclusion of the Open de Portugal, the leading players on the Road to Mallorca will advance to the Hainan Open, the first of back-to-back events in China, looking to keep their hopes of earning promotion to the DP World Tour on track.
Sweden’s Robin Petersson started the final regular season event of 2025 74th on the Rankings and in need of a big week at the Italian Challenge Open to book his ticket to China. Following a tied second finish, the 33-year-old jumped to 33rd to extend his season. Christofer Rahm was the last man in the field at the Hainan Open after finishing alongside his countryman Petersson in Italy, jumping 85 places to ensure his participation in the Middle Kingdom.
Top 45
Once the Hangzhou Open, the penultimate event on the schedule, concludes, the top 45 players on the Road to Mallorca Rankings will advance to the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A.
Last season, Bergstrom found form at precisely the right time. The Swede sat 71st in the Rankings ahead of back-to-back events in China and in need of two impressive performances to ensure his spot at the season-ending finale in Mallorca. Following a top 15 finishing at the Hainan Open and a fourth place in Hangzhou, Bergstrom climbed 31 spots to extend his season. The Swede would eventually go on to secure promotion to the DP World Tour for the first time.
Top 15
The goal for those teeing it up on the 2026 Road to Mallorca is to earn one of 15 life-changing DP World Tour cards. Last season, 12 of those who finished inside the promotion places earned playing privileges on Golf’s Global Tour for the first time, with another eight returning to the DP World Tour having previously held status.
England’s James Morrison was the standout story at last year’s Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A. Sitting 36th in the Rankings at the start of the week, the two-time DP World Tour winner rolled back the years, carding rounds of 71-67-65-70 to finish 15 under par, three strokes clear of Italian Stefano Mazzoli and, in turn, secure a fairytale return to the DP World Tour 12 months after he lost playing privileges.
Automatic promotion
Along with the 15 available cards, players can also seal an early promotion to Golf’s Global Tour by winning three times in the same season on the Road to Mallorca. Last year, Ritchie won three times in five starts to become the 15th player and first South African to achieve the feat. Ritchie, who now has seven career HotelPlanner Tour victories, kickstarted his hot streak at the German Challenge supported by VcG, finishing 24 under par for the week and eight shots clear of second place. The 31-year-old then sealed his second title of the season at the Open de Portugal at Royal Óbidos before securing automatic promotion the following week after winning the Italian Challenge Open at Golf Nazionale. Ritchie, however, wasn’t the only player to win three times on the 2025 Road to Mallorca. Italian Renato Paratore returned to the HotelPlanner Tour having spent nine straight seasons on the DP World Tour, and the 29-year-old wasted no time in earning an immediate return to the top league. After winning for the first time in five years at the UAE Challenge, Paratore sealed back-to-back titles at the Abu Dhabi Challenge to catapult himself to second in the Rankings. After his fine form in the United Arab Emirates, Paratore once again hit the winner’s circle six months later at the Hainan Open, where he beat Austrian Maximilian Steinlechner in a play-off to confirm his return to the DP World Tour.
