Jan Schneider is hoping to take his chance on the Road to Mallorca this year, having earned his spot through the China Tour pathway in 2025, and tees it up this week at the Interwetten Open.
German Schneider’s link to China goes beyond just somewhere he has previously played golf, however, with his mother being Chinese and himself having been born in the country.
The 28-year-old is pleased that he was able to capitalise on a route to the HotelPlanner Tour in an environment he feels very comfortable in.
“I think my journey on to the HotelPlanner Tour is actually maybe a little bit different to some of my competitors out here,” he said.
“My mum is actually Chinese, and I was born in China so actually it was an easy decision to pick the China Tour because I speak the language, I’m quite comfortable there and I love the food.
“It’s always a great time out there – I used to go back every year, even during college. I also played the China Tour with it in mind that it gives the opportunity to play on the HotelPlanner Tour and the DP World Tour.”
It wasn’t until the season-ending China Tour Championship that Schneider reached second in the Order of Merit, but his victory there saw him make the leap, finishing just 12 points above Charles Wang.
Now the German, and Order of Merit winner Zhou Yanhan who is on the DP World Tour, get the chance to test their games against some of the best players in the world.
“I think the China Tour has a great opportunity for its players,” he added. “The first guy Yanhan won it last year so he’s on the DP World Tour and I saw him playing quite well last week.
“The second-place finisher, which was where I finished, gets category ten on the HotelPlanner Tour and then some other guys behind me got Q-school opportunities, so I actually finished fourth last year and that got me into the final stage of Q-school.
“I think it’s great, especially for the Chinese local players for them to have an opportunity to get out here because it’s quite far.”
Before this season, Schneider had only played the 2024 and 2025 Hainan and Hangzhou Opens on the HotelPlanner Tour, events that are co-sanctioned with the China Tour. In these he registered one top five and two other top 20s.
“I think one of the great things about the China Tour is that it has these co-sanctioned events with the HotelPlanner Tour and the DP World Tour which is very unique.
“These HotelPlanner Tour events are always the highlight of our year - they come towards the end of the year, obviously with lots of points to grab and I think for the Chinese players, it’s important to compete against some of the European players on the HotelPlanner Tour to see where they stand and test themselves with better competition.”
This season, he has made three of four cuts on the Road to Mallorca, including a 20th place finish at the Danish Golf Challenge, leaving him 101st on the season-long Rankings. He is looking to chase down the top 70 to keep his playing rights in the 2027 season.
“The HotelPlanner Tour has been good this year, I’ve enjoyed it,” said Schneider.
“This is my fifth event this year and my game is definitely tested each week. I enjoy the courses and the scenery seems to be nice every week like this week out here.
“The ultimate goal is to get on to the DP World Tour and the PGA TOUR. Obviously, that’s the ultimate goal but to do that you need to win out here so that’s going to be my goal this week and hopefully I’ll make a good step towards it.”
The Interwetten Open this week boasts a strong field, with last week's winner Matthew Southgate present, as well as the third and fourth ranked players in the Road Mallorca Will Enefer and Ryan Van Velzen.
