The 2026 Road to Mallorca officially gets under way later this month, with the SDC Open at Zebula Golf Estate & Spa the official curtain-raiser for the 28-tournament schedule, that will see the HotelPlanner Tour visit three continents and 18 different countries.
Kit Alexander has been part of the commentary team for the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A for the last four years live on Sky Sports, and after successfully predicting the Road to Mallorca Number One in 2024, he’s back to give his thoughts and predictions ahead of another action-packed campaign.
The Road to Mallorca schedule was announced in December and boasts a prize fund of €9,000,000 for the second successive year, with Alexander impressed by the schedule, with a return to England and a first visit to Estonia the highlights.
“I think the start in South Africa and the UAE, to get the guys playing early in the year before the weather improves in Europe has worked, and it’s brilliant to see again,” he said. “It’s lovely to see the two English events on the schedule too with The Vale Golf Club in June and at The Caversham in September.
“I’m really excited about the Infotar Estonian Challenge. I’ve been to Tallin and it is a charming, wonderful city. The golf course is really good as well. I often think good golf courses are ones that you remember, and I found it a memorable experience to play there. I think the players will as well, so I’m really excited to see that one on the schedule.
The HotelPlanner Tour continues to be a proven breeding ground for the next generation of golfing superstars, where Major winners including Brooks Koepka, Matthew Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose, and Ryder Cup stars such as Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Nicolai Højgaard and Robert MacIntyre all began their journey.
In 2025, several graduates from 2024 shone on the DP World Tour, with Nicolai von Dellingshausen, John Parry, Kristoffer Reitan and Martin Couvra all winning on Golf’s Global Tour, while Parry, Reitan and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen secured back-to-back promotions and will tee it up on the PGA TOUR in 2026.
Alexander is impressed by how well-prepared the HotelPlanner Tour’s graduates continue to be for life on the DP World Tour, and says a lot of that boils down to the strength of schedule.
“There’s really strong continuity to it from last year too. It is a really good product and one that’s doing exactly what it is designed to do, which is identify and produce the best players, and to make sure they are ready when they reach the next step.
“The amount of players that are going on and having success at the next level, on the DP World Tour, and even beyond that, and players quickly earning PGA TOUR cards as well, off the back of promotion, goes to show that the schedule is working.”
Alexander has predicted a breakthrough year for several up-and-coming stars on the HotelPlanner Tour this season, but recognises that experience will also play a huge part across a long season, as is evident in his picks for the 2026 Road to Mallorca…
Kit’s picks
You can follow Kit on social media: @KitOnTheCourse (X), @kitonthecourse (Instagram)
Road to Mallorca Number One: Yannik Paul
“I’m going for Yannik Paul. He’s a class player who is dropping down from the DP World Tour where he won in Mallorca in 2022. He was in the running for the Ryder Cup team in 2023 which only feels like it’s a heartbeat ago.
“He knows how to get promoted as he did it in 2021 in his first season, and he did it with a tied second in the Rolex Grand Final. He was in a position where he wasn’t guaranteed promotion and needed to make something happen and he did, which is always a good sign.
“We know what he went on to achieve after that, finished 20th, 22nd and 47th on the Race to Dubai in those three seasons after promotion, so he was more than established.
“I think coming back to the HotelPlanner Tour, he can find himself again and get his head down. We know he’s got the pedigree, we know how good he is at his best from what we’ve seen, and if he’s anywhere near that, he’ll be challenging for the Number One spot.”
Dark Horse: Jovan Rebula
“I’m going for the man that was unlucky 21st on the Road to Mallorca last year, Jovan Rebula. An amateur champion in 2018, he’s now 28 years old and has a few years under his belt.
“He seems to be improving each year, and last year especially he started really well down in South Africa. I don’t think you can understate that he those first four events in his home country give him a really good chance to make a strong start in conditions that he’s going to be familiar with.
“He finished the season strongly too, with five top 20s in his last six events, tied 11th at the Rolex Grand Final, but ultimately just a shot or two shy of doing enough to push himself in the promotion places. I was impressed by what I saw from him in Mallorca, and I’d expect him to get off to a strong start.”
Rising stars : Lars van der Vight, Christiaan Burke & Adam Wallin
“I’m starting with Christiaan Burke who I don’t think actually is a HotelPlanner Tour member right now. In similar to fashion to Rebula, he’s South African and if he makes a fast start in those first four events, which I think he will do, I think he might take up HotelPlanner Tour membership.
“He showed his pedigree with a tied fourth finish in the Alfred Dunhill Championship on the DP World Tour in December. He’s sixth on the Sunshine Tour Order of Merit right now. We will see him on the DP World Tour and probably the PGA TOUR within the next few years. It’s just whether he takes the HotelPlanner Tour step this year to do it.
“I’m going with 23-year-old Dutchman, Lars van der Vight, who won the Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit last year to get his card.
“The encouraging thing for me is that he finished tied fourth in Italy on the HotelPlanner Tour last year and he’s made the cut at the KLM Open on the DP World Tour the last two years too. He’s young, he played brilliantly at the lower level last year, and those results suggest he’ll handle the step up really well.
“My third one to look out for is Adam Wallin, the young Swede. His Nordic Golf League record was stunning last year with four wins and five second place finishes, all coming in his first full year as a professional which is pretty impressive.
“It was somewhat expected though after a pedigree amateur career at Ohio State University. He played the 2022 Eisenhower Trophy on the team with Ryder Cup winner Ludvig Åberg and Tobias Jonsson who earned promotion last year. He had a few starts last year on the HotelPlanner Tour so he has those under his belt now and can kick on this year.”
Three more picks for promotion
“I’m going with Marc Warren. We all like a comeback story. We’ve had some good ones the last few years with James Morrison and John Parry, and I think four-time DP World Tour winner Warren can be next in line.
“He’s 44-years-old but still has an excellent swing. He won the Rankings on the HotelPlanner Tour all the way back in 2005, so over two decades ago, but knows what’s required. He has started showing some more positive signs in recent times too.
“Benjamin Hébert has been promoted from the HotelPlanner Tour three times. He’s been there, seen it, done it. He’s a six-time winner on the HotelPlanner Tour as well, and he’s finished inside the top 71 on the DP World Tour for six seasons in a row from 2015 to 2020. He peaked at 16th on the Race to Dubai in 2019, so he’s played at a high level for a long time. I think with his class and experience at this level, he should go about his business in very tidy fashion this year.
“My final pick is going to be Callum Tarren. He went to college in the States and stayed over there, travelled the world a little bit but not to the HotelPlanner Tour or DP World Tour. He’s got PGA TOUR experience from 2022 to 2024, so having played at that level, you’ve got to fancy him this year. I’m intrigued to see what he can do, and I think he should be able to do enough to get promoted.”
