Marc Warren secures DP World Tour return after Mallorca fightback

Marc Warren has regained his place on the DP World Tour, ending a three-year absence after a late recovery at the HotelPlanner Tour grand final in Mallorca. BBC Sport reported that the Scot finished joint fifth in the tournament and climbed into the qualifying positions for next season, having been outside them at the start of the week.

Warren, 45, was the oldest competitor in the field and arrived in Spain ranked 20th on the Road to Mallorca standings. Only the top 15 would earn promotion. His position deteriorated to 22nd at the turn, but his closing eight holes helped lift him to 13th in the final rankings. He completed the tournament seven strokes behind winner Julien Sale.

The decisive stretch included a birdie on the last hole. In comments to the Scotsman carried by BBC Sport, Warren explained that checking the leaderboard had convinced him he needed a three at the 18th and could no longer take a conservative approach. He described delivering the three shots required and seeing the pleasure on the faces of family and friends when the putt fell.

The result restores main-tour status to a player with four victories at that level and a career-best world ranking of 48. Warren also said he had discussed the possibility of needing to attack at some stage of the final round. His closing recovery delivered the improvement in the season standings that he needed to reclaim his card.

Sale, 29, won the finale by four strokes and finished second in the overall rankings, securing his first promotion to the main tour. Hamish Brown was runner-up in the tournament and retained first place in the season standings. England's John Gough and Will Enefer ended the campaign in 10th and 12th positions respectively, also inside the qualifying places.

Brown, 27, first qualified for the main tour in 2024. He said his previous season on the DP World Tour had been difficult, but that familiarity with the circuit left him looking forward to returning. The season-long champion credited Sale's performance for keeping the tournament victory out of his reach.