With the German Challenge powered by VcG marking the halfway point on the 2026 Road to Mallorca, let’s look back on what we’ve learned from the first 15 events on the schedule…
South Africa on top
MJ Daffue leads the way at the top of the season-long Road to Mallorca Rankings with two wins at the NTT Data Pro-Am brought to you by Standard Bank and the DP World PGTI Open both coming before the end of March. The South African has mixed his season on the HotelPlanner Tour with DP World Tour starts too, having finished in a tie for third at the Hero Indian Open in the week following his triumph at the DP World PGTI Open. Daffue also enjoyed his second DP World Tour top-ten finish of the season at the Soudal Open where he ended the week in a tie for eighth.
MJ Viljoen and Oliver Bekker were other South Africans to win in the Rainbow Nation, at the SDC Open and Jonsson Workwear Durban Open respectively. Ryan Van Velzen, also from South Africa, joined Viljoen and Daffue inside the promotion places when he claimed his maiden HotelPlanner Tour win at the Challenge de España. South Africa, as a result, is the most represented nation inside the all-important promotion places.
Satellite tour graduates make their mark
Lars Van Der Vight and Adam Wallin are two Satellite Tour graduates making their mark as they seek back-to-back promotions. Van Der Vight was victorious in Germany last week in his rookies season after topping the Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit last year.
Wallin took the Nordic Golf League by storm last year with four wins and five second place finishes on his way to promotion to the HotelPlanner Tour, and the Swede’s form has continued into this season. In just his second full year as a professional, Wallin has his sights on promotion with a tied third place finish at the Danish Golf challenge and four further top ten finishes meaning he currently sits inside the top 15.
Consistency is key
Hamish Brown and Maxence Giboudot are flying high this season, sitting third and fifth on the Rankings, despite not winning an event yet. The pair have had consistent starts to the campaign, and multiple near misses have seen the pair climb the Rankings more than their peers. Brown has had three second placed finishes on the Road to Mallorca this year, coming close at the Swiss Challenge and Le Vaudreuil Golf Challenge as well as a play-off defeat to Pablo Ereno at the Challenge de Catalunya.
Giboudot finished the season-opening SDC Open in a tie for third, and that set the tone for his season. The Frenchman has made the cut in 11 of his 13 starts and also fell victim to a play-off defeat, at the Danish Golf Challenge, as he fell short in extra holes against Tapio Pulkkanen. Giboudot then registered a tied fourth place finish at the Blot Play9 after carding a third round 63 on his way to a nine under par week.
The pair will be looking to find their all-important wins as they set their sights on promotion to the DP World Tour.
