Copyright scotsman
The Walkers are scaling the heights in Mallorca. After Rona and Eric trekked to the 1,460-feet peak of Talaia d’Alcudia on Monday and enjoyed the stunning views from the highest point of the Alcudia Peninsula, son Euan climbed to the top of the leaderboard in the first round of the Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A. Producing a hugely-impressive round of golf, the 30-year-old Ayrshireman carded a bogey-free seven-under-par 65 at Club de Golf Alcanada to set the pace in the HotelPlanner Tour’s season finale as he bids to make it fourth-time lucky in the DP World Tour card battle after coming up agonisingly short in the last three years. Daniel Young and David Law, both of whom have already secured a seat at the top table next season, are also sitting handily-placed in the Balearics after signing for 68 and 69 respectively, but it was Walker who grabbed the spotlight as he attempts to join his compatriots among the 20 card winners on Sunday night. “Yeah, it was a really good start,” the leader told The Scotsman, having come into this tournament sitting 17th in the Road to Mallorca Rankings but now up to sixth in the projected standings. “I putted really well and holed a lot of really nice putts throughout the round. With the exception of my tee shot at the last, I had it pretty much exactly where I wanted it.” Illuminated by an eagle 3 at the 13th, where he described a 4-iron second shot as “absolutely brilliant”, it was Walker’s best effort in 13 rounds at this venue, beating his previous lowest score by three shots. “I think I’ve had two rounds this year where I literally did everything exactly the way I wanted and, though today was not one of those rounds, it was pretty close behind those two,” he admitted. Just as pleasing as that eagle or birdies at the first, third, fifth, eighth and 15th on this stunning Robert Trent Jones jnr-designed course was a par save from sand at the last after a pushed drive. “It would have been pretty disappointing to bogey the last, so it was really nice to avoid finishing with my only bogey of the day after a great bunker shot,” he said, smiling. Which was quite a contrast to how he’d felt earlier in the day after the shuttle bus he’d planned to get from his hotel in Port d’Alcudia failed to turn up. “Yeah, that was absolutely scandalous,” said Walker of the last thing a player wants and even more so in an event like this when so much is on the line. “The tour are raging that the bus driver just decided that he was going to stop working. “I was going to get the 9.30am bus that would have got me here for 9.40am-9.45am and I’d warm up for an hour. I don’t think the bus even made it to the hotel for 10am, so there was no bus. We arrived just after 10am after one of the guys ordered a taxi, so I had about 45 minutes to get ready.” It was ironic, therefore, that Walker had to stand off his tee shot at the last as a shuttle bus made its way down the road on the left side of the hole. “That was not lost on me,” he admitted. “I thought, ‘now the bus is coming - perfect’.” Young, who landed his breakthrough win on the circuit in the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A earlier this year, sits joint-sixth after an effort that contained six birdies, four of which came after he’d taken a double-bogey 7 at the seventh. “I played really good and didn’t even hit a bad shot there as the wind just switched on me,” said the Perth man, who has slipped one spot to ninth in the projected rankings. “I played solid the rest of the day. I wasn’t in much bother and made a really good up and down at the 18th from long left.” In what can be a stressful event, it was a funny moment when Young’s dad, Ian, ended up on his backside after a portable chair collapsed at the side of the green at the par-3 sixth. “We watched it and it was hilarious,” said Youg jnr. “It was slow motion. It was like someone had shot him as he just toppled back. We had a good laugh about it on the way to the next tee. It made an almighty crack and he probably made a thud as well.” Law, a two-time winner this season, also signed for six birdies, with two of his three bogeys coming from three-putts on greens that are very slick. “To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much as I haven’t been hitting it very well, which gives me something to build on for tomorrow, but actually hit it solid all day,” said the Aberdonian. “Unfortunately, I struggled on the greens, but they are fast.” Calum Fyfe, the fourth Scot in the field and needing a big week to climb from 26th into the top 20, opened with a level-par 72 to sit joint-29th. “I played a lot better than my score suggests, but I am still in it,” said the Glaswegian. “I fully believe I can do it. I am here to do a job like every other week, though it is hard to ignore the extra pressure. Just got for it as I have nothing to lose because I am sorted for the HotelPlanner Tour for next season.” Though there’s still a long way to go, here’s hoping that Walker’s days on this circuit are behind him when he leaves here on Sunday night. “I had no doubt in my mind at the start of the week that Euan was going to have a great week and me and Tully (caddie Alan Tulleth) were saying on the way round that it was nice to see him at the top of the leaderboard,” said Law with a smile. “Yeah, if I’m not going to win here, I hope it is Euan.”
