Copyright scotsman
“Good times don’t happen that often in this game,” declared Daniel Young, hence why the Perth man is determined to enjoy himself this week in the HotelPlanner Tour’s Rolex Grand Final supported by The R&A in Mallorca. Along with compatriot David Law, Young has turned up at Club de Golf Alcanada in Port d’Alcudia with a DP World Tour card for next season locked up. Helped by a dream debut win on the circuit in the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge in August, Young sits eighth in the Road to Mallorca Rankings and it is being estimated that the top 11 are in the safe zone in the battle for 20 seats at the top table in 2026. It’s taken Young, one of four Scots in this week’s 45-man field, until the age of 34 to achieve his dream of being a DP World Tour player, but he doesn’t mind in the slightest that he could be viewed as a somewhat late developer. As a kid, he spent almost every single day during the summer holidays either out on the course playing or practising at Craigie Hill in his home city and even worked as a caddie at Kingsbarns for a spell to fund his amateur career. That has now paid off and Young, therefore, is feeling a very cheery chap in Mallorca this week. “It is satisfying,” he told The Scotsman out in the Balearics of being in a position where he’s not really under any pressure whatsoever after achieving both his main goals for this year by landing a breakthrough win and having a coveted card in his back pocket before a ball is struck in anger in the season finale. “This game is so hard, especially nowadays. It just gets harder and harder as it just seems that there are better and better players coming out here and at any level, really. So to see the hard work come to fruition, this year especially, has been very rewarding indeed. It’s kind of been building the last few years, in fairness. “I know much hard work I’ve put in and for it to pay off is brilliant. I guess I’ve had it wrapped up for a while, so you can almost look forward to next year a bit earlier as opposed to coming here, securing a card and then having a quick turnaround. I feel like I have been trying to savour it and enjoy it more than could have been the case, I suppose.” Young, who lost to Bob MacIntyre in the final of the Scottish Amateur Championship at Muirfield in 2015, has already made plans to start his DP World Tour rookie campaign by playing in next month’s season-opening double-header Down Under - the BMW Australian PGA Championship and the Australian Open. “I have been chatting about this with Davy Law already,” he said of the new challenge looming on the horizon. “I kind of know what to expect as I’ve played in quite a few DP World Tour events over the years. Just to have full playing rights is such a nice feeling because it is what you have worked towards for a long time. You then want to keep pushing on as well. There’s loads of opportunities out there now like cards in the States (on the PGA Tour) that you could grab if you continue to play well and that is my aim.” On the evidence of making the cut in all three of his main tour appearances since his sweet success at Schloss Roxburghe in the Borders, it looks as though Young can take being a card holder in his stride. “Yeah, it was to get a bit more experience but also because it was more money to play for,” he openly admitted of playing in those events instead of ones on the second-tier circuit. “At the end of the day, we are a business and you’ve got to try and make hay when you are playing well. It was as simple as that, really.” During the Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links, Young did a sting in the Sky Sports Golf commentary box, where, according to one of the professional presenters, he produced a polished performance. Something similar out on the course in front of the cameras over the next four days and his dream year could get even better.
