Tournament: Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A
Venue: SCHLOSS Roxburghe, Heiton by Kelso, Scotland
Hashtag: #ScottishChallenge
Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A preview
Daniel van Tonder will make his first appearance on the HotelPlanner Tour since February when he tees it up at this week’s Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A.
The South African became the early pacesetter on the Road to Mallorca after winning the first two events of the season on home soil at the SDC Open and MyGolfLife Open hosted by Pecanwood Estate.
Van Tonder has spent the past six months primarily focussing on the Sunshine Tour, where he won four times in 2025 and topped the Order of Merit, and returns this week sixth in the Rankings, with Englishman Joshua Berry currently holding the number one spot.
With new frontrunners emerging near the summit, the 34-year-old is eager to regain top spot and secure a third HotelPlanner Tour win of the season this week, and, in turn, immediate promotion to the DP World Tour.
“I’m so happy to be playing these tournaments again,” he said. “I’ve been looking forward to this as it’s the first one of six in a row. I like playing a lot, but I think I’ve previously drained myself a little bit when playing 14 or 15 in a row.
“I think I missed 14 events, so I am quite happy not to be too far down the Rankings. I think I am still sixth so to go and redeem my first place after this week would be phenomenal.”
Van Tonder, alongside winning six times across both the HotelPlanner Tour and Sunshine Tour, has also teed it up at two Major Championships this year: The 153rd Open and USPGA Championship at Quail Hollow Club.
Despite missing the cut in both events, the South African was pleased to test his game against the best players in the world.
“I enjoyed my experience playing the Major Championships this year, it was great,” he added.
“It would’ve been nice if I’d played a bit better but it’s always hard to play well when you search for things that work.
“I feel like it was a good experience playing with the big names. Last week I played with Phil Mickelson which was unbelievable. He’s 55 and he’s still got the game.”
SCHLOSS Roxburghe makes its debut on the Road to Mallorca this week and despite visiting the Scottish Borders venue for the first time, Van Tonder fancies his chances of returning to the winner’s circle.
“The course is great,” he said.
“It’s narrow and a bit tricky but I am still looking forward to playing here. I think it suits me well. I am going to try and limit mistakes and lift a trophy at the end of the week.”
Van Tonder is part of a strong field at this week’s Scottish Challenge which includes DP World Tour winners Eddie Pepperell, James Morrison and David Law, along with Road to Mallorca Number One Berry.
The first round of the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A gets underway at 7:30am on Thursday with Van Tonder teeing off alongside Swede Per Längfors and Scot Craig Howie at 1:30pm.
