Marc Warren: When you get tour card, you get a bill for a minimum of £80,000

Marc Warren’s career has been a bit like the roller-coaster at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi, where screams from thrill-seekers carried in the afternoon breeze across the road to Yas Links.

Marc Warren plays his second shot on the 11th hole in the second round of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship at Yas Links. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

He was at the top of the highest loop when joining forces with Colin Montgomerie to win the World Cup in China in 2007 and the same could be said of four individual title triumphs, including one on Scottish soil, on the DP World Tour.

But it definitely felt like being at the bottom of that ride on Yas Links, for instance, when Warren lost his card at the end of 2019 after only making seven cuts in 21 starts.

Helped by winning the Austrian Open in the first event on the circuit after its Covid shutdown in 2020, the East Kilbride man started out this week on his 18th season with some sort of status on the main tour.

It’s off to a promising beginning as the 41-year-old, having earlier signed for a par-72 as he completed his opening round, added a five-under 67 to comfortably make the cut in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.

“I’d say that three, four, five years ago my hunger to be out here had waned a little bit,” admitted Warren, who is making his first outing since joining the Bounce Sport Management stable, which also includes close friend Stephen Gallacher.

“When you feel as though you are hitting your head against a brick wall - and this, of course, could be the case for a weekend golfer - it’s tough. But, when you feel as if you are working on the right things and performing well, then you feel as though you’ve still got some skills to go out on the golf course with.”

Warren was asked if he felt the DP World Tour did enough to provide enough playing opportunities for its rank-and-file members. “I think so,” he replied, “and recently more than six, seven or eight years ago. Ten years ago, you would get your card and didn’t get to play all that much. It was always a bone of contention with everyone trying to get playing opportunities, but it seems since after the Covid shutdown opportunities are being given to most categories.”

One example of the Wentworth hierarchy trying to help rising stars as they start out on their careers on the main circuit is the sum of $150,000 being guaranteed against players’ earnings for the first time this season.

Welcoming that move, Warren said: “That is is great as we’ve all know guys who’ve had a card and played 30 events and made one or two cuts. It’s expensive. If you get a tour card, you are talking about playing for 100 million and that’s mainly in 2-3 million events. But the reality of it is that when you get a tour card, you get a bill for a minimum 80 grand as that’s your expenses if you want to play a full season.

“Whether it be with backing, sponsorship or whatever else, if you’ve got anywhere near that backing, you are in a lucky spot, but you’ve then got to try and earn your money, so I think it’s amazing the tour has put that in place.”