Slow starts in Korea for Scots battling to hang on to DP World Tour cards

An untimely ragged round could leave David Law facing a nervous weekend in his exhausting battle to retain a full DP World Tour card for next season.

This week’s Genesis Championship in Korea is the final regular event of the current campaign, with the top 100 this time around securing Category 10 cards for the 2027 season.

Over the past couple of months, Law has played ten events on the spin, making the cut in all but one, which, ironically, was a home gig in the Nexo Championship in Aberdeenshire.

David Law is playing his 11th week in a row as he bids to hang on to a full DP World Tour card for the 2027 season | Kate McShane/Getty Images

Despite that consistency, the 35-year-old headed into this week’s $4 million tournament Woo Jeong Hills Country Club in Cheonan sitting 97th in the Race to Dubai, meaning he had little room for error.

An opening four–over-par 75 that contained three double bogeys and left him sitting in a tie for 100th spot certainly wasn’t ideal because the last thing he’ll want is his fate to be out of his own hands.

Making the cut will now be Law’s target heading into the second circuit as the 2019 ISPS HANDA Vic Open winner bids to hang on to the status he regained last season through the HotelPlanner Tour.

Scott Jamieson, the only Scot competing in Korea who isn’t needing a big week due to the exemption he earned for winning the Nexo Championship, fared best among the Caledonian contingent with a 72 that contained four birdies.

On a day when South African Casey Jarvis set the pace with a 65, that left the Florida-based Glaswegian, who has all but secured his spot in the Abu Dhabi Aldar Championship, the first of two season-ending Play-Off events in the Middle East, in a fortnight’s time, sitting joint-53rd.

Euan Walker, who started the week lying 121st on the money-list in his rookie season, opened with a 74, as did Daniel Young, who teed off in 149th spot and needed to pull a rabbit out of the hat.

As does Cameron Adam but, after a first-day 76, last year’s Global Amateur Pathway winner looks as though he’ll definitely need to come through two stages of the Qualifying School to be sitting at the top table again next season.

Jarvis, meanwhile, has put himself in the mix to win the prestigious Harry Vardon Trophy - he is currently fourth in the Race to Dubai Ranking - after opening up a one-shot lead on day one.

The 23-year-old claimed back-to-back wins during the International Swing at the Magical Kenya Open presented by absa and the Investec South African Open Championship earlier this year.

He is now looking to make ground on Race to Dubai leader Eugenio Chacarra and become the first South African to be crowned European No 1 since Ernie Els in 2004, with this week's tournament and the Play-Offs still to come.

“I felt really good out there,” said Jarvis of his opening effort. “Hit a lot of good quality iron shots and made some good putts. I’ve been working really hard on the greens and to see it finally paying off a bit is really nice. So I’m super happy.”

Chacarra, last week’s DP World India Championship winner, opened with a 71 while Open champion Ryan Fox sits just three shots off the lead after mixing five birdies with two bogeys.

Other players battling to hang on to cards this week include 2015 Paul Lawrie Match Play champion Kiradech Aphibarnrat and Brandon Robinson Thompson, runaway winner of the Scottish Challenge in 2024.

Aphibarnrat slipped three spots to 111th in the projected rankings after having to settle for a 75 in his opening salvo, with Robinson Thompson up three places to 106th following a 71.

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