attempted to leave the BDO and switch to the PDC although didnt receive validation from the BDO so had to skip the 2000 2000 World Darts Championship. He reached the final of the 2000 Antwerp Open, losing to Jamie Harvey. He made his PDC major debut in the 2000 World Matchplay, losing in the first round to Rod Harrington. He also played in the 2000 World Grand Prix, also losing in the first round to Richie Burnett. He made his PDC World Championship debut in 2001, reaching the quarter finals, progressing with 3–0 wins over Shayne Burgess and Cliff Lazarenko before losing to Harrington 4–2. He then reached the second round of the 2001 World Matchplay and then reached his first major final in the 2001 World Grand Prix, beating Rod Harrington, Mick Manning, John Part and John Lowe before losing to Alan Warriner. Scholten reached the second round of the 2002 World Championship, losing to Dave Askew. He then won his first PDC event in the 2002 Open Holland and reached the semi finals of the Las Vegas Desert Classic, losing to Baxter. In the 2002 World Matchplay he lost again in the second round, losing to Colin Lloyd. He then reached the quarter finals of the World Grand Prix, losing 4–0 to Andy Jenkins. A quarter final place in the 2003 World Championship followed as well as a semi final place in the 2003 UK Open, a quarter final showing in the 2003 Desert Classic and reaching the semi finals of the World Grand Prix. He also won the 2003 Eastbourne Pro and the Primus Masters but suffered a first round exit in the World Matchplay. Scholten lost in the third round of the 2004 World Championship, losing his only match to Lionel Sams. After retaining his Eastbourne Open title, Scholten won his first major title the Budweiser UK Open in June. He beat Mark Dudbridge, Henry O'Neill, Denis Ovens, Alan Warriner and Steve Beaton, before beating John Part in the final. Scholten reached the semi finals of the 2005 Premier League, and went into the match as a big underdog against Phil Taylor. However, Scholten upset the form book for most of the best-of-25 legs match, as he led 4–1, 5–2, 6–3, 7–4 and 11–7, only for Taylor to produce a remarkable comeback by winning 6 consecutive legs to win the match 13–11. In the 2006 Premier