For the second year running the EuroDov Cup was held in the UK. The Tour headed south of the border to Cheshire and The Mere Golf and Spa resort. The James Braid layout set about challenging the field at every turn. The 6332-yard, 18-hole layout required precision tee shots and calculated approaches and was the perfect canvas for the second Major of the year.

The field featured just two EuroDov Cup rookies, Kevin Brannan, and Paul Gowens, but the 8 man-field did consist of 5 players with Tour wins under their belt; D. McColgan led the field with 7-majors and 5 Tour event wins, and he was joined by Stuart Allan, Denis Duncan, Paul Gowens and Stephen Green who all have 1 Tour event each to their name.

The field also boasted the top 4 players in the Official Tour Rankings and 5 of the 8 were in the top 10.

The tournament saw five different players hold the lead and the final 18 holes saw the lead change 11 times! After 53 holes of golf, Kevin Brannan, Stephen Green and David McColgan stood tied with just a hole to play.

And at the end of it all, 7-time Major winner, McColgan stood victorious, but let’s ask him about that dramatic 18th hole.

Congratulations on your 8th Major David, before we look back to the tournament, talk us through that 18th hole finish.

“Thanks guys I really appreciate it. What a finish it was. To play 53 holes of golf and be standing with 1 hole to play and 3 of us tied was unbelievable.

I remember standing on the fairway with 160 yards to go waiting for the green to clear, and I turned to Steve (Green) and said we’re all hitting our second shots to the green and it was neck and neck. I was first to go and thought I had hit a perfect 8 iron. It was just left of the tree 70 yards short, but it bounced right and into the bunker.

Steve hit the tree and fell short, and Kev went left of the tree and left himself a 20-yard downhill chip. And if I am honest at that point I thought Kev, had it wrapped up. I was totally convinced he had it wrapped up when he chipped it to 5 feet.

When Steve’s approach joined me in the bunker it was always going to be between Kev and I. Standing in the bunker, I couldn’t even see the green and I knew it was going to take a good shot to put the pressure on.

When my ball cleared the bunker and rolled out towards the pin it looked perfect. Once I got out the bunker, I saw I was lying about 7 feet from the pin, and it was me away to putt.

It was a relatively easy putt, but as we had found all week there was no such think at The Mere.

When the ball found the heart of the cup it was just sheer relief. At worst I’d tie, and it would go to a countback, but Kev still had the 5-footer to tie. When his putt slid by the cup, it was agonizingly close, and it was all over.

Looking back, it was a great way to finish the Cup, and I feel for Kev as he played so well for the three days.”

You now hold 8-Majors to your name, given the disappointment of finishing 2nd at The Invitational tournament, how does it feel?

“Look, any Major victory is great. I am delighted to have lifted the EuroDov Cup for the third time. The Invitational tournament was a huge disappointment for me, but you’ve got to compartmentalize that and get ready for the next challenge, and I am glad I did that.”

Let’s look back over the tournament, as the defending champion you hit the first tee shot, it was on a perfect line, but once you got up the fairway it was no where to be found, how did you cope with that?

“Not very well is probably the truthful answer. I was really annoyed by that and it was really bizarre. It cost me 2 shots on the leader and at least 1 shot on the rest of the field.”

Fast forward to the second round. You parred the first and you were striking the ball much better, until the 8th hole where your tee-shot found the water. You’d drop 10 shots in 3 holes and go from 6 shots in the lead to 4 behind. Talk us through that?

“It was just a very poor run of three holes, mostly caused by my own attitude if I am honest. I was rattled after finding the water at the Par 3 (8th) and then chipped back into the water and eventually took a 7, I think.

I then leaked my Drive right and got in a lot of tree trouble. Then on 10 I duck hooked my drive and despite reaching the greenside for 2 shots I took an 8!

The whole episode was a lesson in poor attitude.”

The poor attitude was gone by the 15th when you slid a 30 foot, left to right, putt home for a birdie, talk us through that hole?

“It was a great hole, elevated green, with the stream in the gully and a huge fir tree in the centre of the fairway.

I sent a beautiful drive over the water and fir tree to the middle of the fairway. It left me with 89 yards to the green and I carried the pin a bit too far, but the greens were rolling so nice it was just a matter of hitting the line, which I thankfully did.

It was probably the only putt from outside 5 feet I had hit all day, so it certainly cheered me up!”

You started the final round 3 shots off the lead, and had never come from behind to win a multi-round Major, did that play on your mind?

“Not really, the truth is the course was beating us all up, and often at a time when we were riding high, so I knew there’d be chances, and I just had to try and limit mistakes I had made in the first two days.”

What were you thinking when you dropped three shots in the first few holes and Stephen Green had carded 4 pars and Kevin Brannan 3 birdies and a bogey?

“It’s hard not to think you are about to be put to the slaughter.

I hit a great approach to the par 3 third hole and found myself off the back edge on a downslope which was just a killer lie. But Steve (Green) and Kev (Brannan) were clearly in the mood, and my job was just to keep playing my game and not let them affect me.”

The final 18 holes saw the lead change 11 times what was it like to play in that grouping?

“It was great, it was fantastic to see the jostling at the top of the leaderboard. It almost became like Matchplay, and you were just trying to match or score one better than someone else.

The whole day was played in great spirits and there was never a moment anyone was willing someone to drop shots, it was just great fun and competitive.”

Your bunker shot 18 was one of the best shots you hit all tournament, talk us through that?

“It was a double whammy really, I thought I had hit such a good shot into 18 and was confident I was on the green, so to find it in the bunker and watch Brannan chip to 5 feet it felt like the writing was on the wall.

It wasn’t a small bunker either, it was probably about 9 feet deep, but I was confident in my ability and when the ball hit the green and rolled out towards the hole, I had given myself a chance.”

This is of course your 8th Major but was it a bittersweet one to see one of your good friends on Tour, Kevin Brannan, miss out on his first Major?

“No one likes to lose, and no one likes to see someone lose when they are so close.

I actually didn’t watch Kev’s putt, I just stood over at the edge of the green. I would have loved for him to have lifted the Cup, but it just wasn’t to be this year.

He’ll win on Tour, and he’ll win soon, and I’ll be the first there to congratulate him.”

What’s the plan for the rest of the season?

“I have the rest of the Order of Merit season to compete in and I am really looking forward to the Summer Shootout and Anstruther Medals this year, but after today, I am putting my feet up and recovering!”

McColgan’s EuroDov Cup victory joins his wins at the St Andrews Open and the Dodhead Invitational in 2022, making it two years in a row that he has won 3 or more events on the EuroDov Tour. He currently sits first in the Order of Merit Standings and his win at The Mere solidifies his position as the number one ranked player in the Official Tour Rankings.

The EuroDov Tour announced this week that the EuroDov Cup will return to the continent in 2023, and will be held in Cascais, Portugal, home of the 2019 EuroDov Cup. Check out the announcement via the EuroDov Tour webpage