The EuroDov Tour Order of Merit left Fife for the first time since May and headed to Scotland’s Golf Coast, East Lothian. The Order of Merit has seen six fantastic tournaments since March with five different winners in what has been a closely fought competition.

Denis Duncan led the Order of Merit standings as the players arrived at the Tour Championship and all that stood between him, and the moniker of Champion Golfer of the Year was 36 holes at Craigielaw, and a five-man field determined to have a say in the final outcome.

On the day, an inspired McColgan proved too much for the field carding a level par score for the 36 holes which had four drop shots and four birdies in a dominant display of golf. McColgan, who won the Kinghorn Classic in July, was the only multiple winner in the OoM this year and made it a hat-trick with the Tour Championship.

As ever the From the Locker Room team were there to follow the action and sat down with McColgan following the conclusion of play.

The Tour Championship was McColgan’s fourth tournament win of the year but how does it feel to have won the season finale? “It’s been a season that I don’t think I would have predicted in a million years…when I won the St Andrews Open, I was relieved to have gotten the monkey off my back at the very start of the season.

I think carrying around that need and desire to win can be good but the longer a season goes on it can be debilitating for a player.”

You carded a level par 142 today to win by 15 strokes, how would you sum up your day? “To be honest it was a tale of two halves. Round one felt amazing, I was striking the ball well and rolling the ball great on the greens, and when I was missing the greens my scrambling was great.

I was disappointed with my bogey on 16, I was in a great position to capitalise on the conditions and just a slight lapse of concentration cost me there.

In the afternoon I started off great. A fantastic bridie on the first set the mood and I was unlucky not to make it a second on the par 5 second hole. Carding three birdies on the front nine really put me in a strong position. Then the back nine hit. I wasn’t striking the ball well and suddenly started leaving putts short. Four drop shots in three holes and two great birdie opportunities squandered really rattled the cage.

However, my approach into the long par 4 16th set me up and parring my way home over the final three holes got the job done.”
You mentioned your three birdies on the front nine in the afternoon, talk us through the par 4 5th.

“It’s not the longest par 4, but it was playing directly into the wind and the pin was located on the very front of the green with a large gully to the right.

In practice, and the morning session I have been playing a 2 iron off the tee but opted for driver given the wind. I left myself 168 yards into the wind and opted to club up to a 6 iron. As soon as I made contact with the ball it never left the pin and the only question was distance control, when I got to the green and found my ball three foot short of the pin and a straight uphill putt I was very pleased.”

This is your third win on the OoM this year and all three of them have been on links golf courses, what is it you like about links golf so much? “I think I have reflected on this in the past, but links golf requires three things, good ball striking, good putting, and imagination and ability to play a wide range of shots.

Unlike parkland golf, where you are landing to soft, rolling fairways and you can play target golf with pins, Links golf requires you to master the elements the course and yourself to work the ball into pins or even more important, to know when to play away from pins.

I just find Links golf fun and challenging and I think it brings the best out in me.”

It was great to sit down with McColgan, and he’s certainly left his mark on the 2021 Order of Merit and set a target for the coming years. McColgan’s four rounds on links courses in the Order of Merit have seen him collectively card level par rounds and with a 100% record on them he is undoubtedly Lord of the Links in 2021