The drive from St Andrews to Kinghorn is always met with great excitement. The tournament has been won by three players in four years, and the leaderboard is as predictable as the fairway bounce out there.

We had a highly competitive field at St Andrews for the opening event, and we knew that the form of the players would create an exciting atmosphere out on the course.

As ever Kinghorn was buffeted with a gentle breeze, not quite the hurricane conditions of years gone by, and the fairways and greens were baked hard and rolling fast – like really, really, fast!

The lead group set off and some early statements were made, Stevie Orr, winner in 2023 sunk the first birdie of the day, and Dnaiel Peck in the group behind went one better with a brilliant eagle.

The first hole, not much danger to look at was playing nearly a quarter of a shot under par across the field with Orr, Peck, Brannan and McNeill all carding sub-par openings.

The second hole, however, was tough, 190 yards, over the hill and into the wind, out of bounds lurking right and a huge run off down the hill to the left. The par three played 1.36 shots over par, with only 6 pars carded in the whole field and four triples or worse blotting some scorecards.

The downhill par 3 3rd was a gentle break from the terror of the second but still the field averaged 0.64 shots over par with Paul Gowens the only player to card a birdie.

After the opening 3 holes Daniel Peck’s eagle on the first kept him in pole position and leading the way.

Peck would go on to par the fourth hole, but after starting with three straight pars defending Champion Stuart Sutherland’s birdie on four – a whole 1.36 shots better than the field – joined him in a tie for the lead.

As the players turned and head back away from the club house on 5 Sutherland’s par, was followed by a bogey from Peck to see Sutherland hold the lead – but only momentarily, as Gowens Snr in the last group out managed a brilliant birdie, bettering the field by a whopping 1.43 shots, and joined the defending champion at the top of the leaderboard.

The short par 4 played to par, but a birdie from St Andrews Open winner David McColgan saw him join Gowens Snr. at the top of the leaderboard and a bogey cost Sutherland the lead.

However, McColgan’s stay at the top was very short lived as Gowens Snr. ran off three straight birdies 7 thru 9 scoring 2.21 shots better than the field average over the closing stretch of the front 9 and saw him take a two-shot lead into the back nine.

The 10th hole is a tricky test of golf, favoring strategic ball placement over power. Gowens Snr.’s lead evaporated with a double bogey and as McColgan finished off his birdie a three shots swing gave him the solo lead.

McColgan would card a birdie on 10 to stretch his lead, but a bogey on 12, from the centre of the fairway saw his lead back to just 1.

Enter high drama.

In the leading group, roars echoed around the course as Stevie Orr, 2023 winner, chipped in for eagle, this was followed by an uncharacteristically poor tee shot from Gowens Snr.

McColgan managed a birdie on 13, which was playing nearly half a shot under par across the field, but Orr’s eagle saw him pull within 1 of the lead.

Enter even higher drama.

On the par 3 14th, Orr in the front group, chips in again for eagle – that’s 2 chip ins for 2 eagles – clawing back 4.07 shots on the field in 2 holes, an astonishing run of golf that spins leaderboards no matter where you are playing.

McColgan had no answer to the back-to-back eagles and found himself, after two pars, suddenly 1 behind Stevie Orr.

Any observer of the Kinghorn Classic, however, will know that after 15 holes the players are put through the ringer in what is undeniably the hardest three closing holes on Tour and Orr would find this out immediately.

He’d finish double bogey-par-bogey to car a level par 67, Daniel peck would join him with three closing pars and despite some back nine heroics Stuart Allan’s birdie-birdie-bogey finish saw him come in at 68.

However, after being tied for the lead on 15, McColgan carded three straight pars, playing the last three holes 1.07 shots better than the field to card a 2-under par 65 and win his second straight Order of Merit event in 2025.

It was once again a tightly bunched leaderboard and when the dust had settled it looked as follows: McColgan -2; Orr and Peck L; Allan and Mair +1; Sutherland and Gowens Snr. +2; Greenshields +3; Brannan +5; McNeill and D. Duncan +7; A. Duncan +8; Baxter +9; Robertson +10.