Early Season Sparks: From Bold Predictions to Reality Checks

The EuroDov Tour’s Order of Merit season is always born in that peculiar Scottish twilight between the lingering chill of winter and the cautious optimism of spring. By late March, the EuroDov Cup is already tucked away in the record books, and the restless anticipation of the regular season begins to gnaw at the Tour’s most committed competitors. For some, it’s a clean slate — the chance to put right the wrongs of the year before. For others, it’s about confirming their dominance and keeping their names etched on the James Braid Quaich.

The 2025 preview painted a tantalising picture. Sixteen players, each profiled and ranked by odds, formed the grid of possibility. David McColgan was installed as the bookies’ darling — 7/4 favourite — an almost metronomic presence in the top five. Daniel Peck and Richard Mair, co-listed at 2/1, were viewed as the most credible threats to end McColgan’s reign of consistency. Paul Gowens was next in line at 3/1, the veteran major-winner whose full-season debut had many speculating how high he could climb.

Below them, the “4/1 cluster” of Denis Duncan, Stuart Allan, and Ally Greenshields each carried their own baggage. Denis was searching for the spark of his 2021 glory days; Allan was a near-miss specialist with major-champion potential; Greenshields was the untapped enigma, all talent, little closure. Kevin Brannan, Grieg Baxter, Joel Morrison, and Stuart Sutherland formed the 6/1 tier — dangerous, proven winners, but each fighting their own battles with injury, absence, or inconsistency.

The odds grew longer still with Stevie Orr and Jim Robertson (8/1), and then Alan Duncan, Scott Gowens, and Callum McNeill (9/1), the latter three all carrying some combination of raw ability, unpredictability, and unfulfilled potential. It was, in short, a field where every name could make a case, but only a few could realistically see themselves lifting the Quaich come August.

The curtain would rise on April 6th, on the Eden Course at St Andrews — a setting as symbolic as it was strategic. The Home of Golf had always been a leveller: exposed to the wind, demanding of course management, and brutally indifferent to reputations.
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The St Andrews Open – April 6th, 2025
"Favourites, False Starts, and a Bolt from the Blue"

The first swings of the season carried more than just scorecard consequences. The season preview was fresh in every player’s mind, and there’s no better way to tear up the pundits’ scripts than with an early upset.

Conditions on the Eden were mercifully calm by its standards, though the chill in the air reminded everyone this was still early-season Scottish golf. The front nine allowed the confident to build momentum, but the exposed back nine — particularly the 13th through 16th — would prove treacherous.

Right from the off, Daniel Peck looked like a man out to validate his 2/1 billing. His ball-striking was as crisp as the April air, rolling in birdies at 3 and 5 to reach the turn under par. By contrast, Richard Mair — his fellow co-favourite — looked out of rhythm. A three-putt on the 2nd was followed by a double on the 6th after a misjudged approach spun back into trouble.

But if the pre-season chatter was all about the “big three” of McColgan, Peck, and Mair, the opening salvos of 2025 reminded us that the EuroDov Tour never quite sticks to the script. Stuart Allan, 4/1 in the pre-season odds, found his tempo early and made a charge. A birdie on 11 — courtesy of a perfectly judged wedge into the wind — propelled him into the mix, and his scrambling through the stretch holes kept him on the right side of par.

Then came the lightning bolt: Alan Duncan, the 9/1 outsider, shrugged off his reputation for inconsistency and produced a clinical back nine that catapulted him up the leaderboard. For a player many considered a “long shot”, his 2025 debut was a reminder that on his day, Duncan can be as dangerous as anyone.

When the final putts dropped, the first leaderboard of the year was a blend of the expected and the surprising. Peck’s podium finish validated the hype, Allan’s strong opening hinted at a resurgence, but McColgan — ever the metronome — banked yet another Order of Merit win at St Andrews. However, perhaps the most significant talking point was Mair’s sluggish start, leaving him with work to do after just one event.
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Kinghorn Classic – April 27th, 2025
"Firm Fairways, Fiery Greens, and a Familiar Finish"

The drive down the Fife coast from St Andrews to Kinghorn has a way of raising the pulse. It’s only a short hop geographically, but in terms of the Order of Merit narrative, it’s a chance for fortunes to turn sharply — and in 2025, it carried even greater intrigue.

The first two events of the season had already thrown up a blend of confirmation and surprise, and Kinghorn’s idiosyncratic layout was the perfect crucible for more drama. In recent years, three players had dominated here, and the field knew this was a course that punished overconfidence and rewarded ingenuity.

With fairways baked hard and greens rolling like glass, it was always going to be a battle of both nerve and precision.

From the opening tee shots, the leaderboard was restless. Stevie Orr, champion here in 2023, wasted no time in laying down a marker, rolling in the first birdie of the day. In the group behind, Daniel Peck went one better with a statement eagle, vaulting into an early lead. Even the ever-dangerous Kevin Brannan and 2022 Major winner Callum McNeill opened with sub-par scores.

But Kinghorn has a way of making even a simple-looking hole turn nasty. The second, a 190-yard par three into the wind with danger both sides, played a brutal 1.36 shots over par. Only six pars were recorded all day, with several scorecards already bleeding triples or worse before the round had properly settled.

Through the early exchanges, Peck’s eagle kept him on top, but defending champion Stuart Sutherland was finding his groove. Three opening pars were followed by a birdie on the fourth — worth 1.36 shots on the field — pulling him into a share of the lead. Moments later, the leaderboard flickered again as Paul Gowens Snr, in the anchor group, produced a superb birdie on the short par-four 5th, bettering the field by over 1.4 shots and joining Sutherland at the summit.

That summit would not remain still. St Andrews Open winner David McColgan rolled in a birdie of his own on the 6th to join the party, but Gowens Snr was about to turn the screws. A run of three straight birdies from 7 through 9 was worth over two shots on the field and carried him to the turn with a two-shot cushion over the chasers.

Then came the back nine — and the fireworks. The 10th, a hole demanding strategy over sheer muscle, proved pivotal. Gowens Snr’s double bogey, coupled with a McColgan birdie, created a three-shot swing and handed the Eden Course victor a solo lead. He consolidated that advantage with another birdie at 11, but a rare misstep on 12 saw the gap narrow again.

And then the roars started.

Up ahead, Stevie Orr — who had been quietly clawing his way back — holed a delicate chip for eagle on 13, wiping out nearly two shots on the field in an instant. McColgan answered with a birdie of his own, but the cheers from the 14th green moments later told their own story: Orr had done it again. Another chip-in eagle.

Back-to-back. Four shots gained in two holes, and suddenly the 2023 champion had the outright lead.
It was pure Kinghorn chaos.

For Orr, though, the magic would run out as the course bared its teeth over the closing stretch. Double bogey on 16, followed by a bogey at the last, dropped him back to level-par 67. Peck matched him there with three solid closing pars, while Stuart Allan’s late charge — birdie-birdie-bogey — earned him a share of fourth alongside Richard Mair.

McColgan, meanwhile, kept his head while all around were losing theirs. Three closing pars, playing the brutal final trio over a shot better than the field, sealed a composed two-under 65 and his second straight Order of Merit victory of the season.

It was the kind of performance that underlined exactly why he’d been the 7/4 pre-season favourite — steady, opportunistic, unflappable. And just like that, the man they once dubbed the “Lord of the Links” had reclaimed his crown at Kinghorn for the first time since 2022.
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Two Weeks, Two Statements

By the close of April, the early OOM picture was taking shape:

• Daniel Peck had gone from “perennial podium” to “active threat” with a win and a near-miss.
• David McColgan was exactly where everyone expected — entrenched in the top two, exuding inevitability.
• Stuart Allan had rediscovered some swagger, setting himself up as a lurking danger.
• Alan Duncan and Kevin Brannan had reminded the field they were more than just “outside bets”.
• Richard Mair, tipped alongside Peck as the season’s co-favourite, was already under pressure to claw back lost ground.

The season preview had been both confirmed and challenged. The heavy favourites were showing up, but the early-season storyline was not about one player running away with it — it was about a race that, for the first time in years, felt wide open.

From here, the Tour turns inland for the MCM @ Pitfirrane, the kind of parkland test that has a history of reshuffling the deck. If McColgan can keep this blistering pace, he’ll be halfway to the Quaich before the summer heat sets in. But with the chasing pack this deep and this dangerous, the early-season sparks are only a hint of the fire still to come.

Midseason Shifts: From the Chessboard of Pitfirrane to the Tempest at Burntisland

The early-season skirmishes at St Andrews and Kinghorn had already hinted at the competitive shape of 2025. Big names were moving early, the leaderboard was suffocatingly tight, and every player knew that one slip — or one inspired run — could change the complexion of the Order of Merit in a heartbeat.

If the first two events had been about staking territory, the middle portion of the season was about holding it. And nowhere is territory harder to defend than at Pitfirrane and Burntisland.
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The MCM @ Pitfirrane – May 18th 2025
“Precision Required”

Pitfirrane, home to Dunfermline Golf Club, is a course that punishes hubris. The stately parkland layout winds through corridors of mature trees, its fairways gently undulating but narrowing to demand precision over brute force. On a still day it can be kind. On a breezy one, it becomes a chessboard — every move requiring calculation, every misjudgment leaving you with nothing but a chip-out and a rueful shake of the head.

If the first two Order of Merit events of 2025 had been about battling the elements and the quirks of coastal links golf, the third marked a shift in scenery and style. The caravan rolled inland to the lush parkland of Dunfermline Golf Club for the MCM @ Pitfirrane — and to the home turf of one of the Tour’s most clinical finishers.

For Paul Gowens, this was more than just another OoM start. This was his course, his kingdom — and as it turned out, his day.

The tone was set before the dew had even lifted. On the very first hole, Gowens drained a long putt for eagle, an immediate two-shot cushion and a signal that he was in no mood to ease into the round. Behind him, Richard Mair and David McColgan opened steadily with pars, while Stevie Orr stumbled to a bogey and Daniel Peck suffered the early misfortune of a triple bogey that would cast a shadow over his outward nine.

By the 4th, Gowens and Mair were already trading blows. Both birdied the tightly framed par-4, Mair’s wedge approach landing inside six feet, Gowens rolling in yet another confident putt. Orr kept himself in the mix with a string of steady pars, while McColgan — as he so often does — plotted quietly, keeping the mistakes off the card.

The real ignition point came at the par-3 9th. Playing just over 150 yards but guarded by swales and tricky green contours, it’s a hole that can bite without warning. For Gowens, it was the opposite — a burst of brilliance. A crisp iron shot, a smooth stroke, and an eagle two lit up the leaderboard, vaulting him to four-under-par. Mair’s birdie there was excellent in its own right, but the gap had been opened.

The back nine, however, had its own ideas. Mair reduced the deficit with a birdie on the 11th, while Orr surged briefly with back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 to join the leaders at -4. For McColgan, hopes seemed to fade with a double bogey at the par-4 11th after finding the greenside bunker from the tee — but the drama was far from over.

From 13 to 15, Pitfirrane shows its teeth. The par-3 13th demands precision, the 14th is the course’s toughest hole, and the 15th is a par-5 that can be a feast or famine depending on your nerve. Orr’s challenge fell away here — a bogey followed by a double derailed his charge. Mair held steady until the last, playing with characteristic patience and calculation. But on 18, the story took a cruelly familiar turn. Needing only a par to set a clubhouse target that might have forced Gowens’ hand, Mair’s approach strayed, the resulting bogey wiping away his margin.

While Mair stumbled, McColgan — long out of the picture for the win — caught fire in a late flurry. Birdies on each of the final four holes turned what might have been a forgettable round into a reminder of his relentless scoring ability. It wasn’t enough to trouble the leaders, but it was enough to vault him up the leaderboard and keep his OoM cushion intact.

At the top, the final act belonged to Gowens. Standing on the 18th tee knowing a par would seal the title, he relied on the knowledge only a home-course player can possess. A perfect drive to his favoured landing zone, a conservative approach to the heart of the green, and two composed putts later, the job was done — a four-under-par 68, and an Order of Merit win on the course where his game was forged.

This was no fluke. Gowens had stared down challenges from multiple directions, managed his own mistakes before they happened, and combined local knowledge with a putter running hot all day. His victory tightened the top of the Order of Merit and sent a clear signal to McColgan that his lead was not untouchable.

Standout Performances:
• Paul Gowens: Steady, clinical, and ruthless when it mattered — the blueprint for winning on home soil.
• Richard Mair: Yet another runner-up finish tinged with the sting of a late mistake; his 18th-hole record is becoming an unwanted subplot to his season.
• Stevie Orr: -2 and right in the mix until a late collapse, but his ball-striking remains razor sharp.
• David McColgan: A late birdie blitz that didn’t change the outcome but reminded everyone why he’s the man to beat.
• Daniel Peck: Recovered well from a nightmare start; as he adjusts to his new irons, the potential for a strong finish to the season is clear.
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Dodhead Invitational – June 1st 2025
“From Calm Calculation to Controlled Chaos”

If Pitfirrane had been about plotting your way around the chessboard, the Dodhead Invitational at Burntisland was more like playing speed chess in a hurricane.

Only two names had ever been engraved on the trophy — Stuart Allan and David McColgan — and both were in the field, their reputations on this layout already cemented. Yet 2025 had been a year of disruption, of new names forcing their way into the conversation, and the winds that swept across Burntisland’s rolling fairways hinted that something different might be brewing.

The course itself was immaculate. Fairways cut tight, the rough ready to punish the errant, and greens rolling pure. But the weather… the weather was a different beast. A 1- to 2-club wind shifted its angles without warning, while 15-minute bursts of driving rain soaked through waterproofs and confidence alike. Clothing changes became as tactical as club selection — Stevie Orr compared it to “a Lady Gaga concert,” and you suspected he wasn’t entirely joking.

A Leaderboard in Motion

The first two holes offered a gentle handshake — pars and birdies there gave a sense of possibility. Denis Duncan started brightly, birdieing the opener to claim the early lead. By the 2nd, Allan, Baxter, McNeill, and Gowens Junior had joined the party with birdies of their own.

Then came the par-3 3rd — 204 yards to a tucked-left pin, the sound of passing traffic filtering through the trees, and just enough crosswind to turn club selection into guesswork. It played half a stroke over par on average, with bogeys, doubles, and a triple sprinkled liberally across the field. Only Orr escaped with a birdie, and he celebrated it like a man who’d just found a fiver in an old jacket.

The lead swapped hands like loose change. Allan took control with an eagle on the 4th, only to give shots back on the brutally difficult 5th and 6th. By the 7th, Greig Baxter had surged with an eagle of his own, joined by Richard Mair. On the 8th, into the teeth of wind and rain, McColgan and Daniel Peck jumped to the front with birdies — Peck’s hopes lasting only as far as the 9th, where a triple bogey scuttled his challenge.
The McColgan Surge

The back nine belonged, for a while, to McColgan. A par at 10 stole a stroke on the field, and then came the moment of the day on the 11th: tee shot wayward into the 4th fairway, no clear aerial route, and a stand of trees between him and the pin. Undeterred, he threaded a 6-iron through the trunks to 12 feet, holing the putt for a birdie that had even his playing partners shaking their heads.

Birdies on 12 and 13 followed, and the whispers began — shades of his late charge at Pitfirrane just weeks earlier. But the 14th bit back, his bogey bringing Stuart Allan level once more. The two men — the only past champions here — went stride for stride through 15, 16, and 17.

The Brannan Ambush

While the crowd’s attention was fixed on Allan and McColgan, Kevin Brannan was making his move. Quietly, methodically, he’d been picking up shots since the turn, clawing back from early bogeys. By the time he reached 17, he was one back. McColgan’s wedge came up short, the wind robbing it of flight. Brannan, sensing opportunity, clubbed up, held his shot against the breeze, and left himself eight feet. The birdie dropped — tie for the lead with one hole to play.

On 18, the echoes of their 2022 EuroDov Cup duel were unmistakable. McColgan took the bold line down the left, skirting the out-of-bounds; Brannan pushed right into the trees, only to discover a narrow window to the green. His punched approach scuttled onto the front edge, 12 feet from the cup. McColgan flew his in to 14 feet.

First putt to McColgan — just wide. Then Brannan, for the win. Smooth stroke, centre cut. The galleries erupted; the weather, briefly, seemed to pause in acknowledgement.

Midseason Implications

Brannan’s win was significant in several ways. It was his first Order of Merit regular-season victory, his first over 18 holes, and a statement that his game had fully returned after the wrist injury that derailed his 2024. More than that, it tightened the standings. McColgan still led, but Richard Mair was within 700 points, Paul Gowens within striking distance, and Allan’s runner-up finish had him just 1,550 points off the pace.

From the calm precision of Pitfirrane to the chaos and drama of Burntisland, the EuroDov Tour’s midseason stretch had delivered everything: statement wins, leaderboard churn, and the promise of a tense run-in to Craigielaw. The Order of Merit was still McColgan’s to lose — but the gap had never felt smaller.
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Canmore’s Crucible – The King’s Cup

By the time the EuroDov Tour rolled into Canmore Golf Club on July 20th, the 2025 season had already established itself as one of the most compelling campaigns in memory. Yet the King’s Cup, the fifth event of the Order of Merit, managed to distil everything great about the Tour into a single Sunday: brotherly rivalry, high-wire shot-making, and the cruel swing of fortune that defines this sport.

It was Alan Duncan, the elder statesman of the family, who emerged triumphant — but not before being pushed to the edge by his younger brother Denis. A count-back was required to separate the two after matching 66s, with Alan’s back-nine 31 proving decisive. For a man who had already won the Senior Championship and Bruce Shield earlier that month, this was the crowning jewel in his purple patch.

“Honestly, this is probably my best win on Tour,” Alan said afterwards, still flushed from the final putt. “The quality from everyone is great and only getting better each event. Was even sweeter to beat Duncan the younger too.”

A Tournament Rich with Storylines

The field at Canmore was stacked. Defending champion Stephen Orr returned, hoping to rediscover his form. Paul and Scott Gowens carried the weight of family expectations. David McColgan, already twice a winner this season, arrived with the quiet authority of a man who knew the Order of Merit was his to lose. Daniel Peck, newly resurgent, sought to prove his rise was no fluke.

From the opening tee shots, the course asked questions. Canmore may not be the longest layout on Tour, but its quirks and subtle traps magnify pressure. Alan Duncan answered early, carding birdies on the 2nd and 3rd, settling into the steady rhythm that defined his round. McColgan matched his start, while Kevin Brannan kept himself in contention with quiet par golf.

Denis, however, began with calamity. A double bogey at the 1st could have derailed his day. Instead, it set up a comeback story that captured the imagination. Back-to-back eagles on 5 and 6 turned despair into momentum, and by the turn, Denis had wiped away the error with a two-under 32.

“I was on a good run until the 11th,” Denis later admitted, shaking his head at what came next.
“Pulled my drive right, and being wet under foot caused me to slip on my second shot into the left danger. You could say this cost me.”

Amen Corner at Canmore

If the front nine belonged to redemption, the back nine became survival. Holes 10 through 13 — dubbed Amen Corner by Canmore regulars — once again proved decisive.

Alan Duncan played them in level par, his mantra simple: “My only focus was to get drives in play and be happy with 4444 — which I achieved, so I was really happy. That really helped.”

Others were not so fortunate. McColgan, who stood at two-under heading into the stretch, walked away from 13 at three-over. “By the time I stepped onto the 14th tee,” he said with a rueful grin, “I felt like I’d gone ten rounds with Tyson.”

Daniel Peck was even more blunt: “Mentally? With fear. Strategically? With prayer. It’s called Amen Corner for a reason.”

The carnage left just two men unscathed: Alan and Denis. For the first time all season, the Order of Merit narrative paused, overtaken by a duel between brothers.

Down the Stretch

The closing holes were a showcase of tension. Denis clawed his way back with nerveless pars, while Alan relied on his 3-wood, which he later described as his “weapon of choice,” to stay in play.

At the 17th, Brannan surged with a birdie, threatening to insert himself into the script. McColgan found one of his own to salvage pride and precious points. Yet the focus was squarely on the Duncan brothers.

Alan reached the house on 66, his back nine flawless. Denis, needing a birdie at 18, gave himself a chance but watched his putt slide agonisingly short. Both signed for 66s. The trophy was decided by mathematics — Alan’s 31 to Denis’s 33.

“By god it was close, wasn’t it?” Alan admitted afterwards, still relishing the battle. “When I realised my little brother was ahead of me, I made sure to let him know it was his to lose — a little bit of mind games never hurt anyone.”

Denis, more subdued, simply said: “Obviously losing on the countback… gutted.”

Ripples in the Order of Merit

Alan’s win, though not enough to insert him into the title race, gave him a lifeline: exemption from 2026 Q-School. For Denis, the points pushed him back into contention. McColgan’s steady fourth place reinforced his lead at the top — his consistency unmatched. Peck, with another solid finish, climbed into third overall, and whispers began that he might yet challenge for the crown.

“Peck is quickly becoming the man to beat,” McColgan observed. “To the point folk are forgetting about Richard Mair.”

As the Tour packed its bags for Lochgelly, the shape of the season was clear. McColgan had the advantage, but the chasing pack had momentum — and the final regular season event promised one last twist.
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Lochgelly Drama – The Forrester-Lochgelly Open

If Canmore had been about the Duncan brothers, Lochgelly was about two men: David McColgan and Paul Gowens. The Forrester-Lochgelly Open, staged on August 17th in warm and calm late-summer conditions, was the final stop of the regular season. And fittingly, it delivered a finale worthy of the campaign.

The narrow corridors and sloping greens of Lochgelly have a way of exposing weakness. For McColgan, it was a venue of happy memories — already a winner here in 2022. For Gowens, it was the chance to finally turn his solid season into more silverware.

The pair traded blows all afternoon, neither willing to yield. McColgan looked set to seal a third win of the season, but Gowens matched him stride for stride. By the time the final putts dropped, both men had identical totals. The title, once again, came down to count-back.

This time, the margins cut the other way. McColgan’s inward nine of 34 edged Gowens’ 35, and the home favourite claimed victory by the slimmest of measures.

Subplots and Struggles

Behind the duel at the summit, the FLO offered its share of storylines. Stuart Allan’s measured play earned him another top-five, reinforcing his credentials as perhaps the steadiest hand on Tour. Denis Duncan, fresh from his Canmore heartbreak, faltered early on relying on a back nine resurgence that was never going to be enough.

And then there was Daniel Peck, whose mid-season surge ran into resistance here. Unable to master Lochgelly’s greens, he finished adrift of the leaders but held enough points to stay in the top three overall.
The Order of Merit Picture

With McColgan’s win and Gowens’ runner-up, the Order of Merit standings closed with remarkable clarity:

• David McColgan sat atop, his three wins and string of top-fives making him the undisputed man to beat.
• Paul Gowens surged into second, his victory at the MCM ensuring he enters Craigielaw with real momentum.
• Stuart Allan surged into third, a second tournament in a row where he took a leap up the Order of Merit.
• Daniel Peck slipped to fourth, but is by no means out of the running.
• Further down, Denis Duncan and Alan Duncan lingered as dark horses, their recent form enough to make them dangerous in the season-ending Tour Championship.

For those at the bottom, the spectre of Q-School loomed. Greig Baxter and Jim Robertson, despite flashes of brilliance, found themselves precariously close to relegation territory.
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Reflections on the Regular Season

From St Andrews coastal winds to Lochgelly’s claustrophobic corridors, the 2025 regular season offered variety, drama, and no shortage of storylines. McColgan’s dominance was clear, yet never unchallenged.

Every event seemed to throw up a new contender: Mair’s near misses, Gowens’ resilience, Peck’s rise, Denis Duncan’s fightbacks, Alan Duncan’s renaissance.

What stands out is the sheer competitiveness of the Tour. Of the six regular-season events, two were decided by count-back, three by a single stroke. On no fewer than four occasions, multiple players were in contention on the final green.

“Another count-back, another close tournament,” McColgan summed up at Canmore. “It’s just testament to the players and their growing determination to get silverware.”

The standings tell the story of a season where margins mattered more than ever. McColgan may lead, but the gap is narrow enough for Gowens, Peck, or Allan to dream. Alan and Denis Duncan, buoyed by their summer form, could yet upset the hierarchy. And Mair remains the perennial question mark: will brilliance finally convert into silverware?

As the regular season fades into history, all roads now lead to Craigielaw. The Tour Championship awaits, promising one final examination, one last chance for glory. If the season so far has taught us anything, it’s that nothing can be taken for granted.

The 2025 Order of Merit is alive with possibility, and the biggest stage of all is yet to come.