When Paul Gowens walks into the team room for the 2026 Carnegie Cup, he’ll do so as both leader and competitor. The two-time Major champion and four-time Order of Merit winner has never lost a Carnegie Cup point — a perfect six out of six across his two appearances. But this year, his responsibilities go beyond his own ball-striking and putting stroke.

As captain, Gowens must select eight players to join the four automatic picks — himself, his son Scott, the ever-consistent David McColgan, and the gritty Matchplay champion Denis Duncan. On those decisions will rest not only the balance of his team, but perhaps the destiny of the Cup itself.

The question is: what matters more — current Tour rankings, Cup pedigree, or career-long winning pedigree?
________________________________________

The Core Four

Let’s start with what we know.

• Paul Gowens (Captain): The captain, unbeaten in Carnegie Cup play, and the symbolic heartbeat of the side.
• David McColgan: The Tour’s most decorated player — 12 Order of Merits, 14 Majors, and a relentless presence at the top of leaderboards. His Cup record is solid if unspectacular, a 61% return across three Carnegies and a decade of RyDovs.
• Scott Gowens: The 2013 Cup champion and recent Tour Championship winner, who blends pedigree with firepower.
• Denis Duncan: The 2025 Matchplay Champion, who has quietly become a team-golf specialist. Seven points from three Carnegies underline his value.

That quartet gives Gowens a solid spine: leadership, consistency, and matchplay grit. The real intrigue lies in the next eight names.
________________________________________

Case Study 1: Picking by Tour Ranking

If Gowens were to be brutally pragmatic and select by 2025 Tour rankings alone, his team would feature Stuart Sutherland, Stuart Allan, Barry Cunningham, Kevin Brannan, Ronan Capon, Alan Duncan and Andy Love.

On paper, that list has merit. Sutherland is a two-time Order of Merit winner with a Major. Allan has three Order of Merits to his name. Brannan is a two-time Major champion as is Love.
But Cup golf is not paper golf. Carnegie history shows that strokeplay prowess does not always translate into matchplay points.
________________________________________

Case Study 2: The Carnegie Cup Record

Some names become legends in this format.

• Alan Duncan: A perfect six out of six points in two Carnegies. 100% in singles, 100% in foursomes, 100% overall. He is, statistically, the greatest Carnegie Cup player of all time.
• Greig Baxter: Seven and a half points from three appearances, an 83% return. He may not have McColgan’s Major haul, but in this arena he has been almost unbeatable.
• Allan Kinnear: Just two appearances, but 4.5 points and a 75% return. A proven Cup animal.
By contrast, some Tour stars have wilted.
• Kevin Brannan: Three Carnegies, zero points. A damning record for a two-time Major winner.
• Stuart Sutherland: Three appearances, just one point. Eleven percent. Almost unpickable if Cup history is your guide.

So, does Gowens reward Tour winners who have failed in this format before, or does he double down on Cup specialists whose broader CVs are lighter?
________________________________________

Case Study 3: The RyDov Cup Parallel

The RyDov Cup, played in the same format, provides a decade of extra evidence. And here, reputations change.

Sutherland, a flop in Carnegie, looks far stronger in RyDov play: 10 appearances, 16.5 points, a 55% return. Not elite, but respectable. That suggests his Carnegie struggles might be circumstantial, not structural.

Kinnear, meanwhile, becomes a colossus: 86% win rate across six RyDovs, including a perfect 100% in foursomes. His case is now overwhelming.

Barry Cunningham also emerges as a dark horse. In RyDov play he has 11 points from six appearances, a 61% return, and 67% in singles. Add in his Order of Merit win, a Major, and another title, and his inclusion looks increasingly sensible.

By contrast, Brannan’s problems deepen: eight RyDovs, just 8 points, a 33% return. It reinforces the idea that, however glittering his Tour résumé, Cup golf has never been his stage.
________________________________________

Case Study 4: The Pedigree Argument

The final data set is career wins. And here, Brannan claws back ground.

Two Majors. Two Order of Merits. On Tour, he is a proven closer. The same is true for Sutherland (two OOMs, one Major) and Cunningham (one of each). These are not journeymen — they are proven winners.

At the other end of the scale, dependable Cup performers like Jim Robertson or Andy Love look lighter. Love has one Order of Merit and two other wins, respectable but not stellar. Robertson has none. Pedigree matters because big tournaments are won by big players.
________________________________________

Case Study 5: The Handicap Dimension

Handicaps add another layer of intrigue. McColgan plays off +2, Baxter off 5, Denis Duncan off 11. But at the other end of the scale, Scott Gowens plays off 22, Sutherland off 23, Andy Love off 21.

In Greensomes, those high-handicap strokes can be a weapon. Pair McColgan with Scott Gowens, and you have a rock-solid plus handicapper with 22 shots in the pocket. That combination is a nightmare for opponents. Baxter with Sutherland is another potential hammer: control plus 23 shots.

This makes players like Sutherland and Love more valuable than their Cup records suggest. In matchplay, strokes are currency.
________________________________________

Towards a Final 12

Blend all the evidence, and the picture sharpens.

• Locks: Alan Duncan, Greig Baxter, Allan Kinnear. Their Carnegie and RyDov records are too good to ignore.
• Strong Likelihoods: Stuart Allan (steady, consistent), Barry Cunningham (pedigree + RyDov numbers), Stuart Sutherland (Tour wins + handicap leverage).
• Likely Depth Picks: Andy Love (experience, strokes), possibly Jim Robertson (dependable but unspectacular).
• The Wildcard: Kevin Brannan. His Cup record is catastrophic, but his Tour résumé is glittering. If Gowens believes he can unlock Brannan, he could be the X-factor.
________________________________________

The Journalist’s Twelve

If this writer were making the call, the 2026 Carnegie Cup team would be:

• Automatic Four: Paul Gowens (Captain), David McColgan, Scott Gowens, Denis Duncan
• Captain’s Eight Picks: Alan Duncan, Greig Baxter, Allan Kinnear, Stuart Allan, Stuart Sutherland, Barry Cunningham, Andy Love, Kevin Brannan

That gives Gowens:

• Proven Cup killers (Alan Duncan, Baxter, Kinnear)
• Tour pedigree winners (Sutherland, Brannan, Cunningham)
• Glue guys (McColgan, Allan, Love)
• High-variance wildcards (Scott Gowens, Brannan)
• Leadership and steel (the Captain himself)
________________________________________

The Debate That Remains

Should Brannan really get another chance? Is Robertson’s steady hand worth more than Brannan’s volatility? Can Sutherland translate his RyDov form into a Carnegie Cup win column? These are the dilemmas Gowens must wrestle with.

What is clear is that the Carnegie Cup is not a place for pure Tour form. It is about chemistry, psychology, and the peculiar magic of team golf. Gowens will know that. His own record — six points from six — proves he is built for the format.

Now, as captain, he must find the eleven men who can match him.