Before the From the Locker Room team were allowed to slope off into winter hibernation, they were put to work at the RyDov Cup.

It’s always great to return to the birthplace of the Tour and as the 10th playing of the oldest Major on Tour got underway there was an eerie mist shrouding the course and one would be forgiven for thinking they could see the ghosts of RyDov past roaming the hallowed turf.

But neither the occasion or the conditions were enough to hold back the field as ever-present Stuart Sutherland, using all his experience around the courses, went toe-to-toe with fresh blood in the shape of Scott Gowens and Joel Morrison in a fierce battle that blue all previous records out the water in the Montgomery Cup.

But as Sutherland marched up the 18th fairway with the ghosts of winners such as Cunningham and McColgan, Hardie and Kinnear in his wake he joined two very special clubs firstly a EuroDov Tour Major winner and secondly a winner of questionably the hardest Major of them all the Montgomery Cup.

We had the privilege of sitting down with him and getting his take on this historic end to an already fantastic season for the EuroDov vet.

Stuart Sutherland - EuroDov Tour Major winner, how does that sound?

“Excellent! I was very surprised.

After having difficulties and a very challenging couple of rounds at Craigielaw a week ago there was very little expectation coming into today.”

You've had quite the season 2 OoM wins, a 4th place finish in the OoM and now your first Major - what's been the secret in 2024?

“Not having any expectations, trying to focus on the next shot in front of me and trying to enjoy it!”

You opened eagle-par-eagle-par you must have felt you were on to a good game really early on?

“I don’t know why, but for some reason on Saturday I was striking the ball really well and in the main, keeping it out of the trees and bunkers. I never tried to get too far ahead of myself.”

How do you approach a game when you've got off to such a good start?

“It’s an old cliché but I was just focussing one shot at a time and tried to enjoy the fact that I was striking the ball so well. It’s a rare occurrence that it happens in a round!!!”

How aware were you of other around you and the low scoring that was going on throughout the day?

“I had an idea I was on a good score. I kept my head down and didn’t think about it - even when I was in the trees on the 18th!”

Around about the 11th hole we saw David McColgan look over to you and just signal to you to calm down and keep it going, were there others who were saying the same to you out there?

“I was in a really good four ball. Stephen throughout was encouraging and a calming influence, as were Callum and Ally.”

Does that help or does it add pressure?

“I just tried to focus on next shot and enjoying the fact I was striking the ball well. I was half expecting the next shot to be a chunk!!!”

You were flawless until the last few holes where you dropped shots on 16 and 18 - were you aware of how far ahead you were or were the nerves kicking in?

“I didn’t want to know the score. My driver was working really well all day, and I wanted to have a shot at longest drive. That resulted in me getting into a bit of trouble. I just tried to focus on not scoring too high a count on that hole.”

The Montgomery Cup is the oldest Major on Tour, and one of the hardest to win given the size of the field, how do you feel about getting your name on there?

“It’s great! I always look forward to playing Kinross. It’s a great event, that I’ve played from the start. It’s always a really enjoyable day. It’s only taken me 10 years to put a good round together!”

What lies ahead for the 2025 season? You're 6th in the OTR and will get a favourable match in the Matchplay - will you play?

“Playing as much golf as my kids clubs/activities allow me! To be honest, I’ve played some of my best golf since giving up my golf membership and not playing that frequently! It’s definitely given me a different mindset to my approach to playing golf.”

Are you looking forward to playing the Invitational?

“Yes, I’ve heard a lot of good things about Tulliallan golf course. It will be nice to play there.”

There we have it folks, straight from the Major winner’s mouth. Sutherland’s score of 63 smashed the tournament record by 5 strokes and it capped off a breakneck tournament that saw 2 players on the leaderboard reach 11-under par at one point.

Sutherland becomes the 7th winner of the Montgomery Cup and only the 9th Major winner on Tour.

The FTLR team want to thank everyone for their participation in 2024, their answers and time has been greatly appreciated and we’ll be back in 2025 for more coverage of the EuroDov Tour.