148 days ago, the EuroDov Tour embarked on a new era with the introduction of the Order of Merit. The six-man field (Stephen Green couldn’t play due to covid restrictions) took to the links of the Home of Golf, St Andrew’s to compete for the first points of the new year.

EuroDov Reporter pinned the favourite moniker on David McColgan to be crowned the first Champion Golfer of the year with Allan (9/1), Brannan (11/1), Duncan (11/1), Love (14/1), Green (17/1) and Sutherland (20/1).

As the players gathered at the Eden Course, Stuart Allan had the honour of striking the first drive of the Order of Merit, and with that shot the EuroDov Tour had entered a new stage.

As the players got down to business Duncan was the first player to make a move striking out in front to post a 5 shot lead through the opening nine holes. Duncan would drop three shots through 3 holes on the back nine to slide back to 2 under par reducing his lead to 3 over McColgan. By the time Duncan reached the 17th he held a three-shot lead over McColgan and as McColgan despatched his drive down 18 he had no idea what was unfolding behind him.

After a tee shot that flirted with the out of bounds markers running the entire length of the 17th, Duncan put three approach shots OB on his way to carding a 12. By the time McColgan was over his ball at the side of the 18th green he was four shots in front in a dramatic twist of events.

McColgan carded a par to finish the round 1 over par and four shots clear of Duncan, who only 20 minutes earlier had one hand on the St Andrews Open.

McColgan would go on to win the opening event of the Order of Merit, but the story of the day, and eventually the season would be Denis’ late round collapse. McColgan had lived up to his season predicting hype, for tournament number one at least.

April saw the field head to Burntisland and the Dodhead Invitational. Burntisland was the home course of Brannan, Love, McColgan and Sutherland and all eyes were on the quartet. However the story of the Dodhead Invitational would be the head-to-head between Allan and Duncan.

Sutherland would set the tone for the day running off three straight birdies and taking the lead by one over Denis Duncan. The first big movement of the day came at the fourth. Sutherland buoyed by a fantastic up and down on three sent two drives out of bounds on four and would eventually card a triple bogey to reset his round back to level par. Duncan would run off an eagle and two birdies to leave him at three under thru 4 and Allan would hole an 85 footer for birdie (net eagle) to get in the mix at two under.

Duncan kept his foot on the gas through the difficult par threes of 5 and 6 taking a birdie/par to leave him on four under through 6. Allan could only manage a bogey/par passage through the par 3’s after a wayward tee shot on 5 and Sutherland followed Duncan birdie/par.

After one third of the round in the bag Duncan had a three-shot lead over Allan and Sutherland. McColgan started with six straight pars to sit fourth on level par with Brannan and Love on one over and after a nightmare 5th hole Green sat on 6 over.

The thirteenth hole was bit of a revival for Duncan and Sutherland. Allan stumbled 11 thru 14 carding pars and Duncan and Sutherland lifted their games with an eagle and birdie respectively. Walking on to 14 Allan held a one-shot lead over Sutherland and three over Duncan.

14 saw the lead swap hands again as Sutherland carded an eagle to Allan and Duncan’s pars to hold the lead at seven under par. However, a birdie on the 15th for Allan and a double bogey for Sutherland saw the lead change for the seventh and last time.

Allan would card two pars and a bogey in the last three holes to finish out six under and the winner. In the end he was the only player who could sustain the scoring across the 18 holes and his emphatic destruction of the course was unparalleled by the rest of the field.

The Mearns Castle Memorial is the only Order of Merit event outside of Fife, and the players were welcomed with driving rain and high winds, the exposed course intent on showing its teeth.

Mearns Castle Academy is the only 9-hole course on the OoM rota, and as the players set off for a second loop of the course there were six players within 2 shots of the lead.

The 10th hole saw the lead change straight away, Allan navigated his second pass of the par 4 with a par to maintain a score of +4. Duncan and McColgan both bogeyed the par 4 to move to +5 and were joined by Kevin Brannan with Green and Sutherland on +5.

Allan was in the mix thru 12 until an expensive four holes that yielded a triple bogey and three bogey’s to place him on +11 after 16 holes. A birdie at 11 moved Brannan on to the mix at +4 and saw him lead the field thru 12 until a bogey and double bogey on 13 and 14 saw him drift out of contention.

After 15 holes the leaderboard was Duncan (+4), McColgan (+5), Sutherland (+6), Brannan (+7), Allan & Green (+10) and Love (+11). With points available across the field it was all to play for with three holes to play.

The par 3 17th plays straight up hill and straight down wind. A big bunker protected the green front left with the pin pushed back right. Sutherland pushed his tee shot short right but out of danger and Duncan dispatched a fantastic iron over the bunker at the front which ended up 10 yards over the back of the green but pin high.

Enter, Stephen Green. Green despatched an exquisite hybrid to within 4 feet of the pin. At the moment of making the shot Green was 6 shots off the lead and out of contention. Duncan scrambled down for a par, and Sutherland a double bogey. Green stood over his ball and put a solid stroke through it and sent it to the bottom of the cup. Suddenly the leaderboard had Duncan (+5) and Brannan, Green, McColgan and Sutherland (+8) all on the heels of Duncan.

The 18th hole is a 290-yard par 4 with two foreboding bunkers down the right hand side. The wind had shifted round straight out the left. Duncan, knowing his position hit a safe drive down the right-hand side of the hole leaving around 120 yards to the pin. Sutherland and McColgan followed to the right.

Green, hit his drive left and flirted with the out of bounds leaving his ball 160 yards to the green and a few feet in play. With the right to play first Green pulled his hybrid, of 17th hole fame, and boy was it hot. The shot was straight down the neck of the green and in the heart.

Pressure on Duncan. With 120 yards in Duncan had iron in hand and with his second chunked it a few feet. His third shot caught the wind and finished underneath a tree. Duncan faced the decision to force it toward the green, he took the sensible option to play it out sideways and executed a sublime wedge shot to 4 foot.

Green lay on the green in 2, McColgan and Sutherland in 3 and Duncan 5. Both Sutherland and McColgan got down for pars and final scores of +8 over.

Green rolled his first put to 3 feet and inside Duncan. Duncan stepped over his 4-footer knowing if he holed it it would force Green to hole his for the win. Duncan despatched his putt dead centre all attention on Green.

2 holes earlier Green was 5 shots off the lead and here he stood with a 3-foot putt to win it all, to become the first OoM winner on his home course, to snatch victory from Duncan. Green’s stroke was short and confident and straight in the centre.

Green became the first and only player in the 2021 Order of Merit season to win his home tournament and announced his arrival in dramatic fashion. For Denis Duncan, it was a third straight tournament where he held the lead in the later stages only to finish second again.

The King’s Cup was the scene of the most emphatic victory of the year. It was also the home tournament for perennial runner-up Denis Duncan and all eyes were on him for his first win.

Walking on to the 6th tee Duncan held a three-shot lead over Love. By the conclusion of the hole Love had taken the lead by one shot in a swap that would not be reversed.

Love ran off an albatross-birdie-par-birdie-birdie to reach the top of the leader board on 6 under par thru 10. Duncan could only reply with a bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-par over the same stretch to sit 3 shots off the lead.

The 11th hole at Canmore has the potential to be card wrecker for anyone and it played a part in today’s tournament. At 335 yards the drive is fairly benign, however the positioning is all important for the next shot, blind down into a quarry where the green sits.

Love in the front group found himself in the fairway and on a downhill lie in two, his approach to the green however found the banking at the front of the quarry and deflected left out of bounds. He played an exquisite shot, after a penalty drop, to the heart of the green and walked off with an 8.

As the drama unfolded Duncan watched, knowing he had a chance to capitalise on Love’s mistake. However, his approach was some distance short and lay on the flat just in front of the green. What seemed like a straightforward chip, was over hit, and pulled left and skipped off the green and into the water hazard. Duncan managed to walk off with a 7 dropping just one shot to Love’s two.

If the 11th tried to have it says, it was the 12th the ultimately sounded the death knell for Duncan’s charge. The 190-yard par 3 requires players to carry it to the green, or bail out right, but trees and rough to the left means there is no joy for a pulled tee shot.

Love carded a par to remain at four under, and Duncan knew this hole was an opportunity. However, his tee shot flew nearly 20 yards offline to the left and lost. After three off the tee, he struggled down eventually carding an 8 and ending his hopes.

Andy Love would be the fourth winner in four tournaments on the Order of Merit and walk away with a seven-shot victory, unparalleled on the Tour all season.

July saw the Order of Merit return to links golf at Kinghorn Golf Club and the Kinghorn Classic.

McColgan’s front nine was very stable carding three birdies, one bogey and five pars. However, McColgan would go into the back nine trailing by one to Denis Duncan. After Duncan’s triple bogey on the first he birdied 2, 4 and 5 and carded back-to-back eagles on 6 and 7 to take a one-shot lead on 3 under par at the turn.

Allan wasn’t far away at the turn carding three birdies two bogeys and a double bogey alongside three pars to see out the front nine at 1 over par.

Green would see out the nine at 6 over, Sutherland 2 over and Love 11 over.

The pair went shot for shot over 12 and 13 but on the par 3 14th would be the changing point. McColgan sent a 6-iron to the 195-yard par 3 and found the back bunker. After a deft chip left him 4 feet, he holed the putt and moved on. Behind him Duncan’s approach found the rough short and left, a nice chip over the bunkers left him with just too much work to do and a two-putt bogey saw him drop off the lead.

McColgan would go on to drop to 1 under par in the run in but Duncan seeing what was happening up front would drop ten shots in the final four holes and drop out of contention completely.

In fact, the best back nines belong to Allan and Green who only dropped one shot throughout. Allan’s back nine was a picture of consistency, five straight pars to begin with, including the long and hard par 4 14th. A bogey on the par 3 15th was countered with a birdie on 16 and a double bogey on 17 was clawed back with a birdie on 18. His back nine pushed him right up the leader board to claim second place.

With the win McColgan became the first player on the Order of Merit to win two tournaments in a season.
The final event of the year was the Forrester Open, and it would be the tightest tournament of the year with just four strokes separating first from last and three players tied at 2 over and a countback awarding the win to Denis Duncan.

Duncan has led at one point in all 5 previous tournament this season and led in four of them in to the final three holes. His double bogey on 15 was an all too familiar moment but in the final round, on the final day of the regular season he was to write a new ending and beat out Stuart Allan and Stephen Green to lift the Forrester Open.

At the turn Green and Allan were tied at 1 under par, Brannan was second on level par, Duncan 2 over, Sutherland 3 over and Love at 7 over. The battle was played out at the top of the leader board. The lead would change 8 times in nine holes as Allan, Duncan and Green battled out for those final points. With Allan and Green both posting 39’s on the back nine it was the perennial runner-up Denis Duncan who won out with an exquisite level par 36.

The 2021 season saw 5 different winners across 6 tournaments. A season that saw all players competing for honours leaving the final standings bunched heading into the Tour Championships with only 1500 points separating first and last.