The James Braid Quaich has always been more than just a trophy. It is the Tour’s ultimate marker of consistency, resilience, and brilliance across a season, the silver bowl every EuroDov golfer imagines lifting on a late-summer afternoon when the winds whip off the Firth of Forth.

In 2025, the race for the Quaich was billed as a coronation. David McColgan, champion in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024, had dominated the season, winning three times and arriving at Craigielaw with a 1,900-point lead over the field. The maths were simple: finish inside the top three in either round of the Tour Championships and the Quaich was his again.

But Craigielaw had other ideas.

By Sunday evening, McColgan’s dynasty lay in tatters. Paul Gowens, steady all season and courageous at the death, lifted the Quaich for the first time, his final tally of 7,616 points eclipsing Richard Mair (6,950) and McColgan (6,550).

What had been framed as McColgan’s march to another title instead became a story of transformation: a record-breaking Tour Championship, a new name on the Quaich, and perhaps the passing of an era.
________________________________________

The Favourite Falters

For most of 2025, McColgan had been unshakable. He opened the year with victories at St Andrews and Kinghorn, added Lochgelly in July, and never looked anything less than inevitable. By the eve of Craigielaw, his odds of retaining the Quaich were calculated at nearly 60%.

And yet, from the opening tee shot, things unravelled. A double bogey at the 12th in round one set the tone; the afternoon only deepened the wounds. McColgan scraped just 500 points across two rounds (400 + 100), the lowest haul of his career in a championship setting. His total of +17 was the worst finish of his Order of Merit tenure.

To retain the Quaich, he would have needed to have found a round of 63 in the morning or 66 in the afternoon — an almost impossible demand. Instead, he slumped to third overall, behind Gowens and Mair, and left East Lothian with the questions piling up: Is the McColgan era over?

Can a player of his profile keep pace with fields that now demand double-digit under-par scoring to win?
________________________________________

Paul Gowens: Steady, Resilient, Triumphant

If McColgan fell, Paul Gowens soared.

His season had been marked by quiet excellence: a win at Pitfirrane, a runner-up at Lochgelly, and steady top-five finishes that kept him in striking distance. At Craigielaw, he was never spectacular, but he was never shaken. His 66 in the morning tied the lead, and though he couldn’t match his son Scott’s fireworks in the afternoon, his 69 (-2) was enough to secure crucial points (2066 + 1400).

That steadiness was rewarded. When McColgan collapsed, Gowens was ready to seize the crown. His final tally of 7,616 points made him the 2025 James Braid Quaich champion — a career-defining moment for one of the Tour’s most tactical minds.

For Paul, the win was validation. For years, he had been seen as the strategist, the man who could plot his way around any course but lacked the finishing punch. At Craigielaw, his calculation and composure proved championship qualities.
________________________________________

Richard Mair: The Nearly Man Moves Up

Richard Mair has long carried the tag of “nearly man” on Tour. So often in contention, so often within sight of glory, but rarely converting. At Craigielaw, he once again played the role of the metronome: 69 (-2) in the morning, 67 (-4) in the afternoon, securing 1600 + 1900 points.

It wasn’t enough to claim the Quaich, but it vaulted him past McColgan into second place overall (6,950 points) — his highest-ever finish. Mair’s consistency was finally rewarded with a tangible marker: proof that steady hands can climb as high as anyone in this most unpredictable of Tours.

Yet the question lingers. To win the Quaich outright, will he need to find a ruthless streak? At Pitfirrane, Canmore, and even Craigielaw, it was one or two missed opportunities that separated him from greatness.
________________________________________

Stuart Allan and Daniel Peck: Steady, Then Spark

For Stuart Allan, the Tour Championship followed the script of his season: steady, resilient, competitive, but short of the spark required to win. His rounds of 72 (+1) and 68 (-3) yielded 800 + 1600 points, keeping him in the top four overall (6,400). Allan remains one of the Tour’s most reliable performers, but his wait for another marquee triumph continues.

Daniel Peck, meanwhile, produced the most extreme rollercoaster of the week. A dreadful 79 (+8) in the morning seemed to end his campaign — but in the afternoon, he summoned a brilliant 67 (-4), claiming 1900 points that lifted him into fifth place (5,800). For Peck, the lesson is clear: the ceiling is there, but consistency is the missing piece.
________________________________________

The Rise of Scott Gowens

No story at Craigielaw shone brighter than that of Scott Gowens. Entering as a longshot, 13th in the standings, he produced a performance that will live long in Tour folklore. A morning 66 (-5) tied the lead, before an afternoon 62 (-9) blew the field away. His 36-hole total of 128 (-14) shattered the tournament record, previously 3-under, and his points haul (2066 + 2400) rocketed him into sixth place overall (5,566).

In one weekend, Scott rewrote both the record books and his reputation. From outsider to champion, from 33/1 debutant to Quaich top-six finisher, his Tour future suddenly looks limitless.
________________________________________

The Battle for the Top Eight

The Quaich is not just about the winner — the battle for the top eight carries prestige, ranking points, and pride.

• Callum McNeill (5,466) held his nerve to finish seventh, his morning 66 enough to offset a fading afternoon 74.
• Kevin Brannan (4,650), the Dodhead champion, clung onto eighth with 1200 + 500 points — enough to stay ahead of Ally Greenshields (3,950), despite Ally’s consistent 1200-point haul at Craigielaw.
• Just outside, Denis Duncan (3,200) and Alan Duncan (3,125) couldn’t find the late surge needed. Both veterans were left rueing missed opportunities earlier in the season.
• Jim Robertson, buoyed by a gritty 74 in the afternoon, reached 1,906 points but remained well adrift.

For McNeill and Brannan, sneaking into the eight was vindication. For Greenshields, the Duncans, and others, it was heartbreak.
________________________________________

Records Smashed

The 2025 Tour Championships didn’t just crown a new champion — it rewrote the standards of the Quaich:

• Winning score: -14, smashing the old record of -3 (2022).
• Top three scores: -14, -7, -6 — all better than the previous record.
• Field average: Seven strokes better than any previous Tour Champs.
• Rounds of par or better: 12, accounting for 50% of all rounds played. The previous best was 25% in 2022.

Craigielaw, once feared as a punisher, became the canvas for brilliance.
________________________________________

The End of an Era?

And so, the question looms.

Is this the end of the McColgan era?

For five years, he has been the Tour’s dominant force, the yardstick by which others were measured. But his collapse at Craigielaw — last place, +17, 500 points across two rounds — was seismic. It wasn’t just that he lost; it was that the bar has shifted.

To win, he would have needed two rounds in the low 60’s. In a tournament where half the rounds were par or better, his steady, grinding style suddenly looked outdated.

Which raises a second, sharper question: is it even possible for a player of McColgan’s profile to compete in this new scoring era? When winning totals are -14 instead of -3, when outsiders can shoot 62s, consistency alone may no longer be enough.

Perhaps this was a one-off, a perfect storm of benign weather and inspired play. But perhaps it was more. Perhaps Craigielaw marked not just the end of a season, but the end of a dynasty.
________________________________________

A New Champion, A New Standard

What is certain is that the James Braid Quaich has a new name etched upon it: Paul Gowens. His triumph was one of patience rewarded, of steady hands seizing opportunity when giants stumbled. Alongside him, Richard Mair rose, Scott Gowens arrived, and a new generation flexed its muscles.

The Quaich is a mirror of the Tour itself. In 2025, it reflected change — the passing of power, the raising of standards, and the thrilling unpredictability that makes this circuit so compelling.

On a flawless East Lothian weekend, the Tour’s ultimate prize found a new home. And perhaps, just perhaps, the future found its voice.