Good evening, folks and welcome back to Burntisland on behalf of the From the Locker Room team. Whilst everyone was off getting on with life the past week, we’ve been hanging out on the Fife Riviera enjoying fish and chips, the dodgems and waltzers and just generally making a nuisance of ourselves.

But it was great to see the Order of Merit roll into town and the action be underway across the course at the Dodhead in Burntisland. The 16-man field was headed up by the competitive return of Paul Gowens, and everyone involved in the Tour was delighted to see it.

We had a great event for you that featured four leaders at some point through the day, but Andy Love’s strangle hold on the field threatened to make it a procession more than competition until a series of errors on the 15th handed David McColgan the lead.

McColgan would take that lead to the clubhouse and with it a nervous wait for the final group and when all was said and done, he had his first win of 2023. So, let’s catch-up with McColgan now, how does it feel to have won the Dodhead Invitational?

“Hi guys – great to be here.

It is great to have defended the Dodhead Invitational, I think in 2022 it was top of my list to win because of my off-Tour schedule here, and to have achieved that then to defend it is really special.”

How did you find conditions out there today?

“The course is immaculate, no one can deny that. I think we were all impressed at the Carnegie Cup last week, and it’s just got firmer and faster.

The wind was definitely a factor today, that second shot into the first took a lot of players by surprise. It certainly made the course longer in parts, but equally when the wind was with you it was a chance to take advantage of it.”

How was your game out there, were the conditions a factor?

“There’s no question the wind was a factor, you really had to think your way around your shots.

I hit a 50-degree wedge in from 75 yards on 1 and still left the ball short of the hole, I hit a 2-iron from 200 yards on 3 and was short too. But flip it round, I drove pin high on the 14th green and was just short on the 8th as well.

I thought I was pretty controlled out there today, when mistakes happened (and they did) I was able to bounce back.”

Let’s look at a couple of those mistakes then, on 4 you pulled your tee-shot out of bounds, what was going through your head then?

“It was a great strike – maybe too good – but when it went out of bounds it’s time to regroup. I stuck a 2 iron down the fairway and a wedge toa few feet and tidied up.

The most important part for me was the PW-putt for birdie on 5 to respond.”

It was a great birdie, but what about the following hole?

“A terrible tee shot cost me there, but again I re-teed and hit it to 6 feet and tidied up. The most important thing for me is to make sure I don’t follow a bad shot with a bad shot.”

At the halfway point you were level par and sat T3rd, what was going through your mind at that point?

“I think if you look at my season so far, you’d be hard pressed to call it a bad one. I have played good golf – except Aberdour – without really getting the result.

It did feel like I was about to shoot a good round and come up short again.”

You shot 3-under on the back nine, in challenging conditions, talk us through that?

“I think most of us who know Burntisland know that you just need to get through 10 and 11 and then the course becomes more scoreable.

I was disappointed with my score on the par 5 12, I think there were 3 or 4 eagles on that hole today and all I managed was a par.

But 13, even into the wind is a scoreable hole and my drive on 14 was straight out the screws and to find it lying on the green was very satisfying.”

At one point 3-under didn’t look like enough and half an hour later it looked like you’d lose on a countback, how were the clubhouse nerves?

“They were pretty shredded if I am honest. It’s never great to see players blow up on a hole and lose the lead, but that’s golf and can happen to any one of us.

As for sitting on the lead in the clubhouse, it’s a privileged place to be but always very nerve wracking, players are coming off the course and they don’t know whether to congratulate you or not and you don’t know if you should be smiling or not.

I am just glad I had the trophy at the end of the day.”

There’s been a lot of talk this season about your lack of silverware and equally a lot of talk about the volatility of the Order of Merit, what are your thoughts?

“I think a lot has been made about my lack of trophies this year, I was very open when I said 2022 was a freak year and one that probably won’t be repeated.

Am I disappointed it’s taken till June to win something, absolutely, but it’s not the end of the world.

Looking at the OoM, I am still sitting with the best average score across four events. My nearest competitor is 2.5 strokes behind me on average. It clearly shows I am the most consistent golfer and that’s what’s going to get me over the line come August and the conclusion of the Order of Merit.”

In 2022 there were hints you might not play the Order of Merit in 2023, and there have been murmurings already about your appearance in 2024 – do you have anything to say about that?

“Look – has the Order of Merit become harder, yes, but it’s harder for everyone. The expansion has meant more players are in the mix every event, and that has to be good for the competition. For me, I need to think back to 2021 and reaffirm my commitment to be mentally strong when the field are racing away, it’s a long season and it isn’t one in a single event.”

Looking elsewhere, Barry Cunningham, won the Inchkeith Cup this weekend with rounds of 5-under and +1 over par at Aberdour and Burntisland respectfully – what do you think of that?

“It’s brilliant to see Barry win on Tour. He won the inaugural event in 2013 and to lift his next trophy 10 years on (albeit with a few years break in between) is a fantastic story. Barry’s only a matter of time away from a big win, and this might just be the moment the giant awakes.”

Ok time to wrap-up now David, but you currently sit top of the Order of Merit, 900 points ahead of Andy Love, what’s the aim for the second half of the season?

“I just need to keep focusing on consistency. If I can keep turning in sub 70 rounds, I’ll keep picking up points. Top 4 finishes will do me well and hopefully, when all is said and done, I’ll have my hands on the James Braid Quaich once more.”

Well, there we have it folks, David McColgan has finally got his first win of 2023, and has his eyes firmly fixed on the James Braid Quaich at the end of the season.

His win makes it his 8th Order of Merit win in three seasons and the third time he has successfully defended a tournament. Join us on July 23rd at Canmore Golf Club for the King’s Cup to see who will write their name in to the Tour’s history books.

Until then, happy golfing.