Welcome to the first From the Locker Room winners’ interview of 2022. It has felt like a long dark winter, wit the team kicking round empty locker rooms just waiting for the first event of the 2022 season, and boy was it worth the wait.

St Andrews was, as ever, the golfing mecca we needed. The drive up the A91 was filled with excitement and the first view of the Eden estuary sent butterflies flying. The Eden course was our destination, much like in 2021, and we arrived to find the largest ever field in Order of Merit history.

The skies were blue, the sun was out, but unlike in 2021, the wind was also present, and would challenge the field all day, especially when the sun got low and the air cooled.

However, much like 2021, we were treated to a real dogfight of a tournament, with late drama once again coming in the shape of the 17th hole. And the benefactor of that drama was once again, David McColgan, who we are glad to be sitting down with right now.

Congratulations on your win David, how does it feel?

“Thanks guys, it’s always good to sit down and talk to you with some silverware in my hand. But it does feel a bit surreal given the similarities to 2021!”

Talk us through that.

“Well firstly, the 17th hole has probably haunted Denis Duncan for a whole year, and I think the lads that played in 2021 were very much focused on not being that guy in 2022. I opted to hit 2-iron and 2-iron, I went so far left of the tee I nearly landed on the 1st!

The wind was straight into our faces, and the temperature had dropped, and I knew any spin was going to be dragged towards the out of bounds.”

Does it feel like you stole it this year?

“I don’t think the incident on 17 makes me feel like I stole it, I was 1 shot in the lead walking on two 17, compared to 3 or 4 shots behind in 2021!

What I will say though, is that wasn’t my best day on a golf course. I scrambled very very well and putted even better. However, from the tee and the par 3’s I struggled and that’s something for me to focus on.”

This year there were, 12 players out there, how does that change the dynamics of the competition?

“Massively, and it should have been 14, we missed Kev [Brannan] and Stevie [Orr] due to the covid-19 protocols.

But compared to last year when you had just 7 players, you could almost see and hear all the good shots. Now we’re spread out over 4 groups you really need to just play your game, ignore everyone else and card as best a score you can.”

Let’s reflect on some of the newcomers for a second, how did you think they prevailed?

“Look, some of these guys are seasoned competitors from their off-Tour commitments. Guys like Baxter, Cunningham and Connor have played week in week out for years. I think it shows when they can bounce back and dig deep from poor stretches of golf.”

Talking about Connor, what were your thoughts on the 5th hole meltdown?

“I didn’t see it, but I have heard and it’s funny. Not something I’d expect from a player of his caliber, but the game gets to you at times doesn’t it.”

Looking back at the St Andrews Open, you won it in 2021 and went on to win the Harry Vardon trophy, is it an omen?

“I am not really into all that, I am sure if you cut the stats and results anyway, you’ll find something in there to tell you he’s gone win it or not. For me it’s a great start to 2022, but there is plenty golf to be played between now and August, and I need to focus on putting my game in a position where I can compete at the top end of the leaderboard.”

You’ve won 4 straight tournaments on Links courses, why is that?

“I like the game on Links courses, you need to be creative and anticipate where your ball is going to go. It wasn’t surprising to me to see Baxter near the top of the leaderboard as his game is 100% made for that.”
You and Greig Baxter had a bit of back and forth in the pre-season, does it make this win a bit sweeter?

“Not really, I don’t buy into all of that. Greig’s a great golfer and his ambition to beat me is just borne out of his desire to win, he’s probably got Barry [Cunningham] to thank for 12 on 17 and the extra 100 points he collected for ghosting into 2nd place.”

Before we wrap up and let you get away what do you think is the talking point of the 2022 St Andrews Open?

“Well, it’s easy to focus on who won, but it’s a long season and we’ll look back on moments and point to them and I think Andy Love’s last 13 holes will be very valuable to him come August. He haemorrhaged 11 shots though 5 holes then went on to only drop 4 more with 3b birdies in there too! That is top quality golf whoever is playing it. I suspect if you ask him, he’ll be happy with his 450 points and was a classy performance. Speaking with him out on the course, his focus on finishing in the points and maximizing his return for his days work is a real veteran move, and we can all learn from that.”

Well, there we have it folks, straight from the winners mouth, his views on the 2022 St Andrews Open and a backhanded compliment for Greig Baxter in a tete-a-tete we’ll need to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

We’ll be back on April 3rd with the Kinghorn Classic, until then enjoy your golf folks.