On the first Saturday of September in 2013, 12 players gathered to play a match that would go down in history as the starting point of a legacy that would stretch to this very day.

As we look back at the event 7 of the 12 players are still active on the EuroDov Tour, but none of them could have foreseen the competition, challenge and camaraderie that has grown from that day to this.

In September 2024, 24 players will step on to the same turf, strike the same opening shot, and the memory of 2013, those players past and present, and all in the endeavour of winning the RyDov Cup.

The 2024 iteration of the competition is the 10th playing of the RyDov Cup and the Tour has marked the event with a unique set of teams. We caught up with Tour Secretary, David McColgan, to fill us in on the 2024 planning process.

“Good evening gents and thank you for joining us at Tour HQ. 2024 marks the 10th playing of the RyDov Cup, the oldest trophy in the EuroDov calendar. It is where the seed of the Tour was planted and as each event has taken place it is where the roots of the Tour have grown.

For 2024, the Tour felt it was appropriate to depart from the traditional team selection process and mark the occasion with something unique.

So, for one year only the Tour has selected the teams based on tenure.

Team Love will consist of 6 of the original 2013 players and 6 players from the 2016/2017 iterations of the tournament, and they will form the Founders Team.

Team Gowens, captained by Paul Gowens will consist of 12 players who have joined the Tour since 2019 which was the first year of expansion in the RyDov format.

The Tour has a long tradition of competition, but it also has a long tradition of camaraderie and welcoming new players into the fold, and demarcating the teams in this way recognises the competitive nature of the Tour but also the togetherness that Tour members welcome in event by event.”

Well, there we have it folks, an exciting wrinkle in the 2024 event as we blend new with old and celebrate all that makes the Tour and the RyDov Cup great.

We’re going to take some time to look at each team and start with the Founding team first.

The Founding team consists of the following players, Andy Love (Cpt.), Stuart Allan (V. Cpt.), Alan Duncan, Barry Cunningham, Daniel Peck, David McColgan, Denis Duncan, Greig Baxter, John Hedges, Kevin Brannan, Stephen Hedges and Stuart Sutherland.

Straightaway David McColgan and Stuart Sutherland stand out in that line-up as the only players to have teed off in all 10 RyDov Cup throughout the years. An incredible achievement for them both.

The team combines for 82 appearances since 2013, with Alan Duncan having the fewest appearances at 3.
Their total points haul is 121, averaging 10 points per player. That gives them an average win percentage of 49%. In the singles format they’ve collected 41 points, which is an average win rate of 50% as a team and in the Greensomes they boast a 43%-win rate.

Of players who have played 3 or more RyDov Cups the Founders team boasts the 3rd best point win percentage in Greig Baxter and the 6th – 8th and 10th best win percentages in Peck, Cunningham, Allan and Love.

If we look to the EuroDov Tour the team is littered with silverware with 18 Majors, 18 Order of Merit events and 10 other Tour wins. The squad also boasts 6 of the Official Tour Rankings Top-10 players.

It’s a squad steeped in history, experience and tradition and they’ll want to win it for their Captain Andy Love and for the players that have passed before them.

Now let’s look at their opponents. Team Gowens consists of. Paul Gowens (Cpt.), Jim Robertson (V. Cpt), Ally Greenshields, Andy McGregor, Callum McNeill, Graeme Rose, Graham Connor, Joel Morrison, Richard Mair, Rory Malloch, Scott Gowens, Stuart Anderson and Stevie Orr.

Combined the team has a rather anaemic 19 appearances, with Graeme Connor boasting 5 of those and Greenshields, Orr and Anderson only 1 and Gowens, Malloch and Morrison all making their debuts.

Combined they amass 31.5 points, a paltry 2.6 points per player. It gives them an average win percentage of 55%, bettering the Founders team. In the singles format they’ve scored 9 10.5 points with an average win percentage of 55% and in the Greensomes format they boast a 53%-win rate.

Looking beyond the RyDov, Team Gowens boasts 1 Major winner, Callum McNeill, 7 Order of Merit events and 6 other Tour wins. The squad also has 3 of the OTR’s top-10 players.

There is no doubt the weight of experiences lies with the Founding team, their players average nearly 7 appearances compare to Team Gowens who average just over 1 per player.

On paper it is very much a David v Goliath clash, but when the players take to the course anything is possible.

We’ll be bringing you all the build-up to the 2024 RyDov Cup, including match-ups, interviews and in-depth analyses of what to expect when the players face off on Saturday September 7th.