Downfield double tees up Scottish Challenge start for Tartan Pro Tour player

Hot on the heels of Neil becoming the first player to defend a title on Paul Lawrie’s circuit, Thompson also achieved the feat in the Downfield Masters presented by Piper Sandler.

After opening with back-to-back 66s at the Downfield venue, in-form Liam Johsnton led by a shot from both Thompson and Connor McKinney heading into the closing circuit.

Following a nip-and-tuck last-day battle, Thompson emerged as the winner, signing off with a 68 for a 12-under-par total to pip Johnston (70) by a shot, with John Henry, who stormed home in 29, a further shot back in third place.

“The Downfield double, aye - back at it,” said Thompson, who picked up a top prize worth £4,500. “I’d been there before and knew the course, so I was excited to be heading back there. I’d played well there before, so I decided ‘yeah, why not have another go’.”

Franssen secured his spot in next week’s Farmfoods Scottish Challenge supported by The R&A through winning the Cardrona Classic presented by Martin Gilbert, with Neil doing likewise with his victory in the Newmachar Classic presented by Boskalis.

“The incentives were there,” added Thompson of a third spot being up for grabs at Downfield. “They had three Challenge Tour spots from the three events and I wasn’t in the hunt for the top two on the Order of Merit for the Scottish Challenge, so I knew I had to win one of the three events.

“I was playing okay going into it, so I just had to go for it, really. Liam was playing well, having been up there every week on the Tartan Pro Tour, so I knew what I had to do.”

In addition to Franssen, Neil and Thompson, Johnson and Craig Ross will also be teeing it up at Schloss Roxburghe near Kelso through Tartan Pro Tour tickets as the leading two players on the Order of Merit not otherwise exempt.

They’ll be taking on the likes of David Horsey, James Morrison and David Law - all recent winners on the HotelPlanner Tour - as well as Eddie Pepperell and Renato Paratore.

“It always is a strong field for the Scottish Challenge,” noted Thomspon of an event won last year by Brandon Robinson Thompson at Newmachar. “It will be tough, but all the Challenge Tour events are tough to do well in.”

After topping the Tartan Pro Tour Order of Merit in 2023, Thompson played on the HotelPlanner Tour last season but, to his disappointment, it proved to be a fruitless rookie campaign.

“Ultimately, it was a great experience, but it was tainted from not playing my best golf, which was obviously frustrating,” he said. “I can’t complain, though, because I had a great year.

“Yes, I didn’t play my best golf and it’s now how I wanted to perform, but it’s golf. You can’t always be good. I took the brunt of it and still went out there every week and I tried to make the most of the experience.

“I want to be back there for sure and give it a go again playing some better golf. I always felt the way I’d played the year prior to setting up that opportunity, even if a small percentage of that I’d probably have been alright but I didn’t, unfortunately. That was the frustrating part as I knew I was capable of doing better.”

‘People have realised how good the Tartan Pro Tour is’

Having been a bit of a trailblazer, Thompson is now being joined by lots of other English players making the journey north to compete on the Tartan Pro Tour, which was set up during the Covid pandemic to provide playing opportunities for Scottish-based players but has blossomed into a Satellite Tour for the HotelPlanner Tour

“It is definitely picking up,” noted Thompson. “People have realised how good it is - really good actually - and have decided to give it a go and why not?”