Former pro Ryan Campbell wins Blairgowrie event in memory of Kevin McAlpine

Originally from Falkirk but now living in Colinsburgh in Fife, the 34-year-old beat a strong field to win ‘The McAlpine’, the Scottish Mid-Amateur Stroke-Play Championship and staged in memory of Kevin McAlpine, at Blairgowrie

Campbell shot rounds of 71-74-69 on the Lansdowne Course at the Perthshiree venue to win by a shot from Wigtownshire County’s Kyle McClung (75-71-69), with Murcar’s Chris Somers, Lanark’s Garry McLetchie and Calum Nairn (Prestwick St Cuthbert) all finishing on 216.

Others in the field included Lundin’s James White, Neil MacRae (Glasgow), Jennifer Saxton (Dunfermline) and Murrayshall’s Gavin Dear, a member of Scotland’s Eisenhower Trophy-winning team in 2008 in Australia.

“It was a nice surprise given how little golf I’ve played,” admitted Campbell. “I got my amateur status back about a year ago, but I only joined Scotscraig in July. Other than a wee golf trip down south in April, I hadn’t played for two years.”

Campbell finished 11th PGA EuroPro Tour Order of Merit in 2019 on the back of five top-five performances on the third-tier circuit before landing a maiden professional win - it also came on the Lansdowne Course in the Blairgowrie Perthshire Masters - on the Tartan Pro Tour in 2021.

“I was working and trying to play a bit on the Tartan Pro Tour,” he said. “Ironically, it was playing in a Tartan Pro Tour event at Blairgowrie in 2024 that I decided I didn’t want to do it any more and I didn’t touch a club after that for a couple of years.

“I think that had been coming over a period of time, to be honest. I had competed full time then trying to balance playing with work wasn’t something I felt I wanted to do. I’d got to a stage in life where I felt I would rather be at work and making some money.”

On the basis of his win last weekend, Campbell’s game is still there. “I’d played a few medals since I started playing again, but that was the first time I’d been in a proper tournament setting, so to speak. It wasn’t brilliant, but I was fairly solid and surprised myself, to be honest,” he said.

“Kevin was an absolute legend in Scottish amateur golf and I was lucky enough to play with him a couple of times in the pro ranks on the EuroPro Tour before he went off to the States. Yeah, it is nice to win something in memory of someone like Kev.”

Campbell works these days as a bus driver for Stagecoach and, though not ruling it out, he admits that it is unlikely that he will suddenly start playing a lot of competitive golf again.

“I’m not going to rule it out, but I work most weekends, so I don’t really see it as a priority,” he said. “It’s probably going to be more about me being available to play in events. For instance, this tournament just happened to be on while it fell in some time off work.”

Reflecting on his time playing on the now defunct PGA EuroPro Tour and who he’d played with and gone on to bigger and better things, Campbell said: “There’s a few. You’ve got Dan Brown, Rich Mansell, Marco Penge, guys like that. Brandon Robinson Thompson as well.”

Meanwhile, The Hutcheon, an over-40s’ event with The McAlpine, was won by Lanarkshire legend McLetchie with his scores of 73-71-72.