Michael Stewart savours dream Dunhill debut but turns down Madrid mission

The 36-year-old Ayrshireman will be back on the Scottish circuit set up by Paul Lawrie for the season-ending Gleneagles Masters on Wednesday feeling ten-feet tall and considerably richer after producing what was easily the best performance of his career.

In just his fifth event on the DP World Tour, world No 979 Stewart finished joint-fourth behind winner Adrian Meronk after signing off with a six-under-par 66 - it was illuminated by a hole out from 112 yards for an eagle-2 at the 13th - on the Old Course at St Andrews.

The eye-catching effort earned Stewart a cheque for just under £168,000. To put that into perspective, that was more than five times his previous best pay-day, which was for a tie for 52nd in the 151st Open at Royal Liverpool in 2023. Oh, and nearly 100 times bigger than what he picked up a few days earlier at Duddingston.

“It's hard to put into words,” he admitted. “I was in a bit of an autopilot there towards the end, the last three holes especially. Just, yeah, amazing. Like a bit of a whirlwind and just delighted that I could sort of put up a good showcase of myself today.”

Despite his lack of proper preparation, having had to ask his long-time friend David Law to pick up his accreditation badge, parking pass and yardage books, the former Scottish Amateur champion opened with a brilliant seven-under-par 67 at Carnoustie on Thursday to share the lead at the end of the first round.

His week could easily have gone the other way after dropping three shots in four holes at the end of his back nine at Kingsbarns but, drawing on his vast experience of playing links golf, Stewart turned that second circuit around as he signed for a 71.

A double-bogey 6 at the Road Hole at St Andrews, where he’d started at the tenth, on Saturday could also have led to an uncomfortable back nine in his bid to ensure that he was around for the closing circuit at the very least, but, once again, he dug in for a third-round 69.

Unsurprisingly, most Scottish eyes were on defending champion Bob MacIntyre in the final round, but, playing two games ahead of his compatriot, it was Stewart who suddenly emerged up near the top of the leaderboard as that eagle moved him to six under for the day and 17 under in total.

In truth, it never really looked as though he could join not only Lawrie and MacIntyre in landing this title but also Stephen Gallacher and Colin Montgomerie. Nonetheless, it was a phenomenal performance from a player who was blessed with talent but has had to work his socks off and stay very patient indeed to enjoy a week in the spotlight like this one.

“Yeah, a little bit,” admitted Stewart in reply to being asked if his expectations had risen with each passing day. “Yesterday I felt a little bit tired. The last six holes I was really scrappy, I sort of managed to hang on. And today, yeah, I just felt good. I thought with the wind being really strong and across the golf course, I thought everyone was going to struggle. It's hard to get so close to many of the flags. If you just stay patient and hole a couple of putts, and then obviously you get a massive stroke of luck.”

Smiling as he recalled that, the man who cut his golfing teeth at Troon Welbeck added: “I just tried to hold a 50-degree wedge up on the wind a little bit because I knew there's more space right at that flag than there looks. And there's quite a big slope that slopes it back towards the pin. So I just tried to be aggressive. I thought, what the heck, just give it a go.”

On the back of what he’d described on Thursday as a “free go”, Stewart secured the chance to play in this week’s Open de Espana in Madrid, where home hero Jon Rahm is set to spearhead the field. Six spots were on offer to players finishing in the top ten in the Dunhill Links, but Stewart quickly turned his one down.

Instead, he’ll be teeing up in the Tartan Pro Tour finale in Perthshire, where his big goal for 2026 will be accomplished if he can stay in the top two in the Order of Merit to secure a card for next season’s HotelPlanner Tour. Though in a strong position, Stewart can still be leapfrogged by Craig Howie, Craig Ross and Sam Locke.

“Say the worst-case scenario is I miss the cut and somebody overtakes me, at least I was there,” he said of why he’ll be competing for a £30,000 prize pot instead of one for $3.75 million. “If I was to go to Spain, miss the cut there and somebody overtakes me, I don't think that's the right thing to do. It's a year's work. I've played so well to put myself in that position as well.

“I think it would be silly if I didn’t go to Gleneagles and at least tee it up and try and secure my HotelPlanner Tour card. Because, at the end of the day, that was my goal at the start of the year.”

Putting up a sterling defence of his title, MacIntyre finished joint-sixth on 16 under after a closing 68. “Yeah, I thought I played well,” said the Oban man. “Just too many double bogeys, plain and simple,” he added of following his 6 at the second on Saturday with another one at the tenth in his closing effort.

After holing a 29-foot eagle putt at the last, David Law finished joint-23rd on 11 under, one behind Calum Hill while Scott Jamieson, Euan Walker and Cameron Adam all ended up in a tie for 35th on nine under.