Scottish golfers marked for 2024 DP World Tour performance in end of season report card

Before the new campaign starts in Australia on Thursday and events also take place in South Africa and Mauritius before the end of the calendar year, there’s just time to reflect on what sort of season it was from a Scottish perspective.

Two tartan triumphs compared to none in 2023 meant it was certainly an improvement in that respect, though only three Scots, one less than the previous year, made it to the season-ending DP World Tour Championship and the number of full card holders for 2025 is down to seven from nine.

The fact the youngest of those players is 28 and three years have now passed without a player flying the Saltire graduating from the Challenge Tour is starting to signal another dip in Scotland’s cycle of producing talent that can go all the way to the top, but that’s something to look at separately.

In the meantime, here’s my end-of-term report cards for the ‘Class of 2024’:

Bob MacIntyre

Due to holding a PGA Tour card, the Oban man only played in 11 DP World Tour events yet still managed to finish ninth, matching his effort three years ago from 19 starts, in the Race to Dubai. That, of course, was mainly down to a memorable Genesis Scottish Open triumph at The Renaissance Club, where he became the first home player since Colin Montgomerie in 1999 to land the coveted title, and the 28-year-old’s next pay cheque will see him break through the €10 million barrier for career earnings on the circuit. Grade A

Ewen Ferguson

The 28-year-old showed once again that he’s got the tools to finish off a job by landing a third tour win in the BMW International Open in Munich. Given he was flying high in the rankings on the back of that, he’ll be a tad disappointed to finish 31st, missing out on one of The Open spots for next year, but, at the same time, it was another good campaign considering he was battling health issues for much of it. A PGA Tour card for 2026 will definitely be in his sights and looks achievable. Grade B

Connor Syme

He’s now qualified for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai three years in a row and finished with a career-best stroke average of 70.24. However, the 29-year-old didn’t really put himself in as many challenging positions as the previous two seasons - his best effort came in Ferguson’s win in Germany - and that’s something he’ll no doubt be aiming to improve on in 2025. Grade C

Calum Hill

Take out a tie for second in the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed and the 30-year-old would probably be the first to admit that it was a season of under-achievement. He just didn’t seem to be firing on all cylinders and there’s no denying that he would have been hugely disappointed to miss out on the season finale, albeit by a slim margin. His 54th in the Race to Dubai last season seemed a more pleasing effort than this one. Grade C-

Grant Forrest

After a solid start to the campaign, the 31-year-old found himself looking over his shoulder heading into the circuit’s new ‘Back 9’ swing before another eye-catching Amgen Irish Open performance, backed up by top-five finish as well in the acciona Open de Espana, transformed his season. Overall, though, he is another player who will probably be disappointed because 56th in the Race to Dubai isn’t what he expects from himself. Grace C-

Richie Ramsay

There’s a simple reason that the 41-year-old has made the long journey to Australia to start his 18th season as a professional and that’s because he wasn’t happy with what he described himself as a “roller-coaster year”. A solitary top-ten finish contributed to the Edinburgh-based Aberdonian missing out on the two Play-Off events and he will be working his socks off, both on and off the course, to avoid that happening again in 2025. Grade C-

Scott Jamieson

After cutting it fine in terms of keeping his card the previous season, the Florida-based Glaswegian never really had to worry in that respect after capping a solid start to the season by tying for third in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters. He blew a bit hot and cold thereafter, though, with six missed cuts in eight events at the start of the second half of the campaign probably being one of his most disappointing spells on the circuit. Grade C-

David Law

The 33-year-old Aberdonian paid the price for being unable to record a big finish in one of his 28 starts as he ended up 119th - four places below the card cut-off mark - in the Race to Dubai. He then came up agonisingly short as well in the Qualifying School Final Stage, meaning he is going to have to grab every opportunity he can to play on the main tour in 2025, hence why he is also now in Australia for this week’s season-opener. Grade D

Stephen Gallacher

The four-time tour winner never really enjoyed a consistent run of form, missing too many cuts to give himself a realistic chance of keeping his seat at the top table. The recently-turned 50-year-old will now turn his attention to the Champions Tour Qualifying School and, with a second Junior Ryder Cup captaincy already on the cards, it could still be a very exciting 2025 indeed for the Bathgate man. Grade D