The From the Locker room team have had a brilliant few days on the Portuguese coast, sunning ourselves at some of the best courses in Portugal watching and waiting for the first tournament of the year to finish.

The team visited historic Estoril Golf Club, before heading to the prestigious Penha Longa Championship course and finished up in a familiar – but re-routed – Quinta da Marinha. We witnessed some great – and not so great golf – and for the third time in a row an on course withdrawal.

But, after all was said and done, and as the first beers touched the table one man stood above the rest.

After 54 holes we had a new name on the EuroDov Cup and a new Major winner on Tour and it was our pleasure to sit down with the new Major-man, Kevin Brannan.

Kevin, welcome, this is your second time in the winner’s circle, how does it feel to have another win to your name?

“It feels great to get over the winning line once again. It took a while to get the first, winning the Tour Championships last season but it feels just as good the second time around.”

You said yourself after the Tour Championships in August it "was nice to have the monkey off your back" - did knowing you have won in the past help you up the stretch?

“Definitely. Especially after being beaten on the final hole in a few events, it was about avoiding those mistakes again. Having the winning experience let me "keep the head" and make sure I did what I needed to do.”

Kevin Brannan - major winner, how does that sound?

“Absolutely fantastic. After winning for the first-time last season on tour, the next step was to become a multiple winner. Doing that whilst grabbing a first major, makes it that bit more special.”

A win in the first tournament of the year is good, but a major to boot, must feel doubly good - how does that change your mind set for the rest of the year?

“It doesn't. It's about going out, playing the best I can and hopefully it produces similar results.”

Looking at the tournament itself how did you feel you played?

“During and after the first round, I thought I had played myself out of it because I didn't have the best time of it. After that, I just tried to keep the ball in play, cut out mistakes and tighten up the short game. It seemed to do the trick.”

Your first 9 saw you 9 off the lead, by 18 you were 8 off the lead, by 27 you were 7, after 36 you were 3 and with 9 to go you were 1 behind. How does that make you feel?

“I didn't pay too much attention to the 54 hole leaderboard. After my first round, as I said earlier, I thought I was out of it. After that, it was just trying to do the best I could in each following round.

Playing with the fellow top 4 going into the final round, I could judge that there was perhaps a chance of success but tried to avoid thinking what was going on in the groups ahead.”

You've now won a 36 hole and 54 competition - do multi-round events suit you?

“It maybe does. I think it's fair to say I'm one of the most level headed players on Tour and that perhaps plays an important part in this situation. While other players sometimes drop the head after a mistake, I try to keep calm and remember there's plenty of golf to play.”

Let's look at your last 6 holes. After hitting a 10 on 13 you found yourself tied with Graeme Connor, what was the mindset on the 14th tee?

“After a 10, 14 was not the tee shot I wanted. A short par 3 over a gulley, with plenty of danger. My only focus was to keep it in play and get back on track and not to compound errors. And I managed it, it got me going again.”

Both tee shots on 17 and 18 found the trees, what was going through your mind at that point?

After the tee shot on 17, I wasn't too concerned. I thought I would have a shot into the green. It turned out, after a little search trying to find the ball, that the tree canopy stopped me from going for it in 2. But I was able to scramble out and avoid disaster thanks to my longest putt of the week.

18 was a tad scarier, having to hit a provisional. Fortunately, I found my first but again, had to scramble back into play and finish with no major blunders, which I just about managed to do.”

You rolled in a tricky 15 foot, down hill put on 17 to save par - do you look at that moment as the clincher?

“Now, I can say it was. It was my longest putt of the week. At the time I didn't think too much, I just treated it as any normal putt. I set it on its line and put it on its way, to see it drop was a bonus.”

The EuroDov Tour committee announced that you've been invited to take part in the 2023 Invitational Tournament after your major win - how does that feel?

“It feels great to get to play in The Invitational again this year after playing in the inaugural event last year. I'd like to thank the committee for asking me to play again and look forward at the chance to add more silverware to the collection.”

Well there we have it folks, the first event of the year, and a new Major winner on Tour. EuroDov Reporters checklist of things to watch out for this season already has one ticked off.

The Tour barely has time to unpack before it is back in action with the St Andrews Open on April 2nd. We’ll be there so join us for all the insight and analysis from around the Tour.