EuroDov Reporter has taken time to sit down and look at each individual player and assess their prospects ahead of 2025. So, sit back, and enjoy their reviews.

Up next is Ally Greenshields. Greenshields is the first of the five co-sanctioned players in the 2025 Order of Merit field and made his debut on Tour in 2023.

Greenshields would be best described as laid back about his approach to the game, one of the big hitters who can’t always rely on the direction of the ball. Greenshields has put in some top performances over the years showing he has the ability to win.

EuroDov Reporter has taken time to sit down and look at each individual player and assess their prospects ahead of 2025. So, sit back, and enjoy their reviews.

We’re going to tackle this in alphabetical order so the first player under the looking glass is Alan Duncan.

Duncan made his debut in the 2017 RyDov Cup and made appearances at the 2018 and 2023 EuroDov Cup, but it wasn’t until the 2023 Order of Merit season that Alan Duncan took up his Tour card with a vengeance.

Duncan is a colourful character on Tour, his attire as dramatic and loud as his golf and he never ceases to entertain the crowds or the field. Whilst his game is often on the edge of chaos, the excitement comes from knowing he has the potential to play great golf and when he does, he can compete with the best out here on Tour.

It is always an exciting time when the landscape for the 2025 season becomes a little bit clearer, and in the last week or so the EuroDov Tour released a preliminary draw for the 202 Matchplay tournament.

EuroDov Reporter is going to take a look at the current draw and some of the story lines ahead.

On the 19th November this year the EuroDov Tour update the field list for the Invitational Tournament with the inclusion of Ally Greenshields. Greenshields finished 9th in the 2024 Montgomery Cup and as such was the first reserve for the event.

Whilst Greenshields was added there was no one removed from the field, however the FTLR team can reveal, from multiple sources, that McColgan will not take his place in the 2025 Invitational Tournament

As the 2024 season came to an end the EuroDov Tour announced the introduction of the Player of the Year award.

The award featured four shortlisted players, David McColgan, Paul Gowens, Scott Gowens and Stuart Sutherland, a run down of their nominations are below.

The EuroDov Tour HQ have convened a panel to determine 4 players to be shortlisted for EuroDov Tour Player of the Year and I, EuroDov Reporter, will have the pleasure of presenting the case for each.

So, let’s take a look at player number 4 – Scott Gowens.

The EuroDov Tour HQ have convened a panel to determine 4 players to be shortlisted for EuroDov Tour Player of the Year and I, EuroDov Reporter, will have the pleasure of presenting the case for each.

So, let’s take a look at player number 3 – Paul Gowens.

The EuroDov Tour HQ have convened a panel to determine 4 players to be shortlisted for EuroDov Tour Player of the Year and I, EuroDov Reporter, will have the pleasure of presenting the case for each.

So, let’s take a look at player number 2 – Stuart Sutherland.

The EuroDov Tour HQ have convened a panel to determine 4 players to be shortlisted for EuroDov Tour Player of the Year and I, EuroDov Reporter, will have the pleasure of presenting the case for each.

So, let’s take a look at player number 1 – David McColgan.

The dust has barely settled on a breakneck Montgomery Cup that saw 7 players shoot level par or better a tournament best results in both the Montgomery Cup and Bruce Shield, however we’ve now got the Invitational in our sights!

It’s always a great event, with a field creamed from the top of the Montgomery Cup standings with the top 8 locking horns in the second Major of the season.

In total the field holds 16 Majors, 19 Order of Merit event wins and 13 other Tour honours – the From the Locker Room team sat down with them after their qualification was unveiled and got their instant reaction to the 2025 Invitational Tournament.

The RyDov Cup is the longest running event on the EuroDov Tour and whilst the final result is the number we all focus on, the tournament has an array of storylines and numbers that lie behind it.

Each year we unleash EuroDov Reporter on the history books to bring you the RyDov Cup – by the numbers; so, sit back and enjoy the story of the RyDov Cup.

The RyDov Cup is one of the most anticipated events each year on Tour with 24 players fighting it out for their team.

The event is littered with storylines, from potential Major wins to Captains glory and everything in between.
The From the Locker Room team were on the ground the entire event speaking with the field and bring you a bumped Players’ reaction from Kinross.

Let’s get right into it – good afternoon gents that's the 10th anniversary match of the RyDov Cup done - how did you enjoy the match today?

It’s always great to return to the birthplace of the Tour and as the 10th playing of the oldest Major on Tour got underway there was an eerie mist shrouding the course and one would be forgiven for thinking they could see the ghosts of RyDov past roaming the hallowed turf.

And as Sutherland marched up the 18th fairway with the ghosts of winners such as Cunningham and McColgan, Hardie and Kinnear in his wake he joined two very special clubs firstly a EuroDov Tour Major winner and secondly a winner of questionably the hardest Major of them all the Montgomery Cup.

The RyDov Cup is the oldest competition on the EuroDov Tour and over there years only 12 players have ever had the privilege of Captaining a side.

Even more rare is captaining a winning side – since its inception the RyDov Cup has only ever been won by 6 Captains and only two have won it multiple occasions.

Team Gowens flew out the traps in 2024 amassing the largest lead in RyDov Cup history in the morning singles, and whilst they didn’t pull through in the Greensomes they did enough to win the Cup out right.

We sat down with Paul after the celebration so let’s head over and hear about the 2024 RyDov Cup, straight from the captain’s mouth.

September 7th is a date engrained in EuroDov Tour folklore.

It was on this day in 2013 the genesis of the Tour was founded, 12 players gathered on the first tee of the Montgomery Course to play a match that would be the very foundation of today’s EuroDov Tour.

In 2024, that number had grown to 24, and they stood on the same hallowed turf ready to compete in the 10th RyDov Cup match.

It was an atmospheric morning as fog swept across the course and players would be forgiven for seeing the ghosts of RyDov past on the fairways and greens in front of them.

On the 7th September 2013 the inaugural event of what would become the EuroDov Tour was held.

12 players gathered at Kinross Golf Courses for a 6 v 6 match with singles matchplay in the morning and greensomes matchplay in the afternoon, in what would become to be known the RyDov Cup.

As we approach the 10th playing of the RyDov Cup, we unleashed EuroDov Reporter on the archive books to bring you a ‘Where are they now’ analysis of the Founders.

So, sit back and enjoy some EuroDov Tour history.

It’s been a terrific season on the EuroDov Tour’s Order of Merit.

We started in near hurricane conditions in St Andrews and ended on the sun kissed fairways of Craigielaw. We made our way from the Home of Golf to Scotland’s Golf Coast via Kinghorn, Pitffirane, Burntisland, Canmore and Lochgelly; we saw 5 different winners across the 6 regular season events and 6 winners in total once the Tour Champs were completed.

We got a chance to check in with some of the players once the dust settled from the Tour Champs to get their thoughts on the 2024 season.

The 2024 Order of Merit season is in the can, we’ve travelled from the Home of Golf to Scotland’s Golf Coast and everything in between as 16 players battled it out for the James Braid Quaich and the privilege to be called Champion Golfer of the Year.

EuroDov Reporter is delving into the 2024 archive to bring you a review of the season, so sit back and enjoy!
First up was the St Andrews Open.

Come the Tour Championship come the end of the Order of Merit season.

Whilst there were some new names in the winner’s circle, namely Stuart Sutherland after the St Andrews Open and Kinghorn Classic, and some familiar moments Richard Mair going back-to-back in the MCM, Stuart Allan winning the Dodhead again and Paul Gowens claiming his third OoM win at Lochgelly. Perhaps the most familiar thing of all was the outcome.

Despite no wins in the regular season the Champion Golfer of the year averaged 69.86 strokes per round over the season, and managed an impressive 2 first place finishes, 4 second places and 2 third place finishes and won with a record breaking 3050 point lead come the close of play.

As we change our calendars over to September, and apparently turn the heating on too, it’s a reminder that the Order of Merit season is in the can.

The Tour Champs is always a ferocious competition with players battling out over 36 holes for the privilege of etching their name in Tour history. Last year’s runner-up Ally Greenshields staked the earliest claim with a level par round in the morning but as he fell away in the afternoon McColgan’s 3-under par 68 coupled with his 2-over par morning round delivered him the win.

We caught up with some of the field, on what was a day of high emotions, and were very grateful for their insight and honesty.

As the EuroDov Tour rolled in to Scotland’s Golf Coast they’d be excused for thinking summer had finally come.

The end of August marks the end of the Order of Merit season, but not before the Tour Champs leave their mark on the season. Hosted, for the fourth year at Craigielaw Golf Club, the players were greeted with an immaculate course that was running firm but fair and conditions that were perfect.

It was like the volleyball scene from TopGun – the original one, when men were men – on Scotland’s Golf Coast this past weekend. The From Locker Room Team had to be reminded they were here for work and not play but the golf on display at the Tour Champs this year certainly made it feel a lot more like play.

Ally Greenshields challenged the field in the morning with a brilliant level par 71, however his charge for the Tour Champs, that he lost on a countback in 2023, would falter with a 10 on the par 4 7th. The handover, to McColgan, would result in a run to the final hole and a second Tour Champs win for the 2024 Champion Golfer of the Year.

We caught up with at the end of play to get his thoughts on the Tour Champs.

The Order of Merit regular season is in the can and the Tour is on the move from Fife to the Scotland’s Golf Coast, East Lothian, for the Tour Champs.

The Tour Champs field is made up exclusively of Order of Merit players and it has been a fiercely fought event since its inception in 2021.

It is probably the most exciting Tour Champs ever, with so much to play for over the season plus the chance to snatch a 2025 exemption if you win over the 36-hole tournament.

As ever EuroDov Reporter has been looking at the stats to bring you his predictions ahead of the 2025 Tour Champs.

The regular season has come to an end with the completion of the Lochgelly-Forrester Open. 6 events are in the can and the team are getting ready for their August break to Scotland’s Golf Coast.

Before we go, we caught up with some of the field from the tournament which (not to confuse our sports pun) as really a game of two halves! With 5 different leaders in 9 holes, it turned into a procession for Paul Gowens who led from the 9th hole to the 18th to claim his third Order of Merit win in his career.

We chatted with some wind battered players about the season that’s gone, the conditions out there today and what’s ahead in the Tour Champs.

August brings the end of the regular season on the Order of Merit, it’s an exciting time of year with the Tour Champs and the RyDov Cup around the corner but it is also the signalling of the end of the season.

It’s hard to imagine looking back to April as we were standing on the links at St Andrews being battered by gale force winds that it’s all nearly over.

However, we need to park the nostalgia for a little while longer as there is still the business of the Lochgelly-Forrester Open. The Open has been held at Lochgelly since 2022 and sits alongside the King’s Cup as the only Order of Merit event that hasn’t had a multiple winner with Denis Duncan, David McColgan and Richard Mair all etching their name into the history of the tournament – but who would be next?

The end of the regular season is always a bittersweet moment for the Tour. It signals the beginning of the end of the season but equally it signals the start of two of the most exciting events, the Tour Champs and the RyDov Cup.

Paul Gowens is only a year removed from his Cancer treatment and was coming to the end of his first full season back on Tour, he had just triumphed in the Matchplay final on Friday and kept his form heading into Lochgelly to seize his third Order of Merit win.

In 2024 5 players registered for the first ever Q-School and competed over 6 events in total. A total of 2 players would qualify from Q-School into the Order of Merit in 2025.

It was an incredibly close-run event with qualification and the winner coming down to the last event of the year. Following the completion of the 6th round of Q-School Scott Gowens won the event by just 100 points qualifying for the Order of Merit in 2025.

We sat down with Gowens Jnr. to hear his thoughts on his first full season on the EuroDov Tour and what winning Q-School meant for him.

The EuroDov Tour has perfected expansion and announcements since its inception in 2013. Providing new platforms for the membership, consolidating existing events and then launching new ones.

In 2024 the Tour introduced the Matchplay tournament, it was the first new event since 2021 and the introduction of the Order of Merit and Anstruther Medals.

The Matchplay tournament was to be the first singles matchplay event hosted by the Tour, outside of the RyDov or Carnegie Cups.

Back in 2023 the EuroDov Tour top brass unveiled a new event for this year. It was billed as filling a gap in the competition offering and bringing a new dimension to the Tour.

That event – The Matchplay – had 16 entrants this year, with all the top players throwing their hats in the ring for the chance to be the first name on the Matchplay salver.

After 14 matches (one semi-final was forfeited) it all came down to the 18th hole in the Final with number 1 ranked David McColgan playing number 6 ranked Paul Gowens. But when the final putt finished inches short and McColgan conceded the match with a handshake Paul Gowens stood atop of the 15 players who had fallen below him to claim the inaugural Matchplay tournament.

After analysing all 12 singles matchups they have it poised at 6-6, with Team Gowens winning the final match – important because the team that wins that match has gone on to win the cup 67% of the time.

Let’s unleash EuroDov Reporter on the stat books for one more time and see what they have to say on the 6 Greensomes matches and where the RyDov Cup will be headed after the close of play.

Match 6 is the final match on the course, and it features John Hedges & Stephen Hedges v Paul Gowens and Joel Morrison.