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

2024 has been a marquee year for the Tour’s premier event with 16 players battling it out for the honour of being named Champion Golfer of the Year and in 2024 they’ve also battled against the risk of being relegated to the newly created Q-School.

Alongside the Order of Merit, Q-School has offered Tour aficionados a second season long event to keep them excited over the summer.

The Order of Merit saw 16 players compete over 7 events, the only change from 2023 was the replacement of Aberdour with Pitfirrane and 2024 had a similar flavour from the previous year with 5 winners over the 6 regular season events making it 6 separate winners come the conclusion of the Tour Champs.

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.

We’ve had the pleasure of sitting down with the EuroDov Tour’s Champion Golfer of the Year for 2024, David McColgan.

Congratulations David, it’s your fourth straight James Braid Quaich, does the feeling ever get old?

“Morning guys, thanks for having me.

I am not sure it does get old, not for me anyway. I am sure there are plenty folks rolling their eyes thinking ‘here we go again.’”

Well let’s throw ourselves right into it here – previously you were on record saying top 5 finishes were enough to see you through, you never dropped out the top 3, that’s got to be a successful season?

“I’d agree with that, I understand each event increases the focus on winning that event, but one win and 6 last place finishes just isn’t going to cut it when it comes to the James Braid Quaich.

This Major requires a particular mindset for sure, short-term glory is great, but the Major sits at the end of the long journey of consistency.”

Let’s chat about the field – the 16 players in 2024 were all seasoned players, what did that mean for the competition?

“I’ve been on record before and I’ll go there again, this field is stacked.

I think in previous years the gap between top and bottom has been wide, but as results show this year the gap is getting smaller and smaller and that means every point is really hard earned.

We’ve got multiple OoM winners in there like Mair, Gowens, Allan, Sutherland and Orr and you’ve got guys like Kevin Brannan, Alan Duncan, Denis Duncan, Andy Love who all have OoM wins to their name too.

It’s a cliché, but it’s one for a reason, on any given day any one of the 16 players could win.”

Let’s go back to the start of the season and the St Andrews Open and Kinghorn Classic, how good was it to see Stuart Sutherland win his maiden event, then go back-to-back straight after it?

“You mean how great was it, apart from the fact he beat me by a shot each time? Haha!

I think Stuart was the last player of the 2021 OoM field to win, and if you ask me it’s been a long time coming and his ability to win was proven by him going straight back out the next event and doing the same.

It’s rare to win back-to-back because it’s really hard to do, and his ability, coupled with confidence, propelled him to two fantastic wins.”

There was probably one blemish on your entire season, and it was one shot, on one hole – talk to us about the 4-wood on 18 at the MCM?

“I’d rather not if I am honest hahah…it really is the one shot out of the entire year that sticks out for me.

Coming down 18 with a one-shot lead, all I needed to do was get down in four shots from 240 yards out and I had won it.

It’s amazing in 18 holes of golf how one shot can define the event for you, but that’s the margins we’re working with out here, I’ve been on the other side where one putt decided a tournament, so it was probably my turn to feel the this side of it.”

The second half of the Order of Merit was defined by some old faces doing their thing, what were your thoughts on that part of the season?

“It was great to see Stuart Allan, Stevie Orr and Paul Gowens lift silverware.

Stuarty’s golf reached new levels this season and his game was as good as anyone’s in the middle third of the season and his win at Burntisland was other worldly and I am sure he’ll take that as a springboard in to 2025.

Stevie won in 2023, and he’s always had the potential to run off a few more and he did just that at Canmore. His game was methodical all the way round and it was a pleasure to watch.

And what can you say about Paul Gowens, a year removed from some of the most aggressive medical treatment and he’s back on Tour, and not just back, back and winning! It’s great to see.”

So, you headed to the Tour Champs without a win, it was the first time ever you hadn’t claimed a regular season event in the Order of Merit, what were your thoughts on that?

“I’d definitely say I wasn’t happy about it, but I also headed to the Tour Champs with a sizeable lead in the Order of Merit and at the end of the day the James Braid Quaich is the ultimate goal.”

There was a lot of chatter in the build up to the Tour Champs that the tide was turning in your dominance on Tour, what are your thoughts on that?

“It’s great to see the eagerness of the field to win, and the data would support their assessment of my dominance waning when you look down the winner’s column.

However, I think the field might be suffering from confirmation bias because a quick glance outside the winner's column you’ll find a pretty constant trend there and that is D. McColgan is never far from the top of the leaderboard – a lot more frequently than other names.”

You headed into the Tour Champs without a win on a links course since April 2022 – did that weigh heavy on your mind at the start of the day?

“Do you know what, it really didn’t. I wasn’t aware of that stat till we were talking earlier.

I’ve made no secret of my love for links golf, and the ball striking it requires, but I was heading out in the Tour Champs to do my best come what may.”

You had actually wrapped up the James Braid Quaich by lunch during the Tour Champs, did that free you up in the afternoon to go out a shoot low?

“Again, I genuinely hadn’t realised it was all over. I knew mathematically it was nearly impossible, but didn’t appreciate it was done.”

Talk us through the afternoon round at the Tour Champs from your perspective?

“It was simply some of the best golf I have played all season, I was driving well, my irons were much crisper, and the putts were dropping. Not much more to ask in a game of golf than that.”

Ok, so you won the EuroDov Cup, The Invitational and now the James Braid Quaich, surely, you’ve got to be thinking about the Montgomery Cup?

“I think winning the Invitational in May was a huge weight off my shoulders. The longer my name remained off that trophy the bigger the itch became.

There can’t be another player stepping on that first tee with as much pressure as I’ll have on me, nor with as much desire to win it.

Like every tournament it is my job to take care of my game and leave the rest of the field to do what they do.”

Last few questions before we let you go enjoy your celebrations, looking ahead to 2025, what does the relegation of Andy Love and Graeme Connor mean for the Order of Merit?

“I am genuinely gutted for the both of them, and they’ll take time to reflect on 2024 and decide what is best for them in 2025. However, they are 2 very good players, if I was someone in Q-School right now looking at the prospect of competing with them next year I’d not be best pleased.

Of course they are never far away, and they’ll still be integral to the Tour as a whole, and I wish them best in their endeavours in 2025.”

With the loss of two players, comes the arrival of 2 others Scott Gowens and Greig Baxter graduate from Q-School in 2024, how will they settle into the OoM?

“What a story from Q-School this year, Gowens Jnr. entering with no real aim for qualification sweeps the board and wins it all! There’ll be a fair few players in the OoM looking over their shoulder for sure.

And the return of Greig Baxter is brilliant, he’s well liked, and well kent on Tour, and he’ll come firing into the OoM with aims to push to the top of the standings come the end of 2025.”

And finally, what’s next for you – 2024 marks your fourth straight James Braid Quaich, your 12th Major in total, you’ve got 7 regular OoM event wins and 2 Tour Champs to add to that – does the 2024 Champion Golfer of the Year return for 2025?

“You guys are relentless on this one…and in years gone by I think I have told you something along the lines of ‘the RyDov Cup is just around the corner and all my attentions are on that,’ and it’s going to be the same for 2024.

I’m going to focus on the Montgomery Cup and winning points for Team Love, then I have a family holiday planned, and I’ll take my time before making any decision about 2025.”

Well, there we have it folks, McColgan continues to smash records on the EuroDov Tour, and – for now anyway – looks set to smash more in 2025.

David McColgan your 2024 Champion Golfer of the Year.