Scotland's Stewart faces tough choice after surprise fourth at Alfred Dunhill Links
Scottish golfer Michael Stewart's joint-fourth finish at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship has qualified him for next week's Spanish Open, but the event clashes with a Tartan Pro Tour final that could secure him a Challenge Tour card.
World number 979 Michael Stewart is enjoying what he calls the best week of his career, but it has left him facing a difficult scheduling dilemma.
On Wednesday, the 36-year-old Scot earned £2,500 for finishing runner-up in the Tartan Pro Tour event at Duddingston Golf Club near Edinburgh. Days later, he collected roughly 100 times that amount by finishing joint fourth at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, won by Poland's Adrian Meronk. Stewart finished two shots behind Meronk, one behind Denmark's Niklas Norgaard and South Africa's Casey Jarvis, and level with England's Tommy Fleetwood.
His top-10 finish across Kingsbarns, Carnoustie and St Andrews earns him a place in next week's Spanish Open. However, that event clashes with the Gleneagles Masters, the finale of the Tartan Pro Tour season, after which Stewart would secure a Challenge Tour card for next year if he holds on to his current second place in the standings.
Stewart said his current plan is to play the Tartan Pro Tour final rather than the Spanish Open, explaining that it would not feel right to risk losing his position to a rival while he was away. He said earning the Challenge Tour card had been his goal since the start of the year, and that several players remain close behind him in the standings.
Stewart, an Ayrshire-based former Walker Cup player, was making just his sixth DP World Tour appearance of the season after missing the cut in his previous five events. He finished one stroke ahead of fellow Scot and defending champion Robert MacIntyre. Previously, his best result had been a joint-52nd finish at the 2023 Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, though he said he had felt disappointed afterward for not capitalising on a strong position. He described this week's performance as a career highlight that boosted his confidence to compete at this level.
MacIntyre praised his compatriot's achievement, saying he had hoped for exactly this kind of breakthrough after seeing Stewart's strong second round at Kingsbarns, and noted that Stewart's short game is excellent.
