Michael Stewart has Paul Lawrie's Tartan Pro Tour to thank for re-igniting career

But, as the Ayrshireman turns his attention to this week’s Second Stage of the DP World Tour Qualifying School and heads into his assignment in Spain with a 2027 category already having been secured, he will be forever grateful to Lawrie and his team.

Stewart held a HotelPlanner Tour card in 2023 and 2024 before losing his status for the DP World Tour’s feeder circuit for the 2025 campaign and still being in that position this year.

At the very least, the 36-year-old now has a full season to look forward to on the 2027 HotelPlanner Tour after actually ending up achieving that target on two fronts.

Along with American John Vogelpohl, Stewart finished in the top two in the Tartan Pro Tour Order of Merit, which secures a Category 12 card on the HotelPlanner Tour, but, in Stewart’s case, he has earned Category 7 status.

On the back of his brilliant fourth-place finish after securing a late invitation for the $5 million Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on the DP World Tour earlier this month, the former Scottish Amateur champion popped up on a Non-Member points list.

Through his finish on that, Stewart has earned a Category 20 card for next season’s DP World Tour, with an opportunity now coming up to turn that into a Category 18 one.

In short, it’s a case of onwards and upwards for him next season, though he is moving on in the knowledge that, without Lawrie launching the Tartan Pro Tour during the Covid pandemic to provide playing opportunities for Scottish-based players, his career might well have reached a dead end.

“Since losing my Challenge Tour card at the end of the 2024 season and not getting any playing rights at the Q School, the Tartan Pro Tour has obviously been a massive boost for me and all Scottish boys,” Stewart told The Scotsman ahead of his Second Stage assignment this week at Golf Las Pinaillas, Albacete.

“To have a circuit that is a feeder tour for the HotelPlanner Tour now is huge. It’s relatively low-cost for the Scottish guys, you are playing on great courses and the only challenge at times is that the Scottish weather can be mixed.

“The boys - Mikey MacDougall, Reece Mitchell, Craig Lawrie, Charles Dernie and David Fleming - do a great job at the events. Mikey tends to set the courses up and I’d say he sets them up quite strong. So you’ve got good prep in that regard for moving up the ladder.

“The pin positions they pick are quite strong, for the most part, so that is gearing you up for that next step. Yeah, I have nothing but positive things to say about the tour. It has been great for me in the last few years and Paul himself has done a lot to give back to the Scottish guys and Scottish golf in general.

“You also get opportunities through the Tartan Pro Tour. I got a start at Schloss Roxburghe in the Scottish Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour this year and managed to play well. Then, off the back of that, I got a start in Ireland as well to play on the HotelPlanner Tour in what was a week off for the Tartan Pro Tour.

“I wish them every success moving forward. What I will say from a selfish point of view is that I hope it is the last I get to see them (laughing) and hopefully I can progress.”

Vogelpohl, who clinched topping the Order of Merit in style by winning the season-ending Tour Championship over the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles earlier this month, also feels grateful to have had a circuit like the Tartan Pro Tour in order for him to show he is capable of playing at a higher level.

“I have found that a lot of the guys have good games on the Tartan Pro Tour,” admitted the 23-year-old, who is originally from Ohio but has lived in Scotland for the last 14 years and is attached to Gleneagles.

“I’ve played a few events on the HotelPlanner Tour and I feel that the Scottish guys are just as good as a lot of the players out there. Any of them are capable of shooting low scores and it’s been an honour to play with them. Seeing Michael do well in the Dunhill Links was nothing short of inspiring. It was amazing and it just shows how the hard work can pay off in the long term.”

In addition to Vogelpohl, Craig Howie, Mitchell Cowie, Will Porter and Craig Ross also landed first-time wins this season, which boasted stronger fields than any other year so far as the circuit continues to go from strength to strength.

“Will Porter also had a great year and played well on the HotelPlanner Tour as well,” pointed out Vogelpohl. “Yeah, they are hard workers and it is fun to play against them. I’m very grateful to have had the opportunity to play on the Tartan Pro Tour.”

Stewart is among 12 Scots competing in the Second Stage, which starts on Thursday. John Paterson is also in the field at Golf Las Pinaillas while Daniel Young, Eric McIntosh and Sam Locke are among those teeing up at Fontanals Golf Club in Girona.

It’s a four-round test, meanwhile, at Isla Canela Links for Porter, Rory Franssen and Aidan O’Hagan, with Ryan Lumsden, Graeme Robertson, Matthew Wilson and Robbie Morrison aiming to progress at Desert Springs in Almeria.

Along with Stewart and Vogelpohl, Locke, the Tartan Pro Tour’s record winner, having landed at least one victory every season, skipped the First Stage by virtue of being the top three on the circuit’s Order of Merit at a cut-off date in mid-August.

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