Duncan Stewart goes from World Cup to winner back in amateur ranks
Highlander still involved in the golf industry working for successful Livingston-based clothing company Druids
A decade after teaming up with close friend Russell Knox to represent Scotland in the World Cup in Australia and competing against the likes of Adam Scott, Hideki Matsuyama, Jon Rahm, Rickie Fowler and Shane Lowry, Duncan Stewart has landed an unexpected title triumph back in the amateur ranks.
The 42-year-old, who won on what is now called the HotelPlanner Tour and played close to 60 events on the DP World Tour, is the new North of Scotland Open champion after claiming the crown with a polished performance at Moray Golf Club in Lossiemouth.
Stewart, who is a Newtonmore member and also plays at Grantown-on-Spey, carded rounds of 68-72-67-71 for a six-under-par total, winning by six shots from host club player Jordan Edwards after also claiming the North District Championship at Boat of Garten earlier in the year.
“I managed to go round Lossie, which is one of my favourite courses anywhere in the world, without any penalty shots over 72 holes,” said a stunned Stewart. “It was very satisfying, especially as it was one of those events I didn’t get to play in often because I always went back to America the Monday of the week of that event when I was at uni.
“It’s one I’d always wanted to win and any time you can put your name on a 72-hole trophy is brilliant. Almost in the manner it happened as well because I played very good, very smart and very solid. Even in the last round knowing I was six ahead, I felt in control, though I almost played too conservative at times and was getting a bit frustrated towards the end.”
Stewart won three times on the PGA EuroPro Tour before stepping up to the HotelPlanner Tour, where he landed the Challenge de Madrid in 2016. His best performance on the DP World Tour was a tie for ninth in the Omega European Masters in Switzerland the following year.
“I stopped playing on the Challenge Tour and DP World Tour in 2019,” he recalled. “I think I played one of Paul Lawrie’s Tartan Pro Tour events at Carnoustie in 2020, but I then decided that, if I wasn’t putting in the time and effort, I didn’t want to have the temptation to go and play in any of those events.
“So I decided to go back to being an amateur - I think I was reinstated in 2021 - and being able to play some golf with the guys and have a bit of a laugh and be a bit more chilled out. I’ve not played a massive amount of the last few years, certainly not anything big.
“For example, I was looking at my handicap and you’ve got 20 scores to count and mine were going back over two years, so I am only playing ten counting rounds per year. Even the majority of them were club championships - four at Grantown-on-Spey and four at Newtonmore.”
On the back of his North District Championship win, Stewart, who is back living in the Highlands with his wife Fiona and their two boys Jack and Ruaridh after a spell in the Edinburgh area, was encouraged to represent North in the Scottish Area Team Championship, helping secure a spot in this weekend’s finals at Largs.
Enjoying role with clothing company Druids
“I played against (three-time Scottish PGA champion) Chris Kelly in one of my first matches down in Fife and I realised then that I still had that fight and desire to play, even though I didn’t know it was still there,” admitted Stewart. “Then, in my next match, I played against Gav Dear (a member of Scotland’s historic Eisenhower Trophy-winning team in 2008).
“What’s happened this year has come out of nowhere, to be honest, and the North boys are brilliant lads and great players. We are going down to Largs with a positive attitude, knowing that, if we can do what we are capable of doing, then we can have a good chance.”
Though he may have ended his professional career, Stewart has remained involved in the golf industry through working for Druids Golf, the apparel company based in Livingston that has enjoyed enormous growth in a short period of time.
“I’ve been with Druids for six-and-a-half years, though I had been involved with them since 2017 as I was wearing the company’s clothing the last three years I was playing,” said Stewart. “Lewis Jones, who started it, went to school with me and we are good friends. It’s been amazing to be part of it as the growth over the past six years has been incredible. When I started, there were only four or five of us and we are now pushing 200 people in the company.
“I’m the operations manager, overseeing logistics and the warehouse management side of things and the day-to-day running with couriers and stuff like that. I’m involved in quite a lot of different things just because I’ve been there from the start and cover a lot of different things. You see it from a different side, so it’s been a really enjoyable experience.
“Is it something I ever saw myself doing? Definitely not. But it has worked out very well and I am very fortunate to be involved in the company. It is flourishing and long may that continue.”
Having been inseparable as team-mates when they were at Jacksonville University, Stewart and Knox still stay in regular contact with each other, with the latter, of course, having won twice on the PGA Tour, including the WGC-HSBC Champions in China, but now playing his golf on the Korn Ferry Tour in the US.
“Yeah, I’ve been speaking to him quite a bit,” said Stewart of his fellow Highlander. “He had a decent year last year, but he’s struggling a bit this year. I obviously look back on great memories and great experiences. I think I played in around 55 different countries around the world. Even now, 100 per cent I still miss it.”
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