Stewart won’t give up pro dream

MICHAEL Stewart, a member of the winning Walker Cup side at Royal Aberdeen earlier this month, is pressing ahead with his plans to turn professional despite falling at the first hurdle in the European Tour Qualifying School.

The 21-year-old Ayrshireman has switched his attention to the third-tier Alps Tour but is hopeful the management company he’s set to join – believed to be Andrew “Chubby” Chandler’s ISM – will also be able to secure some starts on the Challenge Tour. Stewart, one of the leading lights for GB&I captain Nigel Edwards in the win over the Americans in the north-east, finished 66th in the stage one Q-School event at Wychwood Park last week after slumping to a damaging 83 in his second round.

“I’m a bit disappointed, but it’s onwards and upwards and my plans are still the same,” he told The Scotsman. “I’m playing in the South African Open [at the end of November] as an amateur and will be turning professional straight after that. I’m going to the Alps Tour Qualifying School – I’m through to the final stage for that – but I still hope to get some invitations to play on the Challenge Tour next year.”

Stewart said he had been as shocked as anyone by the nightmare round that effectively cost him his chance of progressing to the next stage in the Q-School campaign. “I’ve been bitten on the backside, but it could prove a positive experience for me in the long run, as it has shown me I still have to mature a bit.”