Stewart Snubs Spanish Open to Protect Challenge Tour Card — SkimNews
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- Michael Stewart, ranked world No. 979, finished joint fourth at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at 17 under, two shots behind Poland's winner Adrian Meronk and tied with England's Tommy Fleetwood.
- Stewart picked up roughly 100 times more at the Alfred Dunhill Links than the £2,500 he earned four days earlier at a Tartan Pro Tour event at Duddingston Golf Club near Edinburgh.
- Stewart said he will skip next week's Spanish Open — which his top-10 finish earned him entry to — in favor of the Tartan Pro Tour final at Gleneagles to protect his second-place standing and secure a 2025 Challenge Tour card.
- The 36-year-old Ayrshire-based former Walker Cup player was making only his sixth DP World Tour appearance after missing the cut in his previous five, and called the week "without doubt" the best of his career.
- Robert MacIntyre, the defending champion who finished one stroke behind Stewart, said his fellow Scot's short game is "superb" and that he had been "hoping" Stewart could do something special after a strong second round at Kingsbarns.
- Stewart finished one ahead of MacIntyre and one behind Denmark's Niklas Norgaard and South Africa's Casey Jarvis, who shared second on 18 under.
Why it matters: Stewart's choice shows the brutal economics of life outside the top 100: a career-best DP World Tour top-five and a spot in a higher-purse European event is worth less to him than protecting second place on the Tartan Pro Tour, which alone guarantees Challenge Tour playing rights for 2025. For a 36-year-old ranked 979th, one missed cut in Spain is recoverable; being overtaken at Gleneagles could cost him a full season on the second tier.
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