EXCLUSIVE: Paterson signs off Tartan Pro Tour season but still has much to play for in 2026
Two weeks ago saw Michael Stewart get an invitation to play in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, and the Ayrshire man shot three rounds in the 60's to finish in a tie for fourth alongside Tommy Fleetwood. Stewart began the same week playing in the Duddingston Classic in Edinburgh on the Tartan Pro Tour, and has secured HotelPlanner Tour status via the Scottish tour run by Paul Lawrie.
The 2026 Tartan Pro Tour season began at Royal Dornoch in April, and after the first day's play Michael was tied at 5-under-par with St Andrews' John Paterson in 2nd place. Stewart went on to qualify for the HotelPlanner Tour, and excel in this area's biggest annual championship - the Alfred Dunhill Links. His performance at the Dunhill earned him a place in the field at the Spanish Open, in the same week the 2026 Tartan Pro Tour season concluded at Gleneagles.
Whilst Stewart as at Club de Campo villa de Madrid, John Paterson was at Gleneagles shooting rounds of 73 and 77 to miss the cut by three shots, and finish the season in disappointing fashion.
"I’m disappointed with how the year went on the Tartan Pro Tour" said John. "I had a clear goal of getting one of the available cards and unfortunately fell short of it. I struggled to find consistency the whole year and didn’t play anywhere near the level of golf I know I’m capable of."
John finished sixth on the Order of Merit, one place better than in 2025, but as he says, it was a season where he struggled for consistency and that is born out by his results on the tour and throughout the wider season. On several occasions throughout the season John got off to a hot start, like at Royal Dornoch, and failed to contend for the win, and stringing together his best golf throughout a tournament or tournaments was a hard task for the former Madras College pupil.
When he did have his best golf he lit up Royal Dornoch, Southerness, and the Jubilee Course at St Andrews Links, but he only brought it all together once, at Downfield Golf Club in Dundee in July, and he claimed his second professional victory. Coming into the final day with a 3-shot lead John and the chasing pack had to contend with the wind whistling around the magnificent Downfield Golf Club.
Heading out John made 3 bogeys and 6 pars to hold onto the lead, but coming home he made a troubling double-bogey on the 11th before bogeying the 12th to fall back into a tie for the lead. Paterson then bounced back with a couple of birdies at 14th and 15th to reassert control, leading by 2 shots with one hole to play.
His nearest challenger, Craig Ross, made bogey at the 18th hole to leave John 3 clear playing the hole. But more drama was to follow as he finished his tournament with a double-bogey to shoot 76 and win by 1.
"The biggest difference between my first two professional wins was the way I won them - St Andrews (2025 St Andrews Classic) I came from behind and wasn’t around the leading score until the final few holes. At Downfield I was leading for the entirety of the tournament and that was a much different prospect. I’ve also never slept on a 3+ shot lead. Although I didn’t close it out in the fashion I was hoping for, it does give me a lot of confidence that I’ve now won from behind and won wire to wire."
"It’s always nice to win at any level, and during the first two rounds at Downfield I played some really good golf. I know when I play well it’s good enough to compete anywhere, but currently my bad golf isn’t good enough and that’s what I’ll need to improve upon going forward."
The win in Dundee was one of six top ten finishes, but he also missed eight cuts in 16 starts on the Tartan Pro Tour and HotelPlanner Tour, so it was either feast or famine for the St Andrews' golfer. The victory at Downfield moved him inside the top 5 of the Tartan Pro Tour Order of Merit, and earned him a spot in the field at the Scottish Challenge on the HotelPlanner Tour, a tournament which he was looking forward to playing in. "I’ve played the Roxburghe before but not very often. It’s a great course and it’s playing quite long and soft so it should play into my strengths. The green complexes are very tricky, so iron play into the greens will be very important - missing on the correct sides and putting from the correct areas will be the scoring key."
Unfortunately for John the tournament didn't quite go to plan, shooting a second round 79 to miss the cut by a distance, and in the following week he narrowly missed the cut at the Irish Challenge at Killeen Castle, missing out by a single shot after rounds of 73 and 71.
Back on the Tartan Pro Tour the win at Downfield had put him in position to seriously challenge for promotion to the HotelPlanner Tour, but despite events at home at Leven Links and the Fairmont St Andrews, John's struggles continued, missing the cut in both weeks. A tie for 17th and a tie for 10th at Spey Valley in Aviemore and the Jubilee Course in St Andrews left him with a mountain to climb heading into the final to events, and a missed cut at Duddingston sealed his fate in terms of promotion via the Tartan Pro Tour.
In September John headed to Sweden for Stage One of DP World Tour Q-School, I asked John why he chose Sweden. "I’ve played Arlandastad before in 2024 and progressed, the golf course suits my game and is always in good condition. The venues in England are much more convenient logistically, but can be hit or miss in September."
It proved to be a wise decision, and after four tough rounds of competition he came through in dramatic fashion. Starting the final round comfortably inside the cut mark, tied for 9th place, John made a difficult start with a bogey at the 1st and a double bogey at the 3rd had the Tartan Pro Tour player reeling, falling to -1 for the tournament.
He settled down with four consecutive pars, before a bogey at the par-four 8th hole saw him fall outside the cut mark, and he faced a battle over the final 10 holes to keep his DP World Tour dream alive. A birdie on the 9th and bogey on the 11th left him needing a couple of birdies over the closing 7 holes to qualify.
He birdied the 14th hole for the fourth consecutive day, and headed to the par-three 18th hole knowing he needed birdie to make the cut. Remarkably he achieved the goal and made birdie for the second consecutive day, and finished at 2-under-par for the tournament, tied for 17th.
Despite qualifying for Stage Two, John felt he managed to do that in the face of not having his best stuff. "The whole week was a challenge, my driver shaft splintered at the head during the first round, so I had to use another shaft for the remaining rounds and I struggled with it. I didn’t have my best all week but managed to get the job done."
John will play in Stage Two of Q-School in Spain from 29 October to 1 November, and despite it being a potentially career changing week ahead of him, the 26-year-old is treating it like any other week. "I’m still waiting for my allocation for second stage but I’ll likely fly on the 25th or 26th of October. I’ll be spending a lot of time with my coach before I leave but in general my preparation will be the same as every week."
"I’ve played Fontanals, Desert Springs and Isla Canela before. I haven’t played the fourth venue. I was very impressed with Fontanals and if I could choose I’d likely go back there."
Another highlight of an up and down year for John came at MENA Golf Tour qualifying school, played at Dalmahoy near Edinburgh last month, where he finished in second place, shooting 9-under-par for two rounds in windy and wet conditions in the same week as the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship. Some notable names in world golf, including Matt Fitzpatrick, Robert MacIntyre and Chris Wood have all played events on the MENA Golf Tour, which stages events across the Middle East and North Africa. "The MENA Tour is another opportunity for a HPT card, so if Q School doesn’t go well it’s a good chance to progress and play some competitive winter golf. I think competing over winter is far better for my development than staying in Scotland."
The start of 2026-27 MENA Golf Tour features three events in Egypt, but the realities of professional golf at this level are tough for all concerned as John explains, "I’m not sure if I’ll compete in Egypt - it’s all dependent on Q School and finances. Q School is very expensive and you could easily spend upwards of £6k playing all three stages. In an ideal world I’d play all of the Mena events but I’ll have to see how I stand after Q School."
Whatever happens over the course of the next few weeks in Spain, the 2026-27 season is set to be an exciting one for John, with potentially a full MENA Golf Tour and Tartan Pro Tour season to play, along with opportunities on the HotelPlanner Tour, and most exciting of all, an Open Championship at home. Although John admits he hasn't thought about that yet. "I’ve not started thinking about it yet, Open Qualifying is always a great opportunity and with the Open being in St Andrews in 2027 it would be amazing to play. I’ll definitely be trying to qualify and hopefully this is the year I get it done."
if all goes to plan John could end the year with a place on the DP World Tour, and possibly beginning his season in Africa or Australia, but whatever transpires, 2026 has been another year of progress for John, and 2027 promises much.
SHANK, by Matt Hooper
Matt Hooper is an Associate Member of the Sports Journalists Association
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