Tartan Pro Tour: Fife set to play pivotal role in race for Hotel Planner Tour promotion
- Matt Hooper
- Jul 31
- 3 min read
Leven Links, Fairmont St Andrews and St Andrews Links set to host Tour in August and September
St Andrews' John Paterson claimed the second victory of his professional career last week in Dundee, with a dramatic win at Downfield Golf Club, and now the local star is in serious contention to earn one of the two Hotel Planner Tour cards on offer at the end of the Tartan Tour season. John's win moved him to fifth on the Order of Merit, just over £1,000 behind 2nd place, and given he won last year's St Andrews Classic on the Jubilee Course, he must be fancying his chances of taking the next step in his professional career.
3 of the final 6 events on the schedule take place in the county of Fife, beginning 17-19 August at Leven Links, followed by Fairmont St Andrews 31-2 September, and then 21-23 September on the Jubilee Course at St Andrews Links.
John also has great memories and experience of playing competitively on the Torrance Course at the Fairmont St Andrews, having shot 63 there to win qualifying for the Asian Tour's St Andrews Bay Championship in 2023. Any of the players inside the top 10 on the Order of Merit heading into the final six events of the season will feel they can bid for one of the top two spots, which are currently held by the American John Vogelpohl and Scotland's Michael Stewart.
Leven Links has been a fixture on the Tartan Pro Tour schedule since making its debut in 2021, and hosted Final Qualifying for The Open in 1978, 1984, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005. Leven Links opened as a 9-hole course in 1846 and has been played in its current configuration since 1908.
The course currently plays as a 6551-yard par 71 layout.
The Leven Links Classic was won by Greg Dalziel in 2025 with rounds of 68, 62 and 63, and the cut fell at 2-under-par, so expect low scoring, depending on the conditions. St Andrews' John Paterson finished in a tie for fifth place, and another similar finish would put him in a great position to attack the top two on the Order of Merit over the final five events of the season.
The Fairmont St Andrews is a new stop for the Tartan Pro Tour, but one which will be popular with the players, with the fair test offered by the Torrance Course, along with the stunning views of St Andrews. The Fairmont St Andrews is celebrating its 26th anniversary, and has been well used as a tournament venue on the DP World Tour, Asian Tour, The Open Final Qualifying, Europro Tour and British Universities and Colleges Sports.
The Torrance Course plays 7250 yards from the back tees.
The Jubilee Course at St Andrews Links is renowned as the best test of all the St Andrews courses, and will once again be a popular week for the Tartan Pro Tour. The St Andrews Classic moved from the New Course to the Jubilee in 2023, and last year John Paterson won with a final round of 63, edging out John Henry by a single shot.
It took £19,596.90 to make it in to the top two on the Order of Merit on the 2025 Tartan Pro Tour, so the competition will be fierce over the final six events of the season, with the top five golfers all earning more than £11,000 so far. Whatever the outcome following the final event at Gleneagles in October, the fine trio of courses in Fife will have played a defining role in the race to the Hotel Planner Tour.
SHANK, by Matt Hooper
Matt Hooper is an associate member of the Sports Journalists Association
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