03/06/2026
Event 4 of the 2026 Champions Tour took us to former European Tour venue Haggs Castle Golf Club — and what a day it was!
The course was in outstanding condition, a huge testament to the greenkeeping team, and once again the scoring was superb, producing a tightly packed leaderboard.
A few golfers continued their recent fine form with excellent performances at Haggs Castle. Iain Orr and Bruce MacNab both posted superb handicap scores of 36 points, finishing 10th and 11th respectively. Great shooting, lads!
Making his Champions Tour debut, Darren Brand carded an excellent 36 points and, thanks to countback, topped the 9 & Under Handicap category to take home a Shot Scope prize — the first of a hat-trick of prizes on the day!
Stevie "Where's my invite to Sandyhills, Chopper?" Bett led for most of the day with a career-best 40 points. However, along came Stephen McConnon, who produced a magnificent 42 points to overtake Stevie and claim the title of Haggs Castle Champion 2026. Outstanding golf, Stephen — and we hear a nice wee cut is incoming! 😁
A special shoutout goes to the "St Andrews Three". After enjoying a decent round of golf, with one of them posting a superb score, they reached Cupar before the cry of "I've forgotten my shoes!" rang out in the car — only to be echoed by the other two! Yes, all three managed to leave their shoes behind in two lockers at the club... and drove off with the locker keys. That's a long trip back to Glasgow, boys! 😂😂😂
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫...
Alison Darlington remains the greatest golfer in the Darlington household! Despite both golfers finishing on 25 points, Alison retained the title of Champion Darlington Golfer for the second event running thanks to countback. Great golf, Alison! 👏👏
𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐬
🥇 1st – Shot Scope Prize – Stephen McConnon
🥈 2nd – £50 Thegolfshop.com – Bob Baker
🥉 3rd – £25 The Golf Shop Voucher – Ronnie Young
9 & Under Handicap Prize
🏆 Shot Scope – Darren Brand
This is a new category for 2026. Please note that players can only win one prize on the day.
𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐧 & 𝐋𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐬
⛳ 2nd Hole – Dozen Balls – Tom McDonald
⛳ 7th Hole – £50 Under Armour Voucher (The Golf Shop) – Stuart Johnston
⛳ 11th Hole – Dozen Balls – Douglas Eadie
⛳ 13th in 2 – £50 Castore Voucher (The Golf Shop) – Darren Brand
Long Drive
🚀 Dozen Balls – Darren Brand
Vouchers will be emailed directly to winners, while all other prizes can be collected at your next event.
We now power on to Event 5 at the wonderful Powfoot tomorrow. A cracking course that is always presented in fantastic condition and consistently provides an enjoyable test of golf.
See you in the morning, golfers and choppers!
Team Sunshine at Awesome Venues!
