Will Porter wins again on Tartan Pro Tour to set up Hotel Planner Tour card chance

Will Porter landed a second Tartan Pro Tour triumph in the space of a month after overtaking Michael Stewart in the final round of the Duddingston Classic.

And, less than 24 hours later, Porter was standing at the side of the first tee at Carnoustie to see Stewart tee off in the 25th Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Porter’s breakthrough win on the Scottish-based circuit came in the Fairmont St Andrews Classic presented by 5Star Sports Agency at the beginning of September.

Tartan Pro Tour

Buoyed by that, the Carnoustie man shot three 68s at Duddingston for a nine-under-par total and a four-shot win over Stewart in the tour’s penultimate event of the season.

“It feels great, as winning always does,” said Porter, who picked up a cheque for £3,375. “I probably was a bit more in control of my golf than the one earlier in the season and I am very happy to do it again.”

Stewart opened with rounds of 68 and 67 to lead by a shot from both Porter and Craig Ross, winner of last week’s St Andrews Classic, heading into the closing circuit.

The Ayrshireman had to settle for second place, though, after carding a last-day 73, which included four bogeys in the last seven holes.

“I holed a putt on the 13th to get back to one behind, with Mikey missing a shorter birdie putt there,” added Porter, a former Scottish Boys’ champion.

“It was very close. Mikey is such a great short-game player in particular and it was close the whole way and could have gone either way.”

The victory lifted Porter, who has only played in seven Tartan Tour Pro events this season due partly to getting some starts on the Hotel Planner Tour, to ninth on the Order of Merit.

The top two at the end of the season-ending Gleneagles Masters presented by Gym Rental Company will secure cards for the 2027 Hotel Planner Tour, the DP World Tour’s feeder circuit.

“It’s just too much,” said Porter of his hopes of jumping above American John Vogelpohl and Stewart, the two players currently in the card-winning positions. “But I can still secure automatic promotion by winning three times in the same season, which was a goal I set with my two coaches a couple of weeks ago.

“There were five events left and winning three of them was a big ask, but here we are in with a chance of achieving that.

“There are a few guys who are on two wins heading into the Gleneagles event, so it is going to be an exciting end to the season.

“I always enjoy playing at Gleneagles, even though I’ve never played as well as I would like to the last couple of times.

“Having a chance is all you can ask for and to be in with a chance having not played a full Order of Merit season is very pleasing and a great opportunity.”

Due partly to his local connection, Porter had hoped he might secure one of the sponsor’s spots in this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship only to miss out.

That didn’t stop him from being there, though, at just after 10am on Thursday morning to see Stewart tee off in the opening round of the $5 million DP World Tour event after learning he’d secured an invitation earlier in the week.

“Yeah, it is a slight disappointment,” admitted Porter of missing out. “I was refreshing my phone earlier in the week when I was checking the scoring to see if they had used up the last few invites.

“Yeah, Mikey has had a great year and deserves the chance to play this week. I understand it’s an invite, so it is always a long shot,

“I thought I really had a chance this time but, unfortunately, it wasn’t to be. It will be a great week and I’ll go along and support Mikey tomorrow.

“I asked if I could be an on-site reserve ,but they said that was off a list provided by the tour. I’ll nip along and watch Mikey playing, It is always a great tournament - I just wish I was on the other side of the ropes. It’s something to aim for in the future.”