Scots pro announces he has quit tour golf

Scottish pro Duncan Stewart has revealed that he has called time on his tour career.

The Grantown-on-Spey man, 35, has made the tough choice at the end of a disappointing season on the Challenge Tour.

Stewart finished 112th on the rankings in 2019, which left him with meagre playing privileges for the second tier circuit in the coming year – potentially as few as five guaranteed starts.

With a young family to provide for, he has taken the difficult decision to give up on life on tour.

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“It was an extremely tough decision to make but in the end it wasn’t really through choice,” he told the Strathspey & Badenoch Herald. “It was because I had played so poorly and left myself with no real status for next season.

“If I had full Challenge Tour status next year, I would have definitely played on.”

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Stewart will now take up a full-time position with Druids Golf at their golf clothing warehouse near his home in Edinburgh. 

“I am never going to say never but right now it looks very unlikely I will return as a pro,” he added.

“I have always said if I’m not playing and practising full-time there’s no point because it would be nearly impossible to compete with the guys who are full-time.

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“After much discussion, I have decided that it could be time to start a new chapter. It feels like the right time to step away.

“For the past 20 year,s I have dedicated my life to playing golf and it has been an incredible journey, which has taken me to over 35 countries all over the world.”

Stewart has made 59 European Tours start and over 150 appearances on the Challenge Tour. His only victory came at the 2016 Challenge de Madrid, the same year that he represented Scotland in the World Cup of Golf alongside good friend Russell Knox.