Draw - Strokeplay Round 1. PGA. 23rd May. WHITE TEES
Round 1 Preview
Saturday sees the opening round of the Stroke Play Championship, with the first blows to be struck over the PGA Centenary from the white tees. And while this may only be Round 1, nobody should be fooled into thinking it is merely a warm-up. Championships such as this are rarely won in May, but they can most certainly be damaged there.
Last year, of course, belonged almost entirely to Alastair Cantlay, who marched off with both the Gross and Net titles in a display of such efficiency that the rest of the field may as well have been applying for minor places. His 2025 double gave the championship the feel of a one-man property acquisition. But this is a new year, a new opening chapter, and with his name absent from this Saturday’s draw sheet, the scent of opportunity is unmistakable.
The great attraction of the Stroke Play Championship is that it asks two questions at once. Who can produce the finest golf for the gross title? And who can combine steadiness, patience and just enough good fortune to mount a serious net challenge over the season? On a course as exacting as the PGA, both races begin in earnest this weekend.
Early starters – strong out of the gate
The first group away at 7:40am sees Michael Collier, Michael Page and Scott Williamson. That is a nicely balanced trio to get the competition underway. Collier, a proven performer with enough class to feature in either side of the championship, will expect to make a fast start. Williamson is more than capable of posting a number if he settles early, while Page is one of those players who can quietly work his way into contention before the rest of the field has properly located the coffee machine.
At 7:50am, Thomas McCulloch, Tariq Ali and Kevin Dickson head out. McCulloch has already shown enough this season to suggest he could be a factor, and in a championship opener there is always value in someone who can avoid the sort of early double-bogey that makes the card feel heavier than it should.
8:00am – a group full of intrigue
The 8:00am group of Billy Z McNeill, Mark Higham and Eric Lambert catches the eye immediately. Billy Z needs no introduction at this stage: scorer of points in mysterious quantities, collector of raised eyebrows, and perennial suspect whenever a net competition comes into view. Higham, meanwhile, is exactly the sort of player who could make a real dent in the gross championship if the driver behaves, while Lambert remains gloriously capable of producing either inspired golf or a vivid anecdote, and sometimes both before the turn.
8:20am – serious contenders
At 8:20am, Jonathan Dickson, Ken Marshall and Crawford Gray have the look of a potentially important time. Marshall’s recent form makes him hard to ignore, and he increasingly resembles a man who has remembered that golf can, on occasion, be played very well. Dickson is another who can compile a score without too much fuss, and championships are often built on exactly that sort of competence.
The Logie watch
The 8:30am slot features David Logie, Stuart Wallace and Rob Simpson. Whenever Logie appears in a stroke play field, people tend to notice. As ever, he will have designs on the gross side of things, and if he gets the putter co-operating he has the game to set an early championship marker. Simpson brings his usual touch of volatility, while Wallace is capable of piecing together the type of round that may not make headlines on Saturday evening but looks increasingly useful by the time September rolls around.
Strong groups in the middle
At 8:40am, Rob Crockart, Patrick Elsmie and Jonathan Fletcher offer another interesting blend. Fletcher’s consistency makes him an obvious candidate to stay in the net conversation, while Crockart is no stranger to a decent card when the occasion demands it.
Then at 8:50am, Paul Wadsworth, Keith Stirling and Peter Unwin go out in what looks a quietly dangerous grouping. Stirling has been around the better scores often enough lately to suggest that a strong start would surprise nobody.
9:10am – maybe the gross group of the day
If there is one tee time that particularly jumps off the page, it may be 9:10am, where Tom MacKenzie, Tony Moran and Sandy Grant make up a highly intriguing trio. Moran, with that famously smooth swing, always looks a threat in stroke play, particularly on the gross front, and Grant is more than capable of producing something substantial when the mood takes him. If a really serious scratch number is to emerge on Saturday, this group would be a sensible place to start looking.
9:20am – the Wallace factor
At 9:20am, Douglas Laing, Colin Campbell and Allister Wallace head out. Wallace has been enjoying an excellent run and arrives as one of the more obvious contenders to build momentum early in the net championship. He has reached that stage of the season where seeing his name near the top of a leaderboard no longer qualifies as surprising.
Finally, at 9:30am, Kevin Beattie and Iain Aitchison complete the field. Aitchison in particular will fancy that if he can keep the bigger numbers off the card, he can insert himself into proceedings quickly.
Ones to watch
A few names stand out before a ball is struck:
David Logie – obvious threat on the gross side
Tony Moran – beautifully suited to stroke play if the back behaves
Ken Marshall – arrives with form and confidence
Allister Wallace – difficult to ignore in anything net-related right now
Billy Z McNeill – because in net competition, you ignore him at your peril
Final word
The PGA from the white tees is a proper examination: long enough to ask questions, subtle enough to punish laziness, and just awkward enough to remind everyone that this is a championship, not a social afternoon with scorecards.
With last year’s all-conquering Cantlay double not looming quite so heavily over proceedings this Saturday, the field may feel there is daylight at last. By close of play, somebody will have laid down the first serious marker for 2026. Others, inevitably, will already be talking themselves into a grand comeback in Round 2.
That, after all, is stroke play golf: hope on the first tee, arithmetic by the 14th, and selective memory in the bar afterwards.
