Draw (updated) - Strokeplay Round 2. Queen’s. 27th June. WHITE TEES.
Round 2 Preview
The 2026 Strokeplay Championship resumes this Saturday as the field moves from the demanding expanses of the PGA Centenary to the altogether more subtle challenge of the Queen's Course. With the third and final round not taking place until 5th September over the King's Course, there is still a long way to go, but don't be fooled—Round 2 has a habit of shaping championships.
After the opening round, Colin Campbell holds the clubhouse lead following his excellent 82 gross, with Michael Page just two shots adrift on 84. Rob Crockart and Tony Moran remain well placed after their opening 86s, while Ken Marshall and David Logie lurk only a shot further back. On the net side, Rob Crockart leads after his superb 72, pursued closely by Paul Wadsworth, Billy Z McNeill and Patrick Elsmie, all on 73.
The Queen's offers a completely different examination from the PGA. Gone is the relentless length, but in its place comes the requirement for patience, precision and good judgement. The Queen's has an uncanny ability to lure golfers into believing birdies are plentiful before quietly introducing them to a tucked pin, a cunning bunker and a three-putt from twenty feet.
The draw has certainly produced plenty of talking points.
The opening four-ball at 7:30am sees Mike Collier, Scott Williamson, Eric Lambert and Andy Lothian lead the field away. Lambert, Dun Whinny's resident actuary, will undoubtedly have every possible championship permutation calculated before the first ball is struck.
At 7:40am, David McColgan, Billy Z McNeill and Tony Stewart make for an intriguing trio. Billy Z arrives carrying his usual reputation for quietly appearing near the top of the handicap leaderboard, while McColgan is more than capable of making a charge on the gross side.
The 7:50am group sees current net leader Rob Crockart joined by Aidan O'Carroll and Kevin Dickson. Crockart has the advantage, but O'Carroll remains close enough to mount a serious challenge, assuming the putting stroke behaves itself for eighteen consecutive holes.
Your correspondent has the pleasure of teeing it up at 8:00am alongside Ken Marshall and Michael Page. On paper, it looks one of the strongest groups of the day. Page begins just two behind Colin Campbell, while Marshall has quietly pieced together another excellent season. It also provides your correspondent with the ideal opportunity to hear, for perhaps the fiftieth time, about Ken's five birdies on the King's earlier this year.
The marquee group undoubtedly belongs to the 8:20am tee time. Bill McNeill, Mark Higham and David Logie bring together three players with very different objectives. Higham continues to ride the confidence of reaching the Club Championship Final, while Logie, last year's Club Champion, will be looking to remind everyone why his name remains synonymous with quality golf around Gleneagles.
At 8:40am, championship leader Colin Campbell joins David McLeod and Douglas Hamilton. Campbell now faces the slightly unfamiliar challenge of protecting a lead rather than chasing one, and anyone who has played competitive golf knows those can often be the hardest rounds of all.
The 8:50am group sees Tony Moran, Rob Simpson and Iain Aitchison. Moran sits beautifully placed after his opening 86 and has every chance of putting real pressure on the leaders. Rob Simpson, meanwhile, may still be wondering whether 72 holes in one day was really the wisest life choice.
Talking of which, your correspondent and Rob are still very much in recovery mode following Wednesday's rather ambitious golfing expedition. Setting off at 6:00am and finally holing out shortly after 10:00pm, we somehow managed to complete 72 holes in the company of a wonderful collection of Dun Whinny members who joined us throughout the day. Their company, encouragement and occasional sympathy helped carry us through what gradually became less of a golfing challenge and more of an endurance event. If either of us appears to be walking a little gingerly on Saturday, it is simply because our legs have lodged an official complaint with management.
The closing groups also contain plenty of experience, with Michael Cantlay, Paul Lewis and Ian Fisher at 9:00am, followed by Jonathan Fletcher, Bill Sexton and David Watt. Finally, Robert McCleary, Ian Bisland and Allister Wallace complete the field at 9:20am.
One thing is certain: nobody will be lifting the Strokeplay Championship trophy on Saturday. Instead, players will spend the next two months looking at the leaderboard, replaying every missed putt and wondering where one more shot might have been found before the championship reaches its conclusion on the King's Course on 5th September.
If Round One taught us anything, it was that this championship rewards patience as much as brilliance. The Queen's may allow a few more birdie opportunities than the PGA, but it is equally capable of delivering a double bogey just when a round appears to be gathering momentum.
By Saturday afternoon, some players will have one foot in contention for the title. Others will spend the summer plotting revenge on whichever hole decided to ruin their scorecard. That's championship golf.
