Result- Strokeplay Round 3. King’s. White tees. Sat 5th Aug.

Campbell Completes the Double as Strokeplay Championship Reaches a Dramatic Finish

The final round of the Dun Whinny Strokeplay Championship arrived on the King’s Course beneath bright late-summer skies, although a stiff breeze ensured that there was rather more to think about than simply admiring the view. The King’s, never shy about asking difficult questions, had plenty lined up for the field.

This correspondent began promisingly enough: one over par through three holes, while also discovering four fresh Pro V1s in the rough around the fourth — welcome compensation, it must be said, for the near-20 balls sacrificed to the Machrie earlier in the season. Sadly, the recovery operation was short-lived, with the first of four triple bogeys arriving shortly afterwards. Golf gives, golf takes away, and occasionally it throws the whole bag into the heather.

It was nevertheless fine company alongside Rob Simpson and the other Bill McNeill. At the eighth tee, the group encountered a breathless Billy Z McNeill, who had already been involved in a lengthy discussion with the hole. A second ball from the tee also disappeared, prompting this correspondent to donate a ball to the cause. The third was eventually located short of the green, but matters deteriorated from there: a chip off the green, another attempt back, and three putts. Finally walking off with a 10, since the putt for a 9 was missed. Such is golf’s particular brand of cruelty. Unfortunately, due to the length of time taken, Mr Marshall was unable to order a bacon roll in the Dormy, missing the order time by a whole minute!

To his credit, Billy Z responded with a birdie at the ninth — proof that hope is never entirely dead — but the wagon’s wheels finally came off at the tenth, where he recorded no return. Having been in the championship conversation, thoughts quickly turned instead to the journey home and the polishing of the Muirfield Salver.

Meanwhile, in the Dormy smoke area, Ken Marshall was leading the gross aggregate and conducting mental arithmetic at a rate usually reserved for a chartered accountant approaching a tax deadline. Having recently added a new four wood to the arsenal, Ken could only rue two triple bogeys on an otherwise excellent card. His round of 83 was the day’s second-best gross effort and left him on a highly creditable championship total of 249.

Then came Colin Campbell. His explanation of a ten at the sixth — involving a lost ball, a shank, a thinned bunker shot and a three-putt — was not the account of a man expecting to leave with two trophies. Yet, as the figures settled, it became clear that Campbell had done exactly that.

Despite the sixth-hole calamity, Colin’s 88 completed a gross total of 247, enough to secure the Stroke Play Gross Trophy by two shots from Marshall. More remarkably still, his rounds of 75 at the PGA, 70 at Queen’s and 78 at King’s produced a net aggregate of 223, winning the historic Stroke Play Trophy by a single shot.

Like last year’s champion Alastair Cantlay, Colin has captured both the Gross and Net titles — a double that rather reduces the rest of the field to spectators at his engraving appointment.

There were strong final-round performances elsewhere. Mark Nicolson returned the best gross score of the day with an impressive 82, while Mark and Rob Simpson shared the best net score with 70. Simpson’s steady finish also secured third place in the gross standings and fourth in the net championship.

Congratulations to Colin Campbell, Dun Whinny’s 2026 Gross and Net Strokeplay Champion. Over three demanding rounds at the PGA, Queen’s and King’s Courses, he proved that even a ten cannot prevent a champion from finding a way to the top of the leaderboard.

King’s Yellow Tee Stableford

Smart Masterclass Lights Up the King’s as Steven Storms to Yellow Tee Victory

While the strokeplay contenders were busy exchanging triple bogeys and calculating emergency math in the smoke area, the King’s Yellow Tee Stableford produced a masterclass in composed, high-calibre golf.

Steven Smart blew the rest of the field away with an outstanding return of 42 points. Playing off an 11 handicap, Steven dismantled the King’s layout with ruthless efficiency, making light work of the stiff afternoon breeze and leaving his competitors firmly in his wake. A five-point margin of victory in any Stableford competition is impressive; around the King's, it borders on sublime.

Vice Captain Michael Cantlay mounted the sternest challenge, carding a very fine 37 points to take solo second place, while David Abercrombie claimed the final podium spot with a solid 33 points.

Warmest congratulations to Steven Smart on a magnificent round of golf and a thoroughly deserved victory. The handicap secretary has no doubt already reached for his pen.