World No.979 Stewart shares Dunhill lead with amateur Buchanan
World No. 979 Michael Stewart shot a 7-under-par 65 at Carnoustie to share the first-round lead at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship with South African amateur Jack Buchanan.
Stewart and 21-year-old Buchanan both finished Thursday, 1 October on 7-under, one shot clear of South Africa's MJ Daffue and Casey Jarvis on 6-under, according to BBC Sport. Seven under means seven shots better than the set standard for the course.
The event rotates across three links — the Old Course at St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns — with professionals paired alongside amateurs. Stewart did his damage on the hardest of the three. He came home in 30 on the back nine at Carnoustie, a stretch famous for narrow fairways, deep bunkers and a closing run that punishes anything loose.
It was some turnaround. The 36-year-old Scot teed off less than 24 hours after finishing second in the Tartan Tour's Duddingston Classic. Ranked 979th in the world, he had played only five times on the main European circuit, the last in 2023, before taking a sponsor's invite here.
Buchanan took the other route. The world No. 788 played his 65 at Kingsbarns, the most scoreable of the three courses when the wind stays down. He plays as an amateur, so he cannot collect prize money, but his name sits top of a professional leaderboard.
Matt Fitzpatrick is lurking. The Englishman arrived chasing a fifth win of the year after victory at the French Open the previous week. He opened with a 4-under 68 to sit three shots back.
Brooks Koepka signed for a 3-under 69 at Carnoustie. Defending champion Robert MacIntyre laboured to 1-under at the same course. MacIntyre was spoken to by officials after losing his temper over a drone hovering above him on the par-three eighth, his penultimate hole.
There was a familiar look further down. Lee Westwood and Ian Poulter made their first DP World Tour appearances since January 2023 after joining LIV Golf in 2022.
The day also delivered the shot everyone will talk about in the bars. Former footballer Gareth Bale, playing in the amateur section, hit his tee shot on the 17th at St Andrews onto the roof of the Jigger Inn, the famous pub by the Road Hole.
What makes this stand out is how open it feels. A journeyman home Scot and a teenage amateur lead. A form horse in Fitzpatrick is close. And three very different courses still have time to bite.
