Greig Hutcheon feels 'cool' to be teeing up on DP World Tour over four decades

Lots of things have changed since Greig Hutcheon last played on the European Tour. The name, for starters, as it’s now called the DP World Tour, of course, and even simple things like booking a practice time.

“I had no idea about an online portal,” said the 49-year-old, laughing, of the system players now use and was completely new to him when he turned up at the tournament office for this week’s Betfred British Masters at The Belfry on Monday.

“Stuff like that is very confusing for people of my age,” he added with another hearty chuckle, “but I managed to book a practice time eventually!”

Hutcheon, who is the professional at Torphins Golf Club in Aberdeenshire, is still pinching himself about being among 12 Scots teeing up in an event being hosted by Danny Willett for the second year running at the Sutton Coldfield venue.

He secured the opportunity by winning The PGA Play-Offs at Slieve Russell in Ireland last Friday, with six more starts to come on the circuit this season for the three-time Scottish PGA champion in a brilliant reward.

“It was a wee bit of a shock to the system at my age,” admitted Hutcheon. “I was planning at the end of this year to have a go at the seniors’ stuff, so I’ve given myself a pretty ruthless environment to get ready for that.”

A three-time winner on the Challenge Tour, the Aberdonian made his debut on the main tour in the 1998 Heineken Classic in Australia. His best finish in 105 starts was eighth in the Scottish PGA Championship at Gleneagles the following year.

“Though I’ve never been a stalwart out here, someone mentioned to me the other day that when I tee off on Thursday, I will have played on the European Tour in four different decades, which is quite cool,” he declared.

To put that