Graeme Robertson got himself back in a familiar old routine as he claimed the honours in the Arnold Clark Tartan Tour’s 36-hole Challenge at Macdonald Spey Valley.
The 37-year-old, who has been a prolific performer on the domestic scene in recent seasons, reeled off rounds of 66 and 69 for a nine-under aggregate of 139.
That left Robertson a shot clear of Dominic Bradburn and Stuart Easton as he landed the opening Order of Merit title of the 2026 campaign.
It’s been a tough spell for the Glenbervie man over the past year or so. Having been riding the crest of a wave by winning back-to-back Scottish PGA Championships, qualifying for The Open and playing in a PGA Tour event, Robertson was upended by a niggling wrist injury.
He was forced to pull out of numerous events on the second-tier Hotel Planner Tour last season, while opportunities on the main DP World Tour had to be shelved too.
A winter of rehabilitation, however, has left Robertson in rude health again and his success at Spey Valley was just what the doctor ordered.
“After last year, I feel I need to make up for lost time,” said Robertson. “I’m conscious of my age. I lost a season I couldn’t really afford to, and I knew I needed to hit the ground running again this year.
“I was doing a lot of gym work over the winter trying to strengthen my wrist. I’ve probably seen the gym more in the last six months than I have over my whole lifetime.
“My wife is a physio so she’s been guiding me through the rehabilitation. It’s been a lot of tedious stuff, just standing there with those exercise bands. It was terrible. But my wife was there looking over my shoulder, so she was cracking the whip.”
In a nip and tuck tussle at Spey Valley, Robertson struck a decisive blow on the final hole to claim the £1300 first prize.
Sitting on the eight-under mark with Easton and Bradburn, Robertson hit a fine drive down the 18th before flighting a neatly executed wedge into 15-feet and holing the birdie putt to win.
“When you’ve been out for a while and suddenly you’re contending again it’s totally different,” he added. “When I was winning a lot a couple of years ago, it seemed much easier. It was a great feeling to get it done again.
“I have nice memories of Spey Valley. I equalled the course record of 62 that Brooks Koepka had here a few years ago when I won on Paul Lawrie’s circuit.
“It’s a wonderful course and one that doesn’t get talked about enough. Hopefully now I can kick on during the rest of the season.
"I have a medical extension for the HotelPlanner Tour and the plan is to play in Scotland and build up some confidence before we tackle events on that tour.”
Easton, the overnight leader, closed with a 71 for his eight-under tally while Bradburn, who was five-under for the day through 11 holes, was left to rue bogeys at 16 and 17 in a 69 as he shared second.
Craig Lee was fourth on seven-under after a spirited 68.
Click here for Spey Valley results
