Jamieson gets himself in mix at Valderrama as Syme makes the cut again
Glaswegian a shot behind leader Luiten Two birdies in last three holes for Fifer
By Scott Jamieson stepped up his bid for a second European Tour title with one of the best second-round efforts in the Andalucia Masters and was joined in making the cut at Valderrama by Connor Syme after he dug deep to maintain his promising start in the paid ranks.
Helped by an albatross-2 at the 11th, Joost Luiten, last year’s runner-up, leads at the halfway stage on the Costa del Sol on six-under, but the Dutchman has Jamieson, tournament host Sergio Garcia and Robert Rock all breathing down his neck.
Jamieson, who won the weather-shortened Nelson Mandela Championship in South Africa in 2013, signed for five birdies, including three in four holes from the fifth, on what is widely regarded as one of the toughest tests on the European circuit.
Thathaulhelpedthe33-yearold card a three-under-par 68, which was bettered by only Jamie Donaldson as the 2014 Ryder Cup match-winner at Gleneagles boosted his bid to hang on to his card in the final regular event of the campaign.
Jamieson took it right to the wire last season before retaining his playing privileges, finishing 107th on the money-list. Helped by a strong opening half to the current campaign, tying for fourth in Alfred Dunhill Championship at start of season then third in Hero Indian Open in March, his card for next season has already been wrapped up.
Sitting 80th in the Race to Dubai, his season will finish this weekend, though, if he doesn’t climb a few spots as just 75 places are on offer in the opening event of the Final Series, the Turkish Airlines Open in a fortnight’s time.
“I’m delighted with that,” said Jamieson, who missed the cut in his last two events. “Anything under par around here, most people would sign up for before they tee off and especially in the tricky conditions today with the breeze blowing.
“It just requires so much patience out here. You’re going to hit some good shots that put you in a really tricky spot and then you’ve got to make a decision. There’s a lot of riskreward, so you can take your medicine and say bogey is the worst I want to make here. It’s about calculating when you want to take the risks or not.”
The Glaswegian added: “Coming into this week I knew I needed a good one to try and get into the final few events – I’m touch and go for the first one in Turkey as it stands – so hopefully a strong weekend and that’ll take care of it.”
“It requires so much patience out there. There’s a lot of riskreward. It’s about calculating when you want to take the risks or not”