Golfing stars set to tee up in Scottish Open
Collin Morikawa, Xander Schauffele and Tyrell Hatton – all in the world’s top eight – join the field for the event at The Renaissance Club in East Lothian in July.
Ewen Ferguson is aiming to use the Road to Mallorca on the Challenge Tour to earn a permanentspotintheeuropean Tour’s fast lane in the Race to Dubai.
Alongwithsomeofhisfellow Scots, the 24-year-old Glaswegian has enjoyed a number of unexpected opportunities on the main tour in the Covid-19 world at a time when he would predominantly have been teeing it up on the second-tier circuit.
That could still have been the case at the moment as his category would have secured spots in all three events on the European Tour’s new Canary Islands Swing, which concludes this week in Tenerife.
However, Ferguson’s focus is back on the Challenge Tour, where his tail is up after handing himself a timely confidence boost in South Africa at the weekend.
Playing in the Bain’s Whisky Cape Town Open, he closed with two 67s at Royal Cape Town to finish joint-third, missing out on a play-off won by home player JC Ritchie by a shot.
It was Ferguson’s best effort on the circuit since a tie for second behind fellow Scot Calum Hill in the 2019 Euram Bank Open in Austria.
“I’m feeling confident and happy,” he told The Scotsman. “My weekend performance is up there with my best results, so I’ve got to be satisfied.”
Ferguson became the first Scot in almost a decade to win the British Boys’ Championship when he claimed that title at Royal Birkdale in 2013.
The following year, he then
became the first player to hold that crown as well as the Scottish Boys and Scottish Boys Stroke Play titles at the same time.
After turning professional in 2016, he recorded seven top 10s on Challenge Tour in 2018 to finish 35th on moneylist before climbing to 25th the following season on the back of that second-place finish in Austria, as well as three other top-10s.
Also in 2019, he claimed third
spot in the Belgian Knockout on the main tour, where his efforts last season included top-20 finishes in the English Championship, Dubai Duty Free Irish Open and Scottish Championship presented by AXA.
“It was difficult not to take the main tour starts,” he said of skipping the Canary Islands Swing, “but I decided along with my team to try and focus on the Challenge Tour to secure my card for next year
“I know I am capable of playing on the main tour, so last year I didn’t really learn anything I didn’t already know other than you just need the rub of the green to help you along the way.
“Since turning pro, it’s all about learning the process and accepting the travelling, the hotels the boredom - it’s not as glam as people think. But it’s cool to be a part of it.
"My understanding of my own game is where I have most improved, I guess, and I’m still learning.”
Ferguson, who sits sixth in the early Road to Mallorca rankings, is aiming to back up his Cape Town effort with another strong show in this week’s Dimension Data Pro Am at Fancourt.
“If my game is as good, there’s no reason why I can’t do as well, if not better,” he said of his hopes in an event won by Paul Lawrie in 2017.