It’s been another tough year for the Scots guys out on the Tour

With just one fullfield tournament remaining, only two Scottish players can currently be certain of European Tour golf next year. Russell Knox is flying the flag in the top-10 on the Race to Dubai after his Irish Open win in July. But then it’s a long drop down to my nephew, Stephen, in 76th place. His privileges are secure for 2019, but he wants a strong finish to make the season-ending event for the top 60 in Dubai. Stephen is happy with recent swing changes he’s made and he is showing more consistency, but he needs to putt a lot better to grab the really high finishes. The top 110 keep their cards. Scott Jamieson is just below the line in 107th, but David Drysdale is the first place outside it. Further down, Richie Ramsay and Marc Warren are 125th and 153rd after poor years, and they will have to produce something special at Valderrama to avoid going back to Tour School. There were a lot of high hopes coming into 2018 for youngsters Connor Syme and Bradley Neil, but things have not gone to plan. Connor finished 12th on his pro debut in Portugal last year and then did exceptionally well to gain his card. The high point of this season was a runner’s-up finish in Austria in June, but that has not been the springboard to success. He also shot a 62 in the Scottish Open at Gullane, but there have been too many missed cuts, which is why he is lying in 123rd place. The secret to being a good tour pro is to battle to make the cut when you are not on top of your game. That is something Connor must learn. As for Bradley, he is a very talented player, but a ranking of 194th does not do him justice. However, a quick look at his stats tells me where he has been struggling. For a 22-year-old to be 257th in putts per round is frightening. You expect young players to be fearless on the greens. But you cannot possibly succeed with such poor putting stats. When you are struggling to make putts, it places tremendous pressure on the rest of your game. You feel like you have to split the fairway and hit approach shots even closer, but golf doesn’t work like that. Bradley had a handicap of +5 as an amateur, so he must have putted well. It could be a case of one good week, or even a good round on the greens, will transform his confidence. He and Connor will have to regroup if they have to go to Q-School, but it’s not the end of the world. Ian Woosnam and Justin Rose both had to make return trips to Q-School as they tried to establish their pro careers. They eventually succeeded, and how, becoming Major champions and World No.1. So that shows what is possible. Further down the pyramid, things look brighter for Scotland. Liam Johnston, David Law and Grant Forrest are all in the top 15 of the Challenge Tour standings. If they are still there by the end of the final event of the season in Oman, they will be playing on the European Tour next year, which would be a great achievement.