Scott’s raring to go after a sliding-doors moment
Scott Jamieson faced a sliding doors moment in his golfing career two weeks ago in Qatar. But he has come out of it eager and ready to make the most of his second chance.
The trapdoor away from the DP World Tour had opened up ahead of the final full-field event of the season with Jamieson sitting in 119th place, three spots below the cut-off line.
But the Scot produced a stirring four days of golf to keep his card as he finished third in the desert.
Had he not managed that, he would have been facing the infamous six rounds at Q-School this weekend and a possible demotion to the Challenge Tour.
As the 39-year-old had slipped closer towards trouble, he found it impossible not to think about the possible ramifications.
“My first port of call would have been Q-School,” he told The Sunday Post from his Florida base.
“Failing that, I could have had a good card on the Challenge Tour and a few starts on the main tour. But is that something I would have wanted to do?
“It would have been a massive adjustment after 13 years on Tour where we get spoiled. Would I have been ready for that?
“I would have been up against 24, 25-year-olds with no wife, no kids, no injuries, who are happy to play eight, nine weeks in a row.
“Maybe there would have been some opportunities over here in America, playing in Monday qualifiers on the PGA Tour and the Korn Ferry Tour.
“I was even thinking that we may have to sell the house and move, so there were so many things going through my head.”
But Jamieson’s 24 birdies across the 72 holes in Qatar showed that he could still perform under intense pressure.
And that feeling of a second
Germany’s Freddy Scott leads the way in Spain. chance has given his practice renewed vigour as he gears up for the start of the new DP World Tour season.
His 82nd place on the Race to Dubai was not enough to get him to Sun City or the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai, beginning this Thursday.
But, instead, he is tuning up for three events in South Africa – the Opening Swing – of the new season, which begins for Jamieson with the Joburg Open on November 23.
“This has given me a renewed appreciation of what I have, what matters to me and how lucky we have it,” he said.
“The first few years you are out on Tour, everything is exciting.
“Then it feels like it is the
Freddy Schott produced an outstanding back-nine to sign for a bogey-free eight under par round of 63 and take a one-stroke lead after round two of Final Stage Qualifying School in Spain.
The German, starting on the 10th at the Lakes course, made the turn one-under-par before a six-hole stretch from the first saw him card five birdies and an eagle to reach 12-under-par the week, one stroke ahead of Spaniard Sebastian Garcia in second.
Schott, who is looking to regain his DP World Tour playing privileges this week, believes putting was key to being seven same faces and the same venues and there are probably only a handful of times every year that you get excited.
“This is almost like a kick up the backside as I have the opportunity to do something great.
“When I won in 2012, although it was one of the smaller tournaments, it opened so many doors for me for the next couple of years really.
“Sometimes we have to remember that every week is a potential game-changer. One big week could change the course of your season and potentially your career.”
As Jamieson mentions, it is now 11 years since his sole DP World Tour success. Since then, he married Natalie and now has under through six holes after the turn.
“I gave myself a test on hole 12, which was my third hole,” he said. “I hit a bad tee shot and played a poor chip but holed that putt which gave me a boost and I did well after that.
“I got off to a bit of a slow start and missed a few opportunities, making one birdie on the front nine. Then starting the back nine on hole one, I had a great number for my sand wedge, and was able to hit it close to made birdie.
“From that point I putted well. It didn’t matter where I hit it, I
Scott Jamieson would love to add a second victory to his 2012 win in South Africa.
three children – daughter Zoe and sons Oscar and Max.
So he knows how special it would be if he could get into the winner’s circle again to make up for the weeks spent thousands of miles away on the circuit.
“The kids ask all the time about when I am going to bring a trophy home,” he smiled.
“I keep telling them there are 150 other guys trying to beat you every week, so it’s not the easiest thing to do!
“But it would be cool to be able to do it for the family.
“And what happened in Qatar showed that I’m not far away from winning. I left loads of shots out there, too.
“Above all, it was a timely reminder to know I’m good enough to compete out here.” just seemed to have straight putts. That went on until the fifth or sixth hole.
“I gave myself some good chances throughout the back nine. I couldn’t take them on the last three holes but I’m very happy with my round today.”
Italian Filippo Celli sits in third place on 10 under par alongside Welshman Jack Davidson and Denmark’s Sebastian Friedrichsen.
The leading 25 players and ties at the end of six rounds will secure a card on the DP World Tour.
Scotland Captain Jamie Ritchie, Hamish Watsonand SRU President Colin Rigby lay wreaths during yesterday’s Scottish Rugby Union Armistice Day Service at Scottish Gas Murrayfield Stadium.
against Heriot’s, who had finished the regular season top of the table.
But although the Edinburgh club were in contention right until the end of the match, they were never allowed to settle into their stride.
“I think we were outstanding,” Pollock said.
“I thought we got the game right, tactically. Our coaches got it spot-on and the players bought into everything they wanted them to do. The effort was fantastic and we’re really delighted.”
Heriot’s coach Ben Cairns, who has presided over a big improvement in the team since moving from Stirling, admitted that his side had second best. “We didn’t perform, but there’s two parts to that equation,” he said.
“One is that Stirling Wolves put us under a lot of pressure – the second is that we didn’t deal well enough with that pressure.
“We didn’t perform as individuals and collectively in the way we know we can and have done”.
Also on Friday night, Boroughmuir Bears beat the Future XV 31-19 in a rearranged match.
In yesterday’s Premiership card, Hawick consolidated their status as championship favourites with a 21-15 win over Marr.
The Borderers are now four points clear of the Ayrshire club at the top of the table.
Currie Chieftains are third thanks to a 31-7 win at JedForest, while Edinburgh Accies are in the fourth and final playoff place despite a 37-35 loss at Musselburgh.
Selkirk beat Glasgow Hawks 27-23, and Kelso got the better of Heriot’s Blues by a point, winning 32-31.