Stephen Gallacher and Scott Jamieson were both aiming at something on the final day at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, and the two friends sparked off each other, writes Steve Scott.
“I was going for a spot in the Open and Stevie, well he’s got some big fish to fry,” said Jamieson, referring to his countryman’s need to secure more Ryder Cup qualifying points.
At the end the pair shot a better-ball 58, 63 to Gallacher and 64 to Jamieson, and they both got what they were looking for.
For Jamieson, it was a little dj vu to three years ago when he holed a mid-length putt on the 18th green at Castle Stuart to nail the last spot in the Open the following week. That was for birdie, but yesterday it was a tricky 10-footer for par on the last to finish on nine-under which, after a nervy gap of an hour or so to see what transpired behind him, won his place at Hoylake.
“We seemed to birdie different holes, so it was a bit of us responding to each other,” said Jamieson. “It wasn’t until we got to 16 that I said to him, ‘Come on, let’s get a couple more birdies and get this done’.”
The nerves for Jamieson were not that he wasn’t going to finish in the top three of those not otherwise exempt for next week, but that he would stay within the top 10 to qualify.
“It’s good preparation for Hoylake today but it’s also good prep for sitting on the couch at home,” he joked, before it became apparent that he could make some last minute hotel bookings on Merseyside.
For Gallacher, 10-under at the finish for a share of fifth, it was a perfect way to prepare for his week at the Open, especially as he found to touch on the greens that had been missing.
“I lost my rhythm (in the putting stroke) in a week of bad weather in France, but today being a bit calmer I could get a feel for it on the greens.”
Gallacher, equalling the course record set earlier in the day by Chile’s Felipe Aguilar, gets a good dose of world ranking points from his high finish here, but while the Ryder Cup is at the back of his mind he isn’t dwelling on it.
“I wasn’t thinking about the big world points on offer here to honest,” he said. “I can’t work them out anyway. I was just trying to make as many birdies as I could.
“There’s nothing I can do about the Ryder Cup. If four other guys win the next four events it won’t matter what I do.
“I’ve just got to try and keep producing more performances like that one. The higher up the points table I finish the more chance I’ll have.”
Paul Lawrie also finally found some form on the greens to take to Hoylake, a change of wand finally bringing the breakthrough he’d been looking for in a five-under 66.
“Maybe it was the jacket,” he joked, referring to his reputation as the tour’s premier performer in raingear. “I played pretty much the same, actually maybe not quite as good the first three days.
“Overall, the week was not what I was looking for, but it was nice to finish five-under today and set myself up for next week.”
Craig Lee couldn’t find the extra gear for the charge he needed to catch the leaders, and gradually slid out of contention playing par golf while others piled on the birdies.
Russell Knox finished a decent first home tournament with a 70 for three-under, while there were also under-par finishes for Ally Forsyth (69), David Drysdale (70) and Martin Laird (70).