Michael Stewart's 100ft 'camel ride' putt helps him stay in Dunhill Links mix

Michael Stewart holed a near 100-foot “camel ride of a putt” to turn his second circuit around in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship as the Ayrshireman continued to grab his big opportunity in the 25th edition of the DP World Tour event.

World No 979 Stewart, who shared the overnight lead after an opening seven-under-par 65 at Carnousite, turned in three over at Kingsbarns before repairing that damage by following a birdie at the short second with an eagle at the par-5 third.

After finishing with a two-putt birdie from long range at the ninth, having started at the tenth, the 36-year-old signed for a one-under-par 71 to sit handily-placed heading to St Andrews for his third round on Saturday.

Michael Stewart and his caddie Stewart Muir interact during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship | Getty images

“For as good as the putter was on the back nine yesterday,” he said of a five-hole burst that produced an eagle and four birdies over in Angus, “it was really poor all day today.”

Apart that is from the one he converted at the third. “I hold a relatively short birdie putt on two, then I holed a camel ride of a putt on three,” added the former Scottish Amateur champion with a smile. “It was 29 yards. Yeah, nearly 100 feet. Yeah, I had a spot of luck there, and then nice to finish it off with a birdie on the last to get into the red figures.”

Stewart made the headlines on the opening day after making his eye-catching start despite playing a practice round due to the fact he’d been competing in the Tartan Pro Tour’s Duddingston Classic earlier in the week.

Before teeing off in one of the second groups of the day on Friday, he enjoyed a nice moment in the Kingsbarns locker-room. “You feel more of a buzz, for sure,” he said of being at the so-called ‘show course’ for his opening two rounds and being in the same position on Saturday on the Old Course.

“We're in the locker room before I'm warming up, and Justin Rose is kind of leisurely chatting. I don't know him at all, but I know Tommy [Fleetwood] very well. They're just chatting away to you, like they're your mate type thing. So that's kind of surreal.

“I didn't have masses of folk around watching me. These are the guys that people are paying to see, and rightly so. There's a little bit of a buzz about the place, which is nice.”

In the team event, Stewart is joining forces with Hannah Heerema, a philanthropist and wine producer and also the daughter of Scottish singer Fiona Kennedy. “She's good craic,” he said of Heerema. “Yeah, she's actually a really good laugh. She doesn't take herself too seriously, which is nice.”

Though it could be career-changing if Stewart can keep it going over the next two days, he’s not getting carried away and is still taking the view that this is a “free go” for him after securing a sponsor’s spot on Monday night.

“At the minute, no,” he replied to being asked if fatigue could be a problem after playing five competitive rounds of golf already this week. “I actually struggled health-wise. I wasn't great at Duddingston. “The flu is a bit extreme, cold probably.

“But, as the week's going on, I feel better. I feel more energetic. You get the buzz of playing in an event like this. If you can't get up for playing this on these three courses, then maybe you should pack it in. I'm good to go.”