Ewen Ferguson more nervous hitting shot at Bearsden than any at Belfry
Three-time DP World Tour winner returned to his golfing roots to mark milestone occasion
Ewen Ferguson reckons he was more nervous hitting a shot back at Bearsden Golf Club recently than any he’s faced on the DP World Tour this year.
The three-time tour winner returned to the club where he first played as a six-year-old to officially open a refurbished clubhouse and a remodelled course.
It was a day to remember for Ferguson, who flew the Bearsden flag as he enjoyed a glittering amateur career, as a small army of members turned out for the milestone occasion.
“That was really cool and the turnout was amazing,” he told The Scotsman. “It was unreal. It’s a nine-hole course and it’s incredible what they’ve done to it. I can actually practice there now as it is actually quite tough.
“Yeah, I love a club like Bearsden. It’s a really good social club and you can see that with the turnout. They support the club and they support me. To do that on a week off was really cool and it was actually the most nervous I’ve been all year when I was hitting the opening tee shot with an out of bounds on the left. I was like ‘oh, s***’ but I managed to hit an alright one (smiling). Yeah, I was really nervous as you feel you are being judged by 500 people.
“I was six when I first played there and used to go up with my dad all the time. I think I then joined when I was seven. It’s changed so much. There are new houses everywhere and the course is amazing. It is really cool. It’s great that I can now go back and play nine holes with my friends and be proud of the course because it is that good.”
Ferguson now has Bob MacIntyre as a near neighbour in the north of Glasgow. “We live about two miles apart down a straight road,” he said. “I keep asking him where he keeps his safe (laughing).”
Bob MacIntyre now a near neighbour
The 30-year-old was speaking after completing his second round in the weather-hit Husqvarna British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry.
After being among the players who didn’t get out at all on Thursday due to three separate suspensions of play caused by thunderstorms in the Birmingham area, Ferguson had six holes to complete in the second round when play restarted at 7.30am on Saturday.
The 30-year-old picked up two birdies straight away to move to eight under for the tournament before undoing that good work with a double-bogey 6 at the ninth - his last hole. Signing for a 71 to add to an opening 67, it left him four off the clubhouse lead, held by Englishman Marco Penge.
“Honestly, it’s been a tough tournament just trying to stay in it,” admitted Ferguson. “I’ve been having to work hard mentally to try over shots as I’ve hit some that I’ve felt I haven’t been as focused as I should be.
“I actually feel at the end there that I was in a mindset where I’d fought so hard and it was going well so I went straight at it and that’s not how I’ve been playing all week.
“It’s not particularly been caused by the delays. As a professional golfer, you have to deal with stuff like that and it’s the guy who deals with it the best who normally comes out on top.
“In that instance, it was just the wrong choice at the wrong time. That was my own fault. I’ve actually felt I’d done a good job this week dealing with the delays and hopefully we can still get two more rounds. If it’s just one, then we’ll go out and do our best in it.”
The Scot finished joint-fourth behind Daniel Hillier, who is in contention again at the Sutton Coldfield venue, three years ago. “Yeah, definitely,” said Ferguson of being able to draw from that performance. “I know the course quite well and I like the course. I’m starting to play a lot better recently and I’m just trying to stick with it, to be honest.”
With five top-ten finishes under his belt, Ferguson sits 47th in the Race to Dubai, having finished 17th, 37th, 31st and 47th on the points list over the past four seasons.
“Yeah, I’m just lacking that big finish this season and it’s probably down to shots like that one at the ninth,” he admitted, smiling. “I think it’s been down to finding it a bit tougher at times to keep going under pressure like I did when I first came out here. I’m trying to get fitter and stronger as I feel that will help me keep my nerve better coming down the stretch on a Sunday in those bigger moments.
“I think it was a more-grateful-to-be-here attitude than being fearless, to be honest. Now I know I should be here and the expectation that I should be able to do it becomes harder to deal with.
“I think it was a case of enjoying it more when I started out here and now I’m like ‘this is what I should be doing and I need to get it done’. When it doesn’t, you then feel worse than you did earlier on.”
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