Duncan Stewart’s win at the Challenge de Madrid may have taken the early headlines but, five events into the 2016 Road to Oman, Scottish golf fans will also have been heartened by the performances of two of their most promising amateurs.
Ewen Ferguson and Grant Forrest are still very much at the start of their careers but thanks to Scottish Golf’s partnership with Bounce Sport they are gaining valuable experience of life on the professional circuit by playing four events on the European Challenge Tour in 2016.
The Walker Cup-winning duo took part in the Turkish Airlines Challenge and the Montecchia Open by Lyoness over the last fortnight and acquitted themselves well alongside the professionals, Ferguson making both cuts and Forrest playing all 54 holes at the weather-affected Italian event.
“I think it’s great coming from playing in the top amateur events,” said 22 year old Forrest. “To be able to mix your schedule up with some Challenge Tour events really gives you an insight into what the pro game is like. Now that there’s been the rule change where we can get points, it’s a huge step that’s really encouraging.
“There’s a bit of a difference between the amateur game and the Challenge Tour I’ve noticed. Everyone does their own thing out here but it surprised me a little bit how relaxed it was.
“A lot of the guys are really chilled out and I think that’s because they know it’s a long season and they don’t want to get mentally burned out, so that’s the best way to keep fresh I guess.”
Grant Forrest finished runner-up at the 2015 Amateur Championship after being beaten by Romain Langasque in the final.
A change to Challenge Tour regulations this season allows amateurs to earn points on the Road to Oman, with France’s Romain Langasque notably taking early advantage with a runner-up finish at the season-opening Barclays Kenya Open.
Langasque, now having turned professional, beat Forrest in last year’s Amateur Championship and is now fourth in the Road to Oman Rankings, showing how quickly and efficiently the step up to the Challenge Tour can be made.
Bounce Sport, who support the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge hosted by Macdonald Hotels and Resorts, are helping the pair make that transition by supporting them in a handful of Challenge Tour tournaments this year, with a view to them both turning professional at the end of the current campaign.
“The plan would be to turn professional at the end of this season,” said 19 year old Ferguson. “You never know how everything’s going to go in golf though – if you win the Amateur Championship or you win a pro event then everything could change. Turning pro is the end goal – sooner rather than later – and definitely by the end of this year.
“I still have targets in the amateur game that would be nice to achieve, and I just want to keep learning. There’s not one bus to catch to get onto the European Tour, everyone’s got their own little things they like to do, and it’s a bit of a coincidence that we’re both Scottish and we’ve both stayed amateurs, it wasn’t a planned thing.”
For now, the pair are brothers in arms, supporting each other as they slowly find their feet on Europe’s top developmental tour. Yet it seems a friendly rivalry might also be starting to emerge between the duo – who helped steer Great Britain and Ireland to a Walker Cup victory last year.
“It was great to see Duncan win,” said Ferguson. “When you see Scots doing well and when you see they’ve been successful in the amateur and the youth game you do start to think you can do it too, so it’s really encouraging.
“We’ve not got a rivalry at all – we played doubles together and we just want each other to do well. I hope he shoots 66 and I shoot 65 – I guess I do want to do better than him after all! It’s not like there’s any bitterness in it or anything though.”
Forrest agreed, adding: “Because we’re out here as amateurs and on invites, there’s nothing to lose. If one of us does well it’s great for all of us."
