Ewen Ferguson proved the power of self belief can get you a long way as his victory at the BMW International Open booked him a second consecutive appearance at The Open Championship.
The top five players not already exempt in the top 20 on the Race to Dubai Rankings in Partnership with Rolex following the event at Golfclub München Eichenried would secure their places at Royal Troon but Ferguson entered the week at 61st.
He was due to travel to Qualifying on Tuesday of event week but after securing two top 30s following his retirement from the European Open due to vertigo, and with places available via the Race to Dubai and the Genesis Scottish Open, he decided to back himself to play his way to the final Major Championship of the season via tournament golf.
His decision paid off and his win in Munich moved him to 16th on the Rankings, securing the fifth and final available place along with Jesper Svensson, Laurie Canter, Nacho Elvira and Matteo Manassero.
"I actually made a big decision this week," said Ferguson, who missed the cut last year at Royal Liverpool having qualified via his 2022 season-ending position on the Race to Dubai.
"I played really well the last two weeks at KLM and Italian Open and I was supposed to be flying on Sunday night to play in Open Qualifying on Tuesday in Scotland.
"But after I'd done on Sunday I was like, 'you know what? I think I'm playing well, maybe I can just play in myself'.
"I didn't want to tire myself out. I felt like I could maybe win this week or maybe finish in the top ten in Scotland and get my own spot that way with just good golf.
"So we decided to pull out of Open Qualifying and it's obviously a really good decision - it kept me fresh and I'm here with the trophy.
"I actually got a text from Tommy Fleetwood saying well done so I said to him, 'let's get a practice round in', so I'm looking forward to that."
Despite being confident enough to believe he would make it to Troon, Ferguson admitted that put the pressure on him to succeed.
"The exemption with this is so much weight off my shoulders and I'm so happy," he said. "I can't believe it.
"The Open Championship is a tournament that everyone wants to play in and I feel like I can do well there."
