Scott Jamieson is hoping that a big local following can spur him on to a first European Tour victory in this week’s Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles after coming agonisingly close the last time he played on home soil.
The 27 year old, one of the leading contenders for The 2011 Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year, returns to his native land and the stunning venue for The 2014 Ryder Cup, the PGA Centenary Course at The Gleneagles Hotel, in Perthshire, hoping to rekindle the form which saw him finish tied third at Castle Stuart Golf Links, in Inverness.
The Scotsman was the joint leader going in to the final day of The Barclays Scottish Open, which was reduced to 54 holes due to heavy rain, but a 69 was not enough to seal his maiden title as Luke Donald stormed to a sixth European Tour victory with a stunning final round 63.
It was the third time in three months that Jamieson had finished in tied third place, having also done so at the Open de España in May and the BMW International Open in June.
This week he is hoping to go one step further with the help of a supportive home crowd.
“It would be absolutely great to be the last one to finish on Sunday,” he said. “Playing at home is obviously very fun and hopefully I can get the help of the home crowd this week.
“After doing well at Inverness, it would be nice to finish even higher this time out. The majority of the people at the Barclays Scottish Open were hoping that myself or Peter (Whiteford) would win.
“It’s just a different experience to your normal week because you're at home and in front of a home crowd, so I'm really looking forward to it.”
Jamieson could not maintain momentum following his positive finish at Castle Stuart, failing to make it to the weekend in The Open Championship at Royal St George’s and The Irish Open presented by Discover Ireland in July although he earned a tied 13th finish at the Nordea Masters in between those two missed cuts.
He is happy with his form, however, in the lead-up to this week’s tournament after a tied 33rd finish at the Czech Open last week and feels that if he improves his game on the greens, he could make an impact on the top of the leaderboard by the time Sunday comes around.
“I played well Saturday and Sunday from tee-to-green,” he continued. “I didn't putt as well as I have done other tournaments this year, but if I can hole a few putts this week, and continue the way I've been hitting the ball from Saturday and Sunday, then I could come close.”
Jamieson is currently in the running with Thorbjørn Olesen for The Rookie of the Year award, as the Dane sits in 31st spot in The Race to Dubai, on €553,227, five places above the Scotsman, who has won €497,025 so far this year.
