Ewen Ferguson will go in search of his first European Challenge Tour title when the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge gets under way at Vierumäki Resort from August 1-4.
The Scot will be looking to go one better than his last outing at the Euram Bank Open in Austria, where he recorded a second place finish behind compatriot Calum Hill, his best professional result to date.
His recent form parallels the achievements of many of his amateur colleagues, with several Scottish players achieving considerable success on both the European Tour and Challenge Tour in recent months.
Not least Robert MacIntyre, who just a year after being pipped to the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge title in a sudden-death play-off against Finland’s Kim Koivu is flying high on the European Tour, with two second place finishes and a top ten at The Open Championship already under his belt this season.
‘’I talk to Bob MacIntyre a lot, and he’s doing exactly what he was doing before on the Challenge Tour,’’ he said. ‘’It’s not like he’s changed anything dramatically and that gives me confidence that I’m doing the right things and I just need to stay patient.
‘’It’s nice to see him doing so well. It gives me, and a lot of the Scottish guys, a lot of belief when he is competing with the likes of Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler.
‘’With Bob doing well, and Connor Syme also qualifying for The Open, it is an incentive to push each other on and in Austria I was thinking that I wanted to do well so that I can get a piece of the action! We’re all good friends too, so it’s good to be inspiring each other to better things.’’
The Scotsman, who reached the semi-final of the Belgian Knockout on the European Tour in June, currently sits just outside the promotion spots, in 17th position, and will be looking to move into one of the coveted top 15 places with a strong performance at Vierumäki Resort this week.
It hasn’t been the ideal start to the week for the 23-year-old, who will start his first round without playing a practice round after he was unable to board his overbooked early morning flight on Tuesday but he will head into the tournament full of confidence.
‘‘It was good to get myself back in contention in Austria and finish with a good round, which is something I’ve sometimes been struggling to do this season,’’ he continued. ‘’I’m in a good position in the rankings with lots of events coming up, so I’m hoping that the performance in Austria can put me in a good position for the rest of the season.’’
Ferguson will get his opening round under way from the tenth tee at 8:30 am, with Hill beginning his title challenge on the first hole at 8:40 am.
