Jimmy Gunn makes his European Tour debut at this week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and the Scot, who grew up just 30 miles from host venue Castle Stuart Golf Links, is hoping to draw inspiration from his friend Russell Knox.
The 35 year old’s career path has been an unorthodox one. Having only turned professional nine years ago, Gunn moved to the USA and battled his way through mini-tours before securing a card for the US PGA Tour’s second tier, the Web.com Tour.
Making his Major debut in last year’s U.S. Open, the Dornoch player proceeded to make the cut and finish in a share of 27th place, spiking the interest of golf fans back home in his native Scotland.
The only expectation or pressure I have this week is probably from myself
As he makes a rare appearance on European soil, Gunn recalled a time when he caddied for Knox and admits that his friend’s rise to the giddy heights of 27th in the World Ranking has provided a great source of motivation.
“Obviously Russell has had an amazing year, and he’s been playing great,” he said. “He’s a real inspiration.
“I actually caddied for Russell on a Web.com Tour event in Texas a few years ago. He invited me down for the week, so I went and caddied for him.
“He was a great player when we played together as amateurs, don’t get me wrong, but now he’s top 30 in the world and has taken his game to another level. Every shot, he hits it dead straight. After seeing him play there, I’m not very surprised at all where he is now.
“Knowing him well, he's a great inspiration to me, seeing a top Scottish guy who I grew up playing with and who I talk to regularly. It’s a great achievement, he’s done so well. So he’s definitely the guy to be watching this week I would think.”
As for the expectations on Gunn this week, he insists that the only pressure he will feel in Inverness this week will be of his own making.
“The only expectation or pressure I have this week is probably from myself,” he said. “My game is in good shape, so I’m expecting to play well. Maybe a little bit of pressure being in front of my home fans.
“I played with some great players at the U.S Open last year, and obviously I played pretty well. Being amongst those kinds of guys gave me some confidence towards the end of last year, and I managed to get my card back over in the USA. Hopefully this week can be a springboard to better things.”
