Scott Jamieson admits he will have to adopt a different mind-set for this week’s M2M Russian Open after arriving in Moscow from The Open Championship.
The 30 year old Scot missed the cut at Hoylake, but the experience capped a brilliant three week spell, during which he finished tied 18th in the Alstom Open de France and tied eighth in the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, a performance which earned him entry to the season’s third Major.
The €1million M2M Russian Open, therefore, might be considered something of a comedown compared to the packed galleries in Paris, Aberdeen and Liverpool, but Jamieson is simply focusing on trying to prolong his promising form.
“I played really well in Paris – the best I’ve played all season – and then had another good week in Scotland to get in The Open,” he said. “Unfortunately I didn’t play well at Hoylake. It was difficult as I played late on the first day when the wind had got up and it was difficult to get at pins.
“I wasn’t on the fairway enough either. When I was hitting from the fairway I felt in complete control, but that didn’t happen often enough. Fortunately the fairways are nice and wide here in Russia.
“This week you have to get in a different mind-set. At The Open, although you’re hopeful of doing well, you have relatively low expectations as you’re up against the best players in the world.
“This week the field is completely different and expectations are much higher, but you have to manage those expectations and not get down on yourself if you’re not leading from the first day. You just have to play your normal game and not worry about much else. I always tend to play better if I’m not expecting too much of myself.”
Jamieson has fond memories of Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club and its superb Jack Nicklaus-designed course, having finished in the top ten in the M2M Russian Challenge Cup on the Challenge Tour in 2010.
“I had a really good week here on the Challenge Tour, finished tied sixth,” Jamieson continued. “And the week before I’d finished tied second in the Kazakhstan Open. Those two weeks were career-changers really because the prize funds were much bigger than normal weeks on the Challenge Tour, and doing well in both was so important in me finishing 14th in the Rankings that year.
“I’d been just ticking along until that point of the season, but that fortnight really launched me up the Rankings, and the confidence and momentum I gained helped me finish the season really strongly.”
Other notable names in the field include European Tour winners Morten Ørum Madsen of Denmark, Englishmen David Horsey and Nick Dougherty and Spaniard José Manuel Lara. Former world number one tennis player Yvgeny Kafelnikov, who became a professional golfer three years ago, will also tee it up at Tseleevo.
