Turkish delight as Ferguson has fun in the sun

Bearsden golfer Ewen Ferguson enjoyed some Turkish delight with a fine showing in last week's Turkish Airlines Challenge in Antalya.
Ewen FergusonEwen Ferguson
Ewen Ferguson

The 19-year-old posted a terrific four round total of 283, five under par, to finish joint 51st overall - and equal second best amateur - in the Challenge Tour event.

Two sub-par rounds of 70 ensured he made the cut after 36 holes and although he carded a 76 in the third-round the Walker Cup winner ended on a high with a superb five-under par 67 in the closing round.

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And after finishing with a flourish Ewen admitted his final round score followed a chat with his dad Mark who told him to simply enjoy himself and stop ‘ruining the fun’.

He said: “I think I was trying too hard on Saturday and, as result, was ruining the fun I should be having by playing in events like these as an amateur.

“I talked to my dad, Mark, on the phone on Saturday night and he said, ‘stop putting yourself under needless pressure and go out and play as you did your practice round’ as he knew I’d played well in that.”

“The great thing about finishing like this is that it gives me some momentum going into next week.”

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The chance to take part in professional circuits events such as the Turkish Airlines Challenge and this week’s Montecchia Open in Italy result from invitations secured by Ferguson’s new management company Bounce Sports.

It’s a chance to earn ranking points for a category on the Challenge Tour for next season, with the two other starts Ferguson is set to get on the second-tier circuit this season having already been mapped out.

He said: “After the event in Italy, my next start will be the SSE Scottish Hydro Challenge in Aviemore in June then my final one for the year is in France (the Cordon Open) at the start of September.

“For starters, this has definitely been a good tournament for me. I made the cut in the first instance and I feel as though I’ve got the game to compete with the guys out here.

“Today, for example, I was playing with Joel Girrbach, who finished joint-second in Egypt a couple of weeks back, and he only beat me by a shot.”