Martin Dempster: Why Ewen Ferguson won't be scarred by Kenya Open blow

It’s not even close. In all the years I’ve covered the game, Ewen Ferguson easily came across as the most confident young Scottish player this country has produced.

I think it was at a Scottish Boys’ Championship that we first discovered that he had lots of faith in his own ability and I recall the late, great Jock MacVicar saying something about him actually being “cocky” back then.

Though not a trait that is evident with many Scots, Ferguson’s swagger had substance. After all, he won the British Boys’ Championship in 2013 then added the Scottish Boys’ Championship and Scottish Boys’ Stroke Play Championship the following year.

To put that into context, he’s the only player to have held all three of those coveted titles simultaneously.

Ewen Ferguson eventually finished in a share of eighth spot in the Magical Kenya Open after taking a four-shot lead into the final round at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi. Picture: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images.

It takes talent to achieve a feat like that and, over the first three days in the Magical Kenya Open last week, the 25-year-old showed the golfing world that his potential at a young age can, indeed, be fulfilled in the professional ranks.

Yes, he had a disappointing day on Sunday as a four-shot lead heading into the final round at Muthaiga Golf Club in Nairobi quickly disappeared and, in the end, he finished seven behind the winner, China’s Ashun Wu.

But, in addition to the fact that he’d played so well up until that point and swings a golf club beautifully, the way Ferguson reacted to his ultimate fate on this occasion was a real positive from the week.

Before Wu had even got his hands on the rhino trophy, the Bearsden man had held up his hands and effectively admitted that the “pressure” had got to him. “I just found it really difficult to deal with today,” he added in a candid interview straight afterwards.

It was no surprise, of course, that some people were quick to question the mentality of another Scottish player after Scott Jamieson had similarly been unable to convert a winning position in Abu Dhabi earlier in the year.

But that old chestnut is getting tired and let’s not forget that Bob MacIntyre, Grant Forrest and Calum Hill have all managed to become first-time winners on the DP World Tour within the past 18 months.

“All yesterday did was make me more determined to get in that position again and do better,” wrote Ferguson in a post on social media on Monday and that’s exactly what you want to hear.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: winning at the top level in golf isn’t easy. If it was, how come Matti Schmid, the young German being tipped to become a superstar, didn’t come out on top on Sunday?

In contention after picking up two shots early on in the final round, last year’s Rookie of the Year and Silver Medal winner in The Open eventually signed off with a 77 to finish outside the top 40.

He’ll learn from that painful experience and so, too, will Ferguson, who has lost none of that confidence from nearly a decade ago but, at the same time, has matured into a really nice young man.

If he keeps that faith in himself and also that sweet swing, it hopefully won’t be long before he becomes Scotland’s latest top-tour winner.

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