Amateur Ewen Ferguson finishes with a flourish in Turkey

Bearsden amateur Ewen Ferguson signed off with a five-under-par 67 in the Turkish Airlines Challenge in Belek. Picture: Getty Images

The 19-year-old Bearsden amateur signed off with a five-under-par 67 at Gloria Golf Club in Belek for an aggregate of 283, a shot behind leading Scot Duncan Stewart.

It was Ferguson’s third sub-par effort of the week, when his only disappointment was a third-round 76 that dropped him down the leaderboard.

“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,” said the 2013 British Boys’ champion.

“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 advice certainly paid off, as did another phone call between the penultimate and final rounds to his coach, Brucefields-based Gregor Monks.

“I also talked to Gregor and sent him some videos of my swing and it felt better straight away on the range today,” added Ferguson after signing for seven birdies to finish in joint-51st.

The pick of those, he reckoned, was the one from 30 feet at the par-5 fourth. “I’d missed a couple of chances before and was thinking, ‘not one of those days again’ but my thinking definitely changed after that went in,” he admitted.

“The great thing about finishing like this is that it gives me some momentum going into next week (when he is also playing in the Montecchia Open in Italy along with fellow Scottish amateur Grant Forrest).”

It will be another chance for the pair 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.

“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,” he revealed.

“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.”

Stewart, last weekend’s winner in Madrid, closed with a 68 - his best effort of the week - to finish in a share of 41st spot and reckoned it had been another promising performance overall.

“I played great again, hitting 15 greens in regulation,” said the 31-year-old. “Indeed, I wish the next event was starting tomorrow because I rediscovered an old swing thought off the tee and it was working well out there.

“It is more ranking points on the board to back up the ones from last week and hopefully I can this momentum going.”

Ross Kellett had headed into the final round as the leading Scot but slipped behind both Stewart and Ferguson after signing for a closing 73 to finish joint-57th on three-under.

“My wedge play, which is normally one of my strengths, let me down today,” said the 28-year-old. “I missed greens from 40 yards and 70 yards and took bogeys on each occasion.”

Out in three-over, he “grafted hard” on the back nine to get two of those shots back through birdies at the 10th and 11th.

“While I’m disappointed with today, there are definitely positives there for me this week,” added the Motherwell man. “If I can have a week when the putter is hot, I definitely feel I can do some damage.”

Next up for Kellett is a return to a happy hunting ground, having won the Montecchia Open when it was an Alps Tour event in 2012 - his breakthrough victory as a pro.

“I’ve obviously got great memories from there and it is always good where you are returning to somewhere you are comfortable,” he admitted.

Bradley Neil, the fourth Scot to make the cut on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, was disappointed with his weekend efforts of 77 and 76, finishing 70th on seven-over.

In a dramatic finish, Frenchman Clement Sordet birdied the last to win by a shot on 20-under after his compatriot, Matthieu Pavon, had eagled the same hole minutes earlier.