European Tour life beginning at 41 for Ross Cameron

Good things come to those who are prepared to wait. Just ask Ross Cameron, who is enjoying the best spell of his career at the age of 41 and is now gearing up for a European Tour debut this week.

Ross Cameron has had a smile on his face since winning the Loch Lomond Whiskies Scottish PGA Championship at Deer Park in Livingston

Having had little to shout from the rooftops about since embarking on life as a full-time playing professional, it was a joyous occasion for the Peterhead-based player when he won the Loch Lomond Whiskies Scottish PGA Championship by four shots at Deer Park.

He then backed that up with another victory on the Tartan Tour in the weather-shortened Northern Open at Spey Valley in Aviemore to top this season's PGA in Scotland Order of Merit, leaving him in fine fettle for that first European Tour outing in the Scottish Championship presented by AXA at Fairmont St Andrews.

In any year, it would have been a dream come true for Cameron to be in the same field as the likes of former world No 1 Lee Westwood, but for it to be this one is special for the Scot given that he took on a part-time job in a supermarket to supplement his income during the Covid-19 lockdown.

"I am really chuffed about that," said Cameron, who is coached by Ian Rae, of securing the "national" spot up for grabs in the new £900,000 event being played over the Torrance Course at the Fife venue. "I am pretty sure I will be smiling when I get there as I am really looking forward to it.

"I've been playing for years and, if I hadn't had the chance to play in events like this one, it's something I'd probably looked back on with some regrets. To get this invite is just brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

"My game is in good shape and it's been in good shape for a wee while now. As long as I don't get caught up in the hype of where I'm at and not let any distractions get in the way, I should be fine."

Cameron, who had been playing mainly on the German-based ProGolf Tour until this season, has secured backing for a 16th successive campaign from Saltire Energy and is hoping it will be a case of onwards and upwards.

"I definitely feel as though my best years can lie ahead," he said. "I've had a good boost from my recent wins. That has given me confidence going forward.

"Looking back, I could maybe have done things a bit differently as it has taken me a while to get to this point. Perseverance is a big thing and I think it feels better when you get there after going through some lows and some lulls in your career.

"I think I was maybe too comfortable for too long in terms of what I was doing. I never really had a plan in place when I decided to go and play full-time. I think I would have benefited from having a bit of help around me at that time.

"I feel that if I had maybe structured things better back then, I would probably have done better quicker than I have as opposed to learning it all myself as I was going along."

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