Ewen Ferguson hails new coach Jamie Gough after securing European Tour card

Ewen Ferguson may have felt “miles off” being ready to make the step up to the European Tour earlier this year, but not any more thanks to a combination of a new coach and learning from pals like Bob MacIntyre, Calum Hill and Connor Syme.

Ewen Ferguson shows his ball to a playing partner during the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by the R&A at T-Golf & Country Club in Mallorca. Picture: Octavio Passos/Getty Images.

The 25-year-old secured his seat at the top table in European golf on Sunday by finishing ninth in this season’s Road to Mallorca Rankings, graduating to the main circuit along with fellow Scot Craig Howie.

Both players will start the exciting new chapter in their careers when the 2022 schedule gets underway with three events in South Africa before Christmas, having already shown they can hold their own at the higher level.

In Ferguson’s case, he finished in the top 20 as recently as October in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on home soil and will certainly take “confidence” from that performance going forward.

Ewen Ferguson, third left, joins his fellow Challenge Tour graduates in the traditional cap toss at the end of the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by the R&A at T-Golf & Country Club in Mallorca. Picture: Octavio Passos/Getty Images.

“But what I think helped me most was being able to play quite a bit on the European Tour last year,” said the former British and Scottish Boys’ champion as he savoured being among the Challenge Tour’s 20 graduates this time around.

“Helped by the Covid-19 pandemic providing opportunities I wouldn’t have had otherwise, I almost played a full season and it made me realise I was good enough and also what I had to work on.

“Playing with some of the guys last year made me realise I have to work on this, this and that or I’m never going to be able to get there.

“Even with my mates, the likes of Bob, Calum and Connor, I thought to myself, they can do this and I can’t. They do this and I don’t do it so well. So I’ve worked on a lot of things and I feel I can do it now, which feels good.”

Ferguson worked with Gregor Monks as an amateur and also in the early part of his professional career before linking up this year with Jamie Gough, brother of former Rangers and Scotland defender Richard.

“I’ve been working with him from the start of the year and he’s been unreal. I’m loving every part of it; he’s been so good,” said Ferguson, who is part of Niall Horan’s Modest! Golf management stable.

“Gregor was really good for me as I was growing up, but I think you get to a stage where you feel you need to do something else. Gregor was fantastic, but I didn’t feel I was going to progress.

“That’s why I started to work with Jamie. When I was playing bad before, it was bad. Now I can find myself not playing great but find I’m doing okay.

“The main thing is technically. I am technically sound now and I even watch myself on video sometimes and think that is really, really good. I almost feel quite calm when I am working with him on the range. He is so well-respected. He’s a top guy as well.

“After missing the cut in the Qatar Masters at the start of the year, I remember feeling absolutely gutted, having shot three-over and three-over and thinking, ‘I’m miles off it right now’.

“I worked with Jamie over the weekend and practised with Calum, who missed the cut as well. We were having putting and chipping competitions and I picked up on a few things he was doing. It was a case of learning off your pals and it’s so good that we’ve got that in Scotland at the moment.”

After securing his place alongside Hill and MacIntyre on the top tour, Ferguson enjoyed celebrating with his dad Mark, mum Dorothy and brother Lewis at T-Golf & County Club in Mallorca after the Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final.

“It’s just been nice to play in front of my family a couple of times recently as it had been so long with Covid,” he said. “I’ve managed to play well in front of them as well and that’s been nice.”

Before starting to get himself geared up again for the new campaign, Ferguson is heading to Geneva to watch his girlfriend, Daina Bourma, play for Servette against Chelsea in the Women’s Champions League before then meeting up with some friends in the US.

“I’m just looking forward to not waking up for a couple of weeks and not having a tournament to play,” he said, feeling a bit drained at the end of the campaign. “But, after a week or 10 days I’ll be ready to get back into it again as I love it and everything that comes with it.”

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