Ewen Ferguson recalls sleepless night before breakthrough win in Qatar

Ewen Ferguson may have surprised himself by landing his maiden DP World Tour win in the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters last year, but he’s ready to defend the title at Doha Golf Club this week with a totally different mindset.

Ewen Ferguson shows off the iconic Mother of Pearl Trophy after winning the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters at Doha Golf Club last March. Picture: Stuart Franklin/Getty Images.

The Scot was only making his 37th start on the main tour and just his sixth since securing a full card as a 2021 Challenge Tour graduate when he finished eagle-par-birdie to claim a one-shot success at the same venue a year past March.

“I remember with three holes to play thinking ‘I’m in the top five here, it’s a good chance to keep my card early in the season’,” admitted Ferguson as he recalled his big breakthrough, which he backed up by also winning the ISPS Handa World Invitational in Northern Ireland later in the season.

“Then I hit it over the back on the short par-4 16th and chipped in, tied for the lead, then holed that putt (a 15-footer) at the end. It was incredible. That’s what it takes when you win tournaments. You notice every week when someone wins there’s always something special that happens. That moment on 16 and the putt on the last were my moments.”

Buoyed by his success, Ferguson went on to finish 17th in the Race to Dubai Rankings, securing his major debut in this year’s 151st Open at Royal Liverpool after also being selected for the inaugural Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi earlier in the year.

“I feel like I belong out here,” insisted the 27-year-old, who joined inaugural winner Andrew Coltart and also double champion Paul Lawrie in getting his hands on the iconic Mother of Pearl Trophy. “I feel like I know my game’s good enough to win. That’s where you get consistency from. I finished 20th (somewhere earlier) this year and went back to the range and was saying I need to get better, but two years ago I’d have been delighted with that.

“Your expectations change. What you’re practicing and your goals, they all change. It’s all a mindset. Mine is looking even further now. Back then it wasn’t. That win…I was surprised. I didn’t think I was ready that early, and it all happened quite quickly for me. Now I’m ready to be here and win.”

Ferguson sits 43rd in this season’s Race to Dubai, meaning he’s on course to tee up in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship for the second year running. “I’m getting myself into contention, like in France (where he was out in then final group in the last round) and last week playing decent and finishing 13th was good,” he said. “I’m happy with how things are going. Hopefully ready again to get in the mix this week.”

He laughed about being announced on the tee in one of the marquee groups with Pablo Larrazabal and Yannik Paul as the defending champion. “You guys make more of a deal of it than us,” said Ferguson, smiling. “When I stand over my first tee shot I’ll be thinking where am I aiming, what am I doing. I’m not thinking ‘I’m defending’.

“The same happened in Northern Ireland this year. You just go out there and try to play good. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. You just think about your shots, chat to your caddie and think about your gameplans. The memories are a nice thing to have when you come back to a place and it’s a course that suits my game because I’ve done well here before.”

He revealed what it had meant last March to have a chance to become a DP World Tour winner. “Lots (of memories),” he said. “From when I got to my hotel room last night, I remember on the Sunday evening not sleeping a wink. I was just sat at the desk all night. I couldn’t believe it.

“Same hotel this week and coming back to the course, seeing my name and pictures of me with the trophy is really cool. Quite emotional and hopefully I can play really well this week and have a chance to defend it.”

Joining Ferguson in flying the Saltire in the final regular event of the season are Bob MacIntyre, Richie Ramsay, David Law, Scott Jamieson, Marc Warren and Stephen Gallacher.