Scott Jamieson’s patience rewarded with bogey-free 67 in Oman

Scott Jamieson set the clubhouse lead after his 67 in Oman. Picture: Getty.

The five-under-par effort by the Florida-based Scot at Al Mouj in Muscat set the clubhouse target in the morning before American Kurt Kitayama came in late in the day with his 66.

“I drove it well and putted well,” said Jamieson, who finished third in the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa in December then narrowly missed out on another top ten in his next outing in the Abu Dhabi HSBC  Championship.

“I didn’t hit my irons particularly close, but I think that’s difficult to do round here. The greens are firm with a lot of run-offs, so you find yourself playing away from the flags.”

His five birdies on the Greg Norman-designed course included a chip in at the 17th and he added: “You need to stay patient, play away from the flags and hope you can hole some putts.”

Richie Ramsay birdied five of his last seven holes for a 70, which was matched by David Drysdale and Connor Syme after he got into the field at the last minute as a replacement for Andrew “Beef”  Johnston.

In his first round on the European Tour since last April, Paul Lawrie was pleased with a 71, which was later matched by Bob MacIntyre, while Grant Forrest and Stephen Gallacher both opened with level-par efforts.

David Law is facing a fight to make the cut after a 75, the same as Liam Johnston, while Marc Warren could only manage a 77.

l UK-based bookmakers Betfred have been announced as the new title sponsor of the British Masters under an initial two-year deal, starting with the event being hosted by Tommy Fleetwood at  Hillside in May.

l Euan Walker sits joint third but six shots behind leader Jayden Schaper heading into the final round of the South African Stroke-Play Championship in Stellenbosch.