Scottish golfers make strong start in Dubai - with help of new equipment

Free agent Calum Hill was “really pleased” with a new mixed bag of clubs as he joined ‘local man’ Ewen Ferguson in putting two Saltires on the leaderboard in the first round of the $9 million Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

As the Scottish duo signed for matching five-under-par 67s at Emirates Golf Club on a day when the pins had been tucked on the Majlis Course, Hill overcame losing his ball up a palm tree to finish with a flourish while Ferguson set up his strong start by opening with three birdies.

By sheer coincidence, the eye-catching efforts in the Rolex Series event came as both Hill and Ferguson had decided to make equipment changes for the 2025 DP World Tour campaign.

Ewen Ferguson tees off on the eighth hole on day one of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club | Francois Nel/Getty Images

“I didn’t resign my Ping contract, having been with them since I turned pro at the end of 2017 and the start of 2018,” said Hill after signing for eight birdies. “I kind of wanted to explore a few putter options as they obviously tie you into a putter.

“By doing that, it allowed me to try a few other things. I’ve tried some Titleist stuff, for instance, and I feel it is really good. I think it brings a few dimensions that I didn’t have previously and I hit a few shots out there today that were really good.”

The 30-year-old admitted that changing his equipment wasn’t something he’d done on a whim. “It took plenty of months pondering over it and it is risky as well,” he added. “But I’ve gone as a free agent. I’ve not signed for anyone, so there wasn’t really a downside. If it wasn’t working out like I wanted to, I could always go back to it. Yeah, it was worthwhile.”

Hill, who landed his breakthrough win on the circuit in the 2021 Cazoo Classic, is hoping his opening salvo this year is a sign of things to come.

“You are always going to want more, but the last two years I have been very frustrated with how I finished the years,” he confessed. “They’ve not gone the way I wanted to and I am obviously looking for a lot higher than making the DP World Tour Championship.

“There’s ambitions I have that are much greater than that. So to be outside of even that goal was disappointing. But you just need to keep working away and hopefully this season will be a lot more positive.”

Ferguson, who landed his third DP World Tour title triumph in last year’s BMW International Open in Munich, made his equally impressive start with new Titleist clubs in his bag, as well as a new Scotty Cameron putter.

Bob MacIntyre went birdie-birdie to sign off on a positive note. | Getty Images

Thanks partly to fellow Scot Stephen Hubner becoming the club manager, the Dubai resident is now an ambassador at this week’s venue, which he overlooks from his flat on the 51st floor in one of the huge skyscrapers in the nearby marina.

“It is funny because on the eighth tee you actually aim at the building I live in,” said Ferguson after opening with his pleasing bogey-free effort. “I can actually see the eighth tee as well if you walk to the corner of my balcony and I was standing on the tee today thinking ‘I better hit a good one as I don’t want to be looking at it later and thinking you b******!’”

Playing in the afternoon, Richie Ramsay and Scott Jamieson carded matching 70s while Bob MacIntyre finished birdie-birdie to equal a morning 71 from Connor Syme and Grant Forrest opened with a 72.