Scotland’s representation in this week’s BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth has swelled to a dozen with confirmation that both in-form Scott Jamieson and Fifer George Murray have won spots in the European Tour’s £4.5 million flagship event.
Jamieson has earned his slot with a sponsors’ invitation as a result of the current form that has seen him rise into the top 50 on the Race to Dubai, most recently with the highly creditable third-place finish at the Open de Espana two weeks before.
Former Scottish Amateur champion Murray, who like Jamieson qualified for a full card on the European Tour by way of his Challenge Tour finish last year, will also make his Wentworth debut as further withdrawals yesterday ensured his slightly higher ranking got the Anstruther player a start in what is the tour’s most lucrative event.
Jamieson stood to miss out completely despite his outstanding start to his debut season but the tour held back two sponsors’ invitations to ensure that the highest earning players on the Race to Dubai not otherwise exempt would play and the Glasgow-based player leads in that category.
The 27-year-old is joined by South African Jaco Van Zyl and got the call on Sunday evening.
“The tour called me last night to confirm the invite which was a very nice call to take,” he said, having travelled south immediately to practise on the famous West Course at Wentworth. “I kind of knew that I had done enough to get into the tournament but it was still good to hear the confirmation.
“The BMW PGA Championship is easily the biggest event I will have ever been involved in. I actually spoke to my dad who had checked the tour website to see if I had got in and he saw my name on the entry list.
“It was only when I went onto the website myself to check my name was there I realised how big the tournament is. You just have to look at the names on the list to see that you are involved in a big, big event.
“`We have the four holders of the majors at Wentworth this week, the top two in the world and then so many other big names. Ernie Els is one that really stands out for me just because of his history at Wentworth and his standing in the game.”
Jamieson was a regular Scottish international as an amateur but only two years ago was still on the EuroPro Tour, the third division of European golf, before making huge strides culminating in a Challenge Tour campaign last year, which catapulted him on to the big circuit.
“I suppose this shows how far I have come in a short couple of years. I have managed to come through the system pretty quickly I think the only way I could have made it to the European Tour any faster was to win three Challenge Tour events in one season and getting into the BMW PGA is a very nice reward.”
Jamieson has also topped the first re-ranking of the tour’s category 11 memberships where players who have qualified off the Challenge Tour or graduated via the tour school are rewarded for early-season play.
With earnings of 227,982 Euros Jamieson now has a better chance of gaining entry to many of the tour’s top summer events.
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“It means I have a better chance of getting into tournaments like the Scottish and French Open which are massive events.
“Things are going well for me at the moment and it looks like I have already done enough to keep my card for next year, which was my immediate goal at the start of the season.
“`I would love to win the rookie of the year award and get into the Dubai World Championship at the end of the season. If I can do that then that means I’ll be among the top 60 players on tour which is exactly where I want to be.”
Murray’s first season on tour has been a tougher test and the 27-year-old, who won the Scottish Hydro Challenge event on the Challenge Tour last year, is currently a lowly 180th in the Race to Dubai.
However his 10th place finish on the second circuit last year guarantees the two-time Eisenhower Trophy player a better exemption category than his countryman Jamieson, and, with prizemoney up to double that of a normal tour event, there is great scope for the Fifer to cash in this week.
Former PGA champions Colin Montgomerie and Scott Drummond lead Scotland’s contingent at Wentworth, traditionally a happy hunting ground for Scottish players.
Former Open and current Andalucian Open champion Paul Lawrie, Stephen Gallacher, Richie Ramsay, David Drysdale, Peter Whiteford, Steven O’Hara and Gary Orr are the regular tour Scots also in the field, with Tartan Tour champion Greig Hutcheon winning a place as one of the PGA regional qualifiers.
England’s Simon Khan defends the title from the best-ever field, with all four major champions Charl Schwartzel, Louis Oosthuizen, Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer playing together for the first time in the PGA.
Seven of the world’s top 10 are playing, as are all but one of last year’s European Ryder Cup team.