Suitably dreich, the weather closed in on Castle Stuart to ensure the prospects of only a second native winner of the Barclays Scottish Open remained bright, although the two Scotsmen sharing the lead are not that weel kent.
Kirkcaldy’s Peter Whiteford, who jokes he should have honorary membership of the Challenge Tour for lifetime appearances, and Scott Jamieson, not regarded as a key prospect until his emergence this year, are tied with former US and Scottish open champion Graeme McDowell at 11-under.
Two delays for thunderous rainstorms in the evening and eventually an early stop meant that the leaders, all of whom played in the morning sunshine, stay out in front by a shot over Jose Manuel Lara of Spain.
McDowell shot a 64, one of three that broke the record of 65 set on the first day, while both Scots had six-under 66s.
The duo are late developers Whiteford is 30, Jamieson 27 but such is their consistency this season that they have pushed themselves forward as contenders to win.
Whiteford, based at Wellsgreen, is 37th on the Race To Dubai while Jamieson, from the Cathkin Braes club in Glasgow, is 43rd.
Whiteford, as is his custom, was keen to deflect any praise on to his friend Jamieson. He said, “This is his first year out here and what he’s been doing is phenomenal.
“He’s not seen the golf courses, every week is a new one to him, so a lot of credit should go to him.” He added, “I’ve been out here for years and I’m not a new face I was out on the Challenge Tour for about a decade.
“The bank balance took a kicking and I was looking for other jobs at one stage, but eventually it worked out.”
Whiteford’s a little tired of retelling the tale now, but he was on the verge of quitting pro golf in 2007 but could not afford to come back home from a Challenge Tour stop, so he went to the next one, the Dutch Futures, and won it.
He won again two weeks later, and although he had to go back to the Challenge Tour for a season, he has barely looked back.Genuine contender”My putting is what’s changed,” Whiteford said about the run that has taken him to be a genuine contender to win on tour.
“I’ve always been average at best at that, but holing consistently from five, six feet keeps the momentum going and the confidence spreads right through the bag.”
He said, “Plus, I’ve been out here a while, I know the courses and the faces, and it’s not as daunting as it was my first season. I guess I’m feeling a bit more at home.”
Whiteford had opportunities to get away from the field, as did Jamieson, who reached 13-under twice but lost three shots at the short holes on the front nine, which he played second.
He also had two eagles, hitting in to four feet at the 18th and rolling in a 35-foot putt at the second.
A front-runner for the tour’s rookie of the year, Jamieson was not excluded from Whiteford’s school of hard knocks.
He started out on the Hooters and Gateway Tours in the US after graduating from Augusta State University, switched to the “third division” EuroPro Tour, then the Challenge Tour.
This time last year, he had virtually no winnings, but the turning point came in the Challenge Tour stop in Kazakhstan.
Jamieson said, “I got 32,000 for second and it was a huge step, because I was within touching distance of the European Tour and the rest of the year was financed.
“Did I think I’d be leading the Scottish Open in a year? We all can dream. But I’m the sort of guy who needs some good results to reassure him, and I’ve slowly built up some belief.”
Round of the day from a Scot came from Paul Lawrie, whose bogey-free 64 included a run of four birdies to move to nine under for the championship, two behind.
“Actually I played pretty much the same as yesterday, but I putted beautifully today,” he said, after an hour on the putting green on Thursday night to change his stroke.
He added, “It’s great to see so many Scots on the leaderboard. Scott Jamieson, considering it’s his first year on tour, he’s doing great. Maybe Scottish golf is not all that bad after all.”