Alastair Forsyth might not have had as adventurous a journey back as Robert Karlsson, but the Scot had reached home in Glasgow on Friday before learning he had actually made the cut in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
The Scot turned that good fortune into his best performance of a difficult season on his return to Surrey at the weekend rounds of 71 and 70 getting him inside the top 30 of a tournament for the first time in a year.
He said, “I might be complaining that I couldn’t hole anything outside six feet but the way I’ve been playing the last few months that wouldn’t be right.
“I had four solid rounds in Italy last week and four again here so that’s much more encouraging.”
Forsyth did have one poor shot, missing his six-iron layup at the 18th wide left, having to chip out sideways and finishing with a bogey six, but he was not over upset.
He said, “In normal circumstances I’d have been fizzing coming off after that but because I can feel the game coming together again I’m pretty happy.”
Riche Ramsay’s 71 to finish tied for 27th with Forsyth was a disappointment given how much he had promised with a 67 on Thursday, while Colin Montgomerie’s 72 for a five-over finish left him tied for 48th.
Peter Whiteford, another who got in as the cut mark drifted out on Friday, played two-over golf for the weekend and bumped himself up 17 places on the leaderboard with birdies on the last three holes in his final round 72 on Sunday.
The Fifer hit a brilliant two-iron for his second shot to be one of the few to reach and hold the controversial 18th green, two-putting for a tie for 48th place which earned him in the region of £17,000.
He said, “I hit the ball really well but just didn’t score well all week, but it’s been great to play in this event.
“We were dawn patrol yesterday and today and there were hundreds of people watching us, the crowds have been fantastic.”
Whiteford is now within shouting range of securing his playing rights for next year but will keep on until that is achieved.
He said, “I’m set to play the next four weeks and the Open qualifying event at Sunningdale, and I’ll probably just keep going until I get to the point where I can pick and choose.”
Craig Lee also finished with a 72 for an eight-over total but the Tartan Tour’s cheque for just over £8000 was three times what he won for taking the Northern Open last year the win that made him Tartan Tour champion and got him into the championship.
As the highest ranked of the 10 regional PGA players in the field, the Stirling player also picked up a special trophy from the organisers.