It was always going to be a case of when rather than if Ewen Ferguson would knock off his first DP World Tour title but I did not expect it to come so quickly.
Ewen suffered a sore one when he failed to close out victory at the Kenya Open on March 6, but he showed how much he learned after putting together a terrific finish to win the Qatar Masters on Sunday.
My uncle Bernard always used to say win as many times as you can as an amateur as the experience and feeling of what it takes to win will serve you well as a professional and he is spot-on.
A win is a win, no matter what level you are playing at. You have to re-learn what it takes to beat the rest of the field as you move up the professional ranks, but Ewen has done that brilliantly.
It’s funny – I can remember Ewen winning the inaugural Stephen Gallacher Foundation trophy in 2013 with Bob MacIntyre winning it the following year, so to see them both going on to become professionals at the top level is fantastic.
Ewen has had to do it all the hard way, too, having come up through the Challenge Tour only to lose his European Tour card and have to earn his spurs for a second time.
Add in Covid and he has had his fair share of trials and tribulations in recent years, but the important part is he has never stopped believing.
I was sad to hear him of talk of the abuse he received on social media after failing to win the Kenya Open earlier in the month.
Pressure affects us all
There is pressure involved in this and it is can be really tough. Some days you handle it well, other days it beat you.
Even the great Tiger Woods suffers from the jitters. He has one of the worst opening tee shots in the world because of how nervous he feels standing on that first tee.
Personally, I believe you can only play if you have those nerves running through your body.
There are so many little things you have become accustomed to. If you are doing well in a tournament the first time the camera appears behind you as you are playing a shot can be a little daunting.
It is right there you realise – ‘I’m on the telly’ – and it brings another level of pressure to your shots.
The late Adam Hunter, who I worked with for a while, used to tell me I had to learn to embrace the camera, want it there, crave it, learn to love it.
Why?
Because it meant I was playing well.
We all suffer from nerves when trying to win, but it is the one who handles it best who wins. Ewen has learned that lesson in the space of three weeks.
Scheffler the latest from the conveyor belt of US talent
Scottie Scheffler’s rise to number one golfer in the world has been nothing short of sensational.
The American reached the summit by winning the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play on Sunday.
It was his third win in two months following victories at the Phoenix Open and Arnold Palmer Invitational.
What a run.
The US lads are a different breed right now. It’s almost as if there is a conveyor belt operating somewhere due to the number of outstanding American golfers who seem to be appearing on a regular basis.
It all started with Collin Morikawa a couple of years ago, but it feels as if every three months another superstar emerges.
But Scheffler’s rise to prominence has been unprecedented. Nobody has risen faster to world number one after winning his first tournament than this guy.
Tiger Woods did it in 252 days. Scheffler needed just 42.
What is even more incredible, however, is the fact Scheffler is just the ninth American to be world number one.
There’s only been 25, largely due to the incredible years of dominance of Tiger, but I’m still amazed that we’ve only had nine Americans on the top of the pile, especially given how many terrific players there seems to be from across the pond.
Whatever Scheffler’s secret is, I wish I knew it.
I know this much – given his red-hot form right now, he has to be a firm contender for the Masters next week.
Bradley’s putting process was excruciating
How long is too long?
I find myself asking that question after seeing how long it took Keegan Bradley to make a putt at the Match Play last week.
He adopts the Aimpoint approach. I’ve done that, too, but I’ve never seen any version of it look remotely like what he was doing.
Honestly, it was the longest minute of my life watching it and it must have felt excruciating for his opponent Jordan Spieth.
Not the best advertisement for either Aimpoint or pace of play it has to be said – pic.twitter.com/kpodOxbUBK
— TheGolfDivoTee™ (@TheGolfDivoTee) March 23, 2022
We all have a process we go through, but Bradley took too long. You would not get away with that if you were serving in tennis or bowling in cricket.
We have to introduce a shot penalty or make it you lose the hole if you do it in match play, because it’s just not on.
At best it’s too slow, at worst it is disrespectful to his opponent.
I don’t know if it was mind games on Bradley’s part or if he was just that slow. We’ll find out when he is back playing stroke play tournaments.