Tournament preview
Ewen Ferguson is hoping to use his solid start to the European Challenge Tour season as a springboard to success at the Dormy Open, which takes place at Österåkers Golfklubb from Wednesday May 19 – Saturday May 22.
The Scotsman secured his second top five in three starts at last week’s Range Servant Challenge by Hinton Golf, a finish which saw him rise to 11th on the Road to Mallorca Rankings as countryman Craig Howie picked up his first Challenge Tour title in a seven-stroke victory.
Ferguson is feeling right at home in Sweden, with playing conditions similar to his native Scotland, and he hopes to take advantage of his comfortable surroundings as he tees it up for the fifth week in a row.
“I think the conditions here are similar to back home,” he said. “Even when the weather is nice it’s never too warm. I think it’s more similar to back home and conditions that I’m used to, grasses that I’m used to, and I think that’s why I played nicely last week as well. Just chipping off that turf with no change in altitude or any of that to deal with.”
The 24-year-old was one of the first men to congratulate Howie after his breakthrough victory in Malmö and he is now looking to make it a double sweep for the Scotsmen in Sweden.
“It was really cool to see Craig winning last week,” he said. “I’ve played with him in the Scottish teams and everything since we were pretty young, in the junior teams and he’s always been a great player, so it was always going to happen eventually for him.
“I think that’s the ultimate goal for me and for everyone that works with me on my game. It’s not a secret that I would just love to win a tournament at some point, so I will give it all I can every week to try and make that happen eventually.”
The 2015 Walker Cup player not only counts Howie as a good friend, but also European Tour stars Calum Hill, Connor Syme and Bob MacIntyre, the latter of whom tees it up in the US PGA Championship this week after a rapid ascent up the Official World Golf Ranking following his Challenge Tour graduation in 2018.
“Hopefully I can play well a lot more times towards the end of the year and finish in the top 20,” he said. “I have a lot of friends on the European Tour, you see Calum, Connor and Bob just killing it week in week out and I still speak to them regularly as well.
“It’s good to have so many guys doing well and you just spur each other on and you almost feel more at home as well when you have so many guys doing well around the world, similar ages to me. No matter where you go there is always someone there from your country that you have known, and it makes you feel more at home.”
The Dormy Open will begin at 7:30am local time on Wednesday May 19, with Ferguson playing alongside Norway’s Espen Kofstad and local favourite Henric Sturehed at 1:25pm.
