Loch Lomond

I am pleased to report another good week. I was exhausted after Open qualifying on Monday and Tuesday, so I had a lie in on Wednesday morning before going to the course to practice. The chipping area is a really good facility at Loch Lomond as you can practice a variety of shots. The area got a little busy before the Pro-Am teed off, at lunchtime, it also got a little dangerous, with a couple of amateurs over hitting their shots and just missing the pros on the other side of the green!

This is one of the best events on the European Tour, everything is made nice and easy for us. The player's lounge is on the back of the driving range and it is a great lounge with some lovely food.

Thursday and Friday I played with Wen-chong Liang and Richard Finch. I played a lot of amateur golf with Finchy so it is always nice to catch up and have a chat. I got off to a good start with four birdies in five holes on the front nine. I was pleased to finish the day with a round of 67, 4 under par. On Friday I got off to a steady start, the back nine plays a little harder than the front nine so I was pleased to be 2 under at the turn, I made a couple of silly bogeys on the fourth and fifth, before a chip in eagle on the long par 5, 6th and birdie on the 7th. It was a good round in windy conditions, and I was pleased to be 7 under par and in a great position going into the weekend.

It was nice to be in one of the last few groups on Saturday, the crowds were fairly big all week, I think the school holidays and hot weather kept the course busy. I played with Soren Kjeldson from Denmark. I got off to a great start with a birdie on the first and then struggled for the next few holes before clawing my score back to level par for the day, only to finish bogey, par, double bogey. I hate making excuses but I was exhausted from my busy start to the week and think this played a part in my poor finish.

I had a number of friends and supporters out watching me this week which is nice, it is as close to a home tournament I get now that Slaley Hall is no longer on the schedule. It is always nice to hear "Geordie" voices in the crowd and this week when I was walking from greens to tees it was great to hear people wishing me well. There were also a few old faces in the crowd that I hadn?t seen since my amateur days who had come to watch.

I had another early night and woke up to a change in weather, we had rain for most of my round but it was still fairly warm. I played well and made a couple of good putts in the last few holes to finish strongly. A good round of 2 under par took me back to a tie of 17th place. I am at last making the most of my good play. I didn't manage to get the last spot for Turnberry this week but I will be watching the TV to see how everyone gets on.