Germany was not a happy hunting ground for Scotland’s soccer team in this summer’s European Championship, limping home after two defeats and one draw.
But Scotsman Ewen Ferguson will have a little bit of Bavaria in his heart forever after an emotional victory on Sunday in the BMW International Open at Golfclub München Eichenried.
Ferguson, who turned 28 one day earlier, was an impressive two-time winner on the DP World Tour in 2022, his second full season on the circuit.
Last year, however, was slightly more problematic for the Glasgow golfer. He upped his top-20 count from eight to 12, including a lucrative share of ninth in the season-ending DP World Tour Championship, but he wasn’t getting into contention enough to make genuine bids for more success.
The current season started in solid fashion with five more top-20s tallied before the end of March, whereupon a series of physical issues were diagnosed as vertigo and proved difficult enough to deal with that he was forced to withdraw from the European Open in Hamburg at the start of June.
“It was quite tough,” he conceded after he opened a two-shot halfway lead in Munich. “Vertigo makes you feel so funny. You get days where you feel totally normal and think you can play again, like I tried to do in Hamburg, and then it came on again and I was like, Oh, no.
“When you’re on the sidelines watching the golf, you realise how lucky you are to play it. I couldn’t wait to get back out. My first event back was the KLM Open. I love that, and I love Munich.”
He was caught at the top of the leaderboard by charging Englishman Jordan Smith in the third round. The pair spent Sunday tussling for the title, although Ferguson always had the upper hand and rarely looked as if he would concede a lead gained when Smith made a bogey at the par-3 second.
Ferguson carded rounds of 67-64-71-68 for 18-under 270, leaving him two clear of Smith and Australian David Micheluzzi. Englishman Matthew Southgate and another Scot, Connor Syme, shared fourth, two more strokes back.
“It’s such a hard game. I’ve been moaning like mad the last two months with being sick. I’m so happy, I can’t believe it.”
Ewen Ferguson
The tournament represented a DP World Tour farewell for Bernhard Langer, a 66-year-old native of Bavaria and a two-time Masters champion. His 46 victories on the former European Tour ranks second only to the late Seve Ballesteros. Langer, who missed the cut after rounds of 71 and 73, was celebrated all week by the German gallery.
Ferguson became the third Scottish winner of the event, after Sandy Lyle in 1991 and Colin Montgomerie in 1999.
“I honestly can’t believe it,” Ferguson said after a tearful tap-in par at the final hole. “The last four holes, I felt like I was in a dream. I didn’t think that this was actually happening. It was crazy, I was hitting it so well and so much further than usual.
“I just wanted to do it for my dad, my mum, my sister and my brother at home. I love them so much, and every shot I hit, I hit with them in mind.
The top 20 players in the 2024 Race to Dubai after the BMW International Open not already exempt earn spots in the Open Championship at Royal Troon. Ferguson won one of those spots along with Sweden’s Jesper Svensson, England's Laurie Canter, Spain's Nacho Elvira and Italy's Matteo Manassero.
Matt Cooper