Scot overcomes 'brutal' test to make most of unexpected Nexo Championship chance

After recent wins, David Law and Daniel Young have effectively secured their step up from the second-tier circuit to the DP World Tour next season, with Euan Walker also in a card-winning position in the battle to be in the top 20 on the Road to Mallorca Rankings.

Sitting 31st, Lumsden is also in with a shout of securing a seat at the top table next season but, instead of teeing up in the Irish Challenge at Killeen Castle this week, he’s in action in the DP World Tour’s Nexo Championship at Trump International Golf Links near Aberdeen.

“I wasn’t expecting it all, to be honest,” admitted the London-born player who proudly flies the Saltire through Edinburgh grandparents. “I’d really committed to getting off the HotelPlanner Tour this year and I have been doing okay on it. A couple of good weeks and I’ll have a chance to get my DP World Tour card.

“So I wasn’t even thinking about playing here. I’d booked everything for Ireland then last Tuesday I was driving down to play in the Scottish Challenge when I got the text inviting me to play here.

“I had a quick chat with my coaches as I really wanted to play, but I had to decide if it was the correct decision to change plans at the last minute. I’ve played well in Ireland the last few years.

“But, at the end of the day, you only get so many chances to play in your home event on a golf course this good on the DP World Tour. So it was something I couldn’t really pass up on and everyone was telling me ‘go for it, go have fun and see what you can do’.”

He fared pretty well in the opening round, signing for a one-under-par 71, which included a burst of three straight birdies on his back nine, to sit alongside in-form Young and Grant Forrest as well as the leading Scots.

“For sure,” he replied to being asked if he felt pleased to break par. “I mean, it’s brutal out there. The thing with this course is that it feels like every single hole can get you. And then you chuck in 20mph winds gusting to 30mph today, so tricky.

“So, yeah, it is nice to get off to a solid-ish start. I think it was a little bit of a colourful scorecard - a couple of birdies and a couple of bogeys. What I find is that the key is to stay aggressive.

“It’s easy to get a bit passive out there and avoid the mistake, just because that’s the nature of this golf course. Mistakes are going to punish you massively, but, for me, it is going to be about trying to stay aggressive and keep hitting as good a golf shot as I can.”

This is only Lumsden’s ninth DP World Tour appearance and his first since 2022. “It’s just so special to be playing back in Scotland and it is really special to have a chance on the main tour,” he said, hoping to have a full schedule of them next season and reckoning that the Scots are feeding off each other this season on the HotelPlanner Tour.

“We are all very close,” he said of the Caledonian contingent. “I’ve been paired with Dave Law in two of the last three tournaments while I spend a lot of time with Euan (Walker) and Danny (Young). We’ll play cards together in the afternoon, which is nice, and they are all such friendly guys. I think that does bring everyone up when you see your best buds on tour doing well.

“Danny has won after finishing second and third, I came second to Dave a couple of weeks ago while Euan has been playing some great golf. Yeah, everyone uses each other as role models and that pushes you on. It’s nice when you’ve got that tight-knit group of guys.”

Young is a perfect example of how it takes time for a player to find their feet on the feeder circuit, having made it to the Grand Final for the first time last year and now playing some incredible golf.

“The level down there is really, really, really high,” said Lumsden, who saw his game blossom at Northwestern University under the watchful eye of fellow Scot David Inglus.

“The courses we play are a little easier, for sure. So they are a little more scoreable. But, if you go and shoot ten or 12 under - as I have done a couple of times this year - you don’t really make much headway.

“You need to be pushing to 16 under or 20 under. When we played in Germany, we all thought it was a relatively tough course - long, tight and slopey greens. But someone shot 24 under par.

“The level is very good and I think that’s why you’ve seen a lot of guys come up from the HotelPlanner Tour over the last few years and having massive success. You look at [Kristoffer] Reitain. You look at Angel Ayora and a couple of other guys, including [Martin] Couvra.

“They have been well prepared for the top tour and it’s good as it makes you want to play really good golf. This is the the dream. There’s a little more feel to it - it’s awesome. So playing out here is the goal, but you have to play great to get off (the HotelPlanner Tour).”

KLM Open winner Connor Syme opened with a par-72 to sit alongside Aberdonian David Law and Marc Warren, while Ewen Ferguson started birdie-birdie-birdie before having to settle for a 74. In his first DP World Tour start since 2018, four-time PGA Tour winner Martin Laird could only manage a 77.