Connor Syme conjures up rare bogey-free round on tough Donald Trump course

“It’s not been the season I wanted at all,” admitted the 31-year-old, who landed his maiden win on the circuit in the KLM Open last year but, out of nowhere, lost the consistency that had been his trademark during the current campaign.

In the 15 events he’d teed up this season before this one on home soil, Syme had missed ten cuts, including the last three in a row, and sits 184th in the Race to Dubai. To put that into perspective, he finished as high as 28th on the points list in 2022 and was 47th, 51st and 49th in the three seasons thereafter.

Having secured an exemption for his breakthrough title triumph in the Netherlands, Syme doesn’t have to worry about losing his card at the end of the season, which he admitted is a “bonus”. It said it all, though, that he also talked about “a lot of pride being involved” between now and the end of the campaign.

The Fife-based player wants to start climbing up the rankings and more of what he produced in the second round of the Nexo Championship will certainly see that happen. It’s almost impossible to keep a bogey off your card on this Martin Hawtree-designed, yet, in a testing wind at the Donald Trump-owned venue at Balmedie, Syme managed it.

Starting at the tenth, he birdied the 13th, third, fourth and ninth. It left him signing for a joint-best-of-the-day 68 and, along with compatriot Scott Jamieson, Syme is heading into the weekend in the mix in the $3 million tournament. “That was great,” he said of his morning’s work. “Very solid. I didn’t put myself in too much trouble on a very tricky golf course. So I’m very happy with that.”

Syme was hampered earlier in the year by a back issue while he talked at the Genesis Scottish Open last month about how he felt in a “bit of a storm”. On this evidence, the former Australian Amateur champion is finally starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

“It’s definitely one of the rounds of the season for sure,” he added, smiling. “It’s been a while since I have been up at the top of a board. I played pretty solid at the Dubai Invitational, but I had a bad round on the Sunday. But there are definite signs of some really good golf coming and it was nice to do that today. It kind of reminded me of the British Amateur rounds back in the day and I was inspired by that memory a little bit.”

With the Back 9 Swing and two big-money Play-Offs to come, there’s still time for Syme to make it a year to remember. “It could still be my best season ever with a lot of big tournaments coming up and some great opportunities,” he pointed out. “I’ll miss the odd one here and there because my wife (Alanis) is expecting in November, so I’ll play it by ear a little bit.”

Jamieson also arrived in Aberdeenshire looking for a boost. After following an opening 70 with a 71 to sit on three under - one behind leader and links specialist Matthew Southgate, who illuminated his second straight 70 with a hole-out eagle 2 at the seventh - it could well be a lot bigger than even he might have been hoping for. “It was another good day,” said the Florida-based Scot after signing for five birdies and four bogeys. “I was very steady, though maybe not as good off the tee.”

Jamieson sits 135th in the Race to Dubai and needs to be in the top 100 at the end of the season to hold on to a card he’s had since 2011, having landed a sole success in 420 starts in the 2012 Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS HANDA in South Africa.

“It’s been a while since I was in this position at halfway,” admitted the 42-year-old, who sits joint-second in a group with South African Shaun Norris, Englishman Matthew Jordan and Marcus Kinhult, the Swede having followed his best-of-the-day 67 on Thursday with a 74. “There is still a lot of golf to be played, but I’m really happy to be in a good spot going into the weekend and wouldn’t mind these conditions for the next two days,” added Jamieson.

Jordan, who won the St Andrews Links Trophy in 2017 when he was still an amateur, started birdie-birdie-birdie-eagle in his second circuit to move to five under. There was no way he could keep that going, though, after turning into the wind. “To start like that enabled me to then just hopefully try and plod along,” he said after having to settle for a 69.

Elliot Baker, Jordan’s compatriot and the only amateur in the field, is just one shot off the lead after rising to the challenge against the pros and, in doing so, no doubt delighting Dean Robertson, the Great Britain & Ireland captain, as he looks forward to the 23-year-old being on his Walker Cup team at Lahinch in a fortnight’s time.

Patrick Reed, the Race to Dubai leader, had the wind taken out his sails somewhat by a double-bogey 5 at the sixth - India’s Shubhankar Sharma made an ace there a bit later with a 6-iron - but, on one over, he’s still handily-placed. So, too, is Spaniard Eugenio Chacarra, a fellow two-time winner on the circuit this season, on two over.

Grant Forrest, the defending champion, was on a bogey train and dicing with the cut before a birdie at the par-3 16th got him back to four over, with eight Scots in total still standing after Euan Walker, Ewen Ferguson, Daniel Young, who matched Syme’s 68, Cameron Adam, Gregor Graham and Martin Laird, who was bogey-free as well in his 69, also progressed to the weekend. Falling at five over, the cut was the highest of the season.