Scottish Challenge winner on his Sauce Army fan club - 'they'll be going nuts!'

After carding a brilliant 62 in Saturday’s third round on the Hawkshill Course at the Aberdeenshire venue to go from one behind at the halfway stage to four shots clear, the final circuit proved to be a victory procession for the charismatic 31-year-old.

Finishing in style with a hat-trick of birdies, Brandon Thompson signed off with a 66 for a 22-under-par total. Putting his performance into context, that was seven shots better than compatriot Sam Bairstow’s winning aggregate at the same venue 12 months earlier and 11 better than Spaniard Javier Sainz’s victorious score in 2022.

It was Brandon Thompson’s second success on the Challenge Tour after landing his breakthrough win in last year’s Irish Classic. Jumping from 46th to ninth in the Road to Mallorca Rankings, he’s teed up a great opportunity to secure one of the 20 DP World Tour cards up for grabs after coming up just short in 22nd spot following last year’s season-ending Grand Final.

“It’s hard to put into words really from where I was a month ago mentally,” he said of a victory worth £40,000. “I’ve made a lot of changes team-wise and, if you’d told me that in four weeks time I’d be winning, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

Pressed on what had been holding him back, Brandon Thompon, who played in the US Open at Pinehurst in June after coming through a European qualifier at Walton Heath, added: “A little bit off the course stuff. There was no real intention or direction as far as my game went.

“I’ve got a YouTube channel and was rediscovering myself. I went back to see my putting coach that I hadn’t seen for a long time while I also ended up switching swing coach two weeks ago. I just found that the intent towards the game and my focus has been on a different level these last two or three weeks.”

On another week, Dane Hamish Brown could easily have come out on top with a 14-under total instead of having to settle for second spot, with South African Robin Williams a further shot back in third place.

“Yeah, it would have been nice, wouldn’t it? But that may have been taking the p*** a little bit,” said Robinson Thompson, laughing, of almost holing his second shot at the final hole. “Look, you just never know when putts are going to drop and when you are going to play great. It just so happened that I pretty much played great for four days this week.”

It was during last year’s 151st Open at Royal Liverpool that it became evident that the Isle of Wight-born player has a fan club. “It is actually called the Sauce Army and they are probably going nuts as we speak,” he said, smiling. “I’m just looking forward to calling my wife and family and enjoying it.”

After a closing 67, Craig Howie finished as the leading Scot in a tie for 14th on nine under, one ahead of Calum Fyfe following a sore 7-5 finish cost him four shots and a place in the top five.