SCOTT Jamieson recovered from a nightmare start to his second round to claim a share of the halfway lead in the BMW PGA Championship, an event he labelled the “pinnacle” of his season.
Jamieson followed a bogey on the first with a double bogey on the third, but birdied seven of the next nine holes – including four in a row from the ninth – to add a 70 to his opening 67.
That left the 33-year-old from Glasgow on seven under par alongside Belgium’s Thomas Pieters and Italy’s Francesco Molinari on top of a crowded leaderboard, with Germany’s Max Kieffer a shot behind.
Open champion Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood, Branden Grace and 2015 winner Byeong Hun An were a shot further back on five under, while Masters runner-up Justin Rose eagled the last to make the cut.
Jamieson narrowly retained his card in each of the last two seasons by finishing 106th and 107th on the Race to Dubai, but can afford to focus on securing a second European Tour title after two top-four finishes in 2017.
“This would be up there with the Scottish Open,” Jamieson said. “I’m not in any of the majors this year so this is as big as it gets. This is the pinnacle of my season.
“It’s huge, it’s our flagship event. It would start opening up doors that have been closed for a few years. You want to challenge yourself against the world’s best and we don’t get to do that every week, but we do this week. Hopefully I can take a few of them down.”
Speaking about his round, Jamieson added: “I’m delighted, especially with the way it started.
“Making birdies is something I’ve always thrived on. That’s where you get the buzz.”
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