Scott Jamieson’s quietly-confident of taming the continuing strong desert Shamal winds heading into the weekend rounds of the Bahrain Championship.
The Jacksonvillle-based Scot toughed-out the winds on day two of the inaugural event posting a one-under 71 for a two-round six-under tally on the host Royal Golf course on the oil-rich Middle East island.
It left Jamieson trailing just three adrift of the leading threesome of South African Dylan Frittelli (68), Switzerland’s Joel Girrbach (70) and Swede Jesper Svensson (65) who lead the way at nine-under.
Scotland’s Scott Jamieson ready to brave the weekend Shamal set to hit the Bahrain Championship
Just 13 players in the 132 player field managed to break 70 on day two over the Colin Montgomerie designed layout also where oil pipelines run alongside the course.
Jamieson was bogey-free on day one but with the Sharmal winds gusting up to around 30 mph and more of the same over the weekend.
He said: “I would have taken anything under par out there today before tee-off, given the conditions.
“The good thing is today I gave myself a lot more chances to score than compared to yesterday (Thursday) but then putting in the wind can just be as challenging as trying to get the ball close.
“Though like I say, anything under par in those conditions is a good day”.
Jamieson, competing in his 353rd DP World Tour event, managed three birdies and with the pick being holing a seven-footer for a birdie ‘3’ and for a second day running at the 15th.
However, with the Shamal winds set to continue over the weekend it’s going to be all about keeping the ball on the greens and the bogeys of the cards.
Jamieson said: “It just got gustier and gustier out there this afternoon, and that made the course play very tricky.
“That’s going to be the challenge over the weekend as you could be playing a 5-iron one minute whereas it’s an 8-iron next, and especially if you then are fighting cross-winds.
“All I can do is keep doing what I am doing. I am pretty happy with how I handled today’s conditions, so hopefully more of that over the weekend”.
Fifer Connor Syme and Gleneagles attached Calum Hill each signed for 72s to be at four-under and three-under.
Newly-married Grant Forrest has weekend work for a third of four weeks in the Middle East also in posting a second round 72 to be at two-under while Richie Ramsay (73) is one back at one-under.
Missing the Bahrain cut by two shots is David Law (71 & 76) and also Stephen Gallacher with poor rounds of 76 and 78.
Gallacher had finished fourth in 2011 when the Tour was last in Bahrain.
