Jamieson continues strong form at Ras Al Khaimah

Dubai - The 38-year-old earned a share of the first round lead alongside Germany’s Sebastian Heisele

Scott Jamieson’s strong start to the 2022 DP World Tour season continued at the Ras Al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital as the in-form Scot earned a share of the first round lead alongside Germany’s Sebastian Heisele on Thursday.

The 38-year-old put himself into contention for a second career title two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, leading or sharing the lead after all of the opening three rounds in the first Rolex Series event of the campaign before eventually finishing in a share of 10th spot.

After a solid performance in Dubai last week, Jamieson opened with a seven under 65 at Al Hamra Golf Club — which hosts the DP World Tour for the first time this week — to move to the top of the first round leaderboard for the second time in three weeks.

“My iron play was good today, I didn’t actually drive it particularly well,” said Jamieson. “I wasn’t miles off the fairways but the fairways are firm, so tricky to hit. But there’s not a great deal of rough so I was able to still get it reasonably close.

“I just picked up where I left off at the end of November, I did a bit of work but nothing dramatic. No great overhauls which I’ve maybe been guilty of in the past, instead of just improving on what I have a little bit here and there.”

He joined Dubai-raised Heisele, who also signed for a bogey-free 65 in the benign morning conditions at the northernmost emirate, the 33-year-old making his first appearance on Tour since last September.

“It was a steady round obviously, I’ve had a few months away from golf and I’ve just been trying to get healthy so I’m very pleased with today’s work,” said Heisele.

The UAE’s Ahmad Skaik, who is playing in a third consecutive DP World Tour event, struggled with a five over par 77 but remained upbeat ahead of Friday’s second round.

“It was a bit tough out there for me, I had a bad run at some point but other than that I played some decent golf and hopefully I can keep it up tomorrow and drop the putts which didn’t drop today,” said the Emirati.

“The course is great, they have some tough pins out there, if you’re not hitting the ball well it’s hard to get close. For Ras Al Khaimah to have their first DP World Tour event is wonderful, the more tournaments we have in the UAE the better, and this shows how much the game has evolved in the region. It’s a good sign for the future.”