Ewen Ferguson fights back tears after win in Germany secures Open spot

An emotional Ewen Ferguson set his sights on the Open Championship after claiming his third DP World Tour title in the BMW International Open in Munich.

Ferguson carded a final round of 68 at Golfclub Munchen Eichenried to finish 18 under par, two shots clear of England’s Jordan Smith and Australia’s David Micheluzzi, who finished birdie, birdie, eagle.

The 28-year-old from Glasgow revealed after his second round he was glad simply to be playing again following recent bouts of vertigo, but has now secured a place in the 152nd Open at Royal Troon as one of the top five players in the top 20 on the Race to Dubai who were not otherwise exempt.

“I honestly can’t believe it,” Ferguson told Sky Sports as he fought back tears.

“The last four holes I felt like I was in a dream, I just didn’t think this was actually happening. It was crazy.

“I was hitting it so well, I was hitting it so much further than usual. I wanted to do it for my dad, my mum, my sister, my brother at home. I love them so much and every shot I hit I hit with them in mind.

“It’s such a hard game. I’ve been moaning like mad the last two months with also being sick; the exemption with this (win) is so much weight off my shoulders. I’m so happy.

“Teeing it up in Troon, the Open Championship is a tournament that everyone wants to play in and I feel like I could do well there and the Scottish Open next week too.

“It’s such exciting times for me.”

Ferguson revealed that he had been planning to contest final qualifying for the Open on Tuesday, but felt he was playing well enough to secure a place either in Munich or via the Scottish Open at Renaissance Club.

“I played really well the last two weeks at the KLM Open and Italian Open and I was supposed to be flying on Sunday night to play in Open qualifying on Tuesday in Scotland,” he said.

“But after I’d done on Sunday I was like, ‘You know what? I think I’m playing well, maybe I can just play in myself’.

“I didn’t want to tire myself out. I felt like I could maybe win this week or maybe finish in the top 10 in Scotland and get my own spot that way with just good golf.

“So we decided to pull out of Open qualifying and it’s obviously a really good decision. It kept me fresh and I’m here with the trophy.

“I actually got a text from Tommy Fleetwood saying well done so I said to him, let’s get a practice round in [at the Open] so I’m looking forward to that.”

Ferguson and Smith began the final round tied for the lead and Ferguson held a slender advantage with five holes remaining before a decisive two-shot swing on the 14th, where the Scot made birdie and Smith missed from four feet for par.

That forced Smith to attempt to drive the green on the short 16th but his tee shot found the water to effectively end his chances, although he did save par following a penalty drop and also birdied the last to join Micheluzzi in second place.