Heavy rain had battered the Royal Durban Golf Club course in December 2012 at the inaugural Nelson Mandela Championship, leaving sections so waterlogged that officials had to cut roughly 1,600 yards from the layout, reducing it to a par-65 course for the 36-hole contest. Amidst those unusual conditions, Scott Jamieson fired a remarkable 57 before beating Eduardo de la Riva and Steve Webster in a playoff to claim his first and only European title.

He went winless for 14 years. But that changed over the weekend at Trump course, in a tournament with a €3,000,000 (roughly $3.5 million) prize purse, and the 42-year-old turned emotional.

“Fourteen years, that’s wild… It’s just so tough, so hard to win. I was so patient all day… just can’t believe I’ve won,” Jamieson told a reporter after his win at the Nexo Championship before being overcome with emotion.

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While he stopped short of shedding a tear or two, the win is in stark contrast to when he had to fight to keep his DP World Tour card. Jamieson entered the 2023 season finale under immense pressure, sitting 119th in the Race to Dubai standings. Of course, only the top 116 players would retain their full DP World Tour cards. With his career at risk and the prospect of returning to the Challenge Tour weighing heavily on him, Jamieson needed a strong showing at Doha Golf Club. 

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He delivered immediately with a 7-under 65 to share the opening-round lead, and although a shaky final-round front nine threatened to undo his work, he rallied with a string of crucial birdies on the back nine. Jamieson’s resilience ultimately earned him a tie for third, sending him soaring from 119th to 82nd in the standings and securing his DP World Tour card for another season. This year, he was on a similar path, as he ranked 135th in the rankings. But with the win, he is in a much safer spot.

“Obviously, the position I was in this year, I was starting to get to the business end of the season and didn’t have a lot of points up,” he added. “So yeah, to win and get a couple of years of free go is nice.”

What made the win even more special is the fact that his 14-year wait ended on his home soil. But when the tournament began on Friday, he didn’t exactly have the exemplary start despite practicing through Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Jamieson carded rounds of 2-under par 70 and 1-under par 71 in the first two rounds before 3-under par 69 on Saturday and 5-under par 67 on Sunday to win the tournament. 

“I was kind of patient all week. I think when you get the weather like we had, it’s easy to be patient because level par is a good score,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Jamieson credits his win to his coach, Jamie Gough. 

“He’s helped me tremendously in the last couple of months. I was feeling good, but that doesn’t always translate into good results. But it did this week,” he added. 

While Scott Jamieson, who had six consecutive top-20 finishes in his maiden Challenge Tour season that earned him his DP World Tour card in 2011, will celebrate tonight, the tournament appears to have been stolen from someone else. 

A two-stroke penalty robbed Shaun Norris of a win

On Saturday, Shaun Norris looked on course for a memorable victory after producing three impressive rounds at the Nexo Championship. The South African entered Sunday with a two-shot cushion at the top of the leaderboard, having reached 9-under par. However, his hopes of lifting the trophy took a major hit during the final round at Trump International Golf Links.

The 44-year-old was preparing to play his approach from the fairway on the par-4 fifth when he kicked away a replaced divot with his right foot. Controversially, officials determined that the action improved the conditions affecting his stance, resulting in a violation of Rule 8.1a and a two-stroke penalty. Norris was informed only after completing the ninth hole, and the penalty turned his par on No. 5 into a double bogey, dropping him to 7-under.

He eventually carded a 5-under overall to finish tied for 7th, six shots behind Scott Jamieson. Clearly, one man’s bad luck has turned into another’s fortune. But as far as Jamieson is concerned, his wait has finally come to an end.