On a first perusal, the name ‘Korn Ferry Tour’ looks like something you'd read in a pamphlet about sight-seeing excursions down the Sacramento River on a paddle steamer. For Nairn’s Sandy Scott, it’s all aboard.
As he continues his professional voyage, the Scotsman’s next port of call is the aforementioned Korn Ferry Tour, the second-tier US circuit that feeds directly into the land of milk and honey that is the main PGA Tour.
It’s been quite the journey so far for the former Walker Cup player. Gaining a foothold in the professional game is never easy and often requires the kind of intrepid, eye-opening treks that Columbus used to embark on.
For Texas Tech graduate Scott, it was a case of heading south of the border, down Mexico way. And to Brazil. And Colombia and Peru.
His apprenticeship on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica – now renamed the PGA Tour Americas – was certainly an experience but one that has served him well.
A final flourish in the circuit’s tour championship recently saw him close with a 66, rocket into second place and, more importantly, seal one of 10 promotion places on offer for the Korn Ferry circuit.
It’s onwards and upwards. “I was thrown in at the deep end a bit going down there,” said Scott of his bounce around Latin America.
“There was the language barrier for a start, and it all felt like an uncomfortable environment. You sometimes heard the odd story of players getting into bother in some of these countries. I came away unscathed.
“It was challenging but a great experience. I felt if I could compete there, then I could play anywhere in the world. It taught me a lot about how to handle life as a pro. That tour really helped me thrive.”
Despite four successive top-10s earlier in the campaign, Scott arrived at the final event of the season needing a grandstand finish to barge his way up from 23rd on the rankings and into the all-important top-10.
A third round 74 dented those ambitions but his all-or-nothing closing effort sealed his step-up in style.
“In the circumstances, it was the best round of my career,” added Scott, whose younger brother Calum won the silver medal in July’s Open at Royal Troon.
“Even now, it’s quite hard for me to comprehend the things I had to do in that last round to gain a spot on the (Korn Ferry) tour. I couldn’t have been a shot worse, and I did it by the skin of my teeth.
“After that third round, I felt a bit defeated. But in hindsight, if that round didn’t happen, I probably wouldn’t have been able to dig myself out of the emotional hole I was in and be ready for the last day.”
Back on this side of the pond, Scott is making headway towards the DP World Tour too having passed stage one of the qualifying school last week. There’s still a heck of a way to go, mind you, and Scott still needs to negotiate a 72-hole second stage and a gruelling six-round final.
“I already have my Korn Ferry Tour card, so there’s nothing to lose,” said Scott. “If I was to get a tour card over here, though, then I’d have to have a big conversation about where would be best for me to play.”
For the time being, Scott is relishing the prospect of a new challenge on the Korn Ferry circuit. His fellow highlander, Russell Knox, as well as Glasgow exile Martin Laird, both earned PGA Tour spots through the second-tier circuit when it was called the Nationwide Tour and the Web.com Tour. They also went on to become tour champions.
“As someone from the north of Scotland, Russell was always someone I looked up to and it would be great to follow him,” added Scott of the two-time PGA Tour winner who is back on the Korn Ferry Tour having lost his full playing privileges at the top table.
Scott has plenty of other inspiring figures to lean on too. His good friend, and former Texas Tech team-mate, Ludvig Aberg, is now fifth in the world having enjoyed the kind of rapid rise that would give most folk the bends.
“We all knew how good he was,” said Scott of the brilliant Swede, who made his Ryder Cup debut last year barely four months after turning pro. “He’s a great guy to talk to and he’s shown what is possible. I’m chasing him down.”
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