James Ross left on his own in Open qualifying

JAMES ROSS laughed off being left to play alone as he put up a valiant attempt to qualify for The Open earlier this week.

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But the Royal Burgess man would prefer if there was no repeat over the next two days as he now bids to get into the Scottish Open.

Ross found himself in the strange position of losing both his playing partners in Tuesday’s scramble for Open spots at Gailes Links.

First Peter Whiteford decided to pull out after the first round then Gavin Moynihan retired injured during the second circuit, leaving R&A officials having to step in and get Ross to join the group in front for the final two holes as he came up just short of booking a trip to Troon.

“It was a bit of a shambles at times, to be honest,” admitted the Houston-based player. “But me and my caddie, Joe Lockie, had a good laugh about it as there was nothing else we could do.”

This weekend’s Scottish Open qualifier at Moray Golf Club in Lossiemouth has five spots up for grabs in next week’s £3.25 million main event at Castle Stuart.

West Linton’s Gareth Wright, who came through the same test 12 months ago to play at Gullane, is trying his luck again in the 36-hole shoot-out that carries a £50,000 prize fund.