David Drysdale becomes latest Scot to clock up 500 appearances on the European Tour

45-year-old delighted to become one of the 'Magnificent Seven'

David Drysdale is joining an exclusive European Tour club

David Drysdale is delighted to become part of a ‘Magnificent Seven’ at a time when Scottish golf is riding on the crest of a wave.

The 45-year-old Cockburnspath man is clocking up his 500th European Tour appearance today in the first round of the Hero Open at Forest of Arden, near Birmingham.

He’s the 44th player to reach the milestone and only the seventh Scot, joining joining Sam Torrance, Colin Montgomerie, Paul Lawrie, Gordon Brand Jnr, Stephen Gallacher and Sandy Lyle in achieving the feat.

Drysdale said it is an “honour” to be in such company and reckons the achievement is adding to a feelgood factor in the Scottish game.

“I think golf in Scotland is booming after lockdown being eased,” he said. “I’ve played a few times at Dunbar, I know Dunbar’s membership is full, but lots of clubs are saying

they are taking on new members.

“The state of the professional game in Scotland is also looking strong with the young guys that have come through – Conor Syme, Grant Forrest, David Law and Bob Macintyre, who had a fantastic season last year. David Law. Loads of young guys coming out.

“I think Scottish golf is in a strong position.It’s nice to not have people going on about the average Scottish age on Tour being 40 years old now.”

Drysdale missed the cut in last week’s Betfred British Masters - his first appearance since being denied a maiden European Tour win by Spaniard Jorge Campillo in a play-off in the Qatar Masters in March.

He’s now set to be among 10 players flying the Saltire in the second of six UK swing events as the tour returns to Forest of Arden after a 15-year gap.

“It’s all fine,” said Drysdale of the safety protocols in place to get the circuit back up and running after a four-month lockdown.

“The European Tour have done a fantastic job to get these six UK Swing events together, with the hotels being mostly onsite and everything.

“The thing I really battled with last week was no atmosphere, no crowd. That is the really hard thing to get your head around, but you’ve got to.

“I found the first round last week really hard to focus, to narrow your focus and get in the zone. I was better the next day, but missed the cut.

“I’m looking forward to this week and really trying to get into the tournament focus and zone, minus the crowds.”

On reaching that milestone, he said: “Of course it is something to be proud of to have stayed out here so long but maybe I can just sneak under the radar, you know me.

“Obviously it’s a big deal in one respect, but it’s not really a big deal to me, it just means I’m getting old and I’ve been out here a really long time!”