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Student Series

Jamieson on course for Troia double in Student Tour Series

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The R&A
28 Feb 25
3 mins
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University of St Andrews scholar Lucy Jamieson knows all about the agony and ecstasy of playing Troia Golf Club. 

The English golfer has experienced both in two previous tournaments around the Robert Trent Jones Snr-designed layout on the Troia Peninsula across the water from the city of Setubal. No surprise then that Jamieson experienced both again in the opening round of the R&A Student Tour Series – Portugal (STS). Thankfully, ecstasy shaded the agony of playing arguably the toughest course on mainland Europe.

Weather affected

At least Jamieson and the rest of the women’s field finished the opening round. Not so for the men. Heavy early morning rain caused a 30-minute delay, only for Mother Nature to completely nix the day’s play at 4:29 pm. That’s when thunder and lightning along with more heavy rain forced competitors off the golf course.  University of Stirling student George Cannon holds a three-shot lead in the men’s event. He is on three-under-par through 17 holes. His drive had just found the middle of the 18th fairway when the horn sounded to suspend play.  Jamieson, who is studying for a master’s degree in chemistry, returned a level-par 72 around Troia to take a four-shot lead into the second round over St Andrews teammates Judy Joo and Eliza Dana.  Heswall Golf Club member Jamieson was three-under-par standing on the 11th tee thanks to birdies at the 1st, 2nd, 7thand 10th holes to go with a bogey the 9th. However, she dropped a shot at the par-5, 14th before double bogeying the 15th when her 3-wood tee shot found sandy scrub to the left of the fairway. 
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George Cannon is aiming to win in Portugal and climb from his current fourth position in the 2025 Order of Merit.

Level par solid start

“I’ve played enough here to know level par is a good score, so I am happy with that score, but I had a frustrating last few holes which has dampened my mood a little,” Jamieson said. The plus six handicapper is essentially the defending champion this week. She won the second of her three STS wins when the tournament was last here in February 2023. There were smiles on that occasion. It made up for the tears she wept 12 months earlier on her Troia debut, finishing 16 shots behind winner Lorna McClymont. The early inclement weather perhaps was in Jamieson’s favour. She won the 2024 final at St Andrews in the tough conditions that plagued the final round over the Old Course. Jamieson’s level par score in brutal winds and driving rain is one of the best rounds in STS history. “I find I play better when it’s raining,” Jamieson explained. “I’m somehow just a bit more focused, which you have to be here. I actually love this golf course even though I’ve been in tears after playing it. It’s a challenge that you’ve got to embrace.  “It’s what I would call a “freeing” golf course because you’re going to make mistakes, but you know everyone else is too. So I know not to panic about dropped shots, that’s why the double bogey was disappointing but I knew it wasn’t disastrous. It’s just a case of eliminating as many mistakes as possible on this course.”

Cannon ahead

Cannon sits on three-under with England’s Lucas Martin, a University of Central Lancaster student, the only player on level par. Four players share third on plus one 72. Cannon was three-over when he walked off the 3rd green but he birdied six of the next 14 holes to move to the top of the leaderboard. Cannon can add to that with a good shot into the par-5 18th green when he returns in the morning to complete his round.  The Glenbervie Golf Club member won the STS -Scotland in a play-off at Montrose in September 2022. His best finish since then is third at Halmstad last September, the opening event in this season’s series. Like Jamieson on the women’s table, he occupies fourth on the Order of Merit.
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Student Series