Connor Syme tees off in Belgium after bouncing back to form

The work done heading into the event in England on the back of consecutive missed cuts at two previous tournaments in Spain paid off.

For the first time in a while the 26-year-old Fifer found himself in contention come the final day’s play.

An opening 74 was built on with back-to-back 68s over Friday and Saturday.

That saw him in the mix for Sunday where a closing 70 saw Syme finish in a tie for third place on -8, two off winner Thorbjørn Olesen.

Syme, who was joint top British player along with fellow Scot Richie Ramsay, picked up a six figure cheque for his finish as well as a massive 180.33 DP World Tour ranking points.

Those points helped him shoot 39 places up the table to 36th place and inside the top 50.

Crucially, too, the event was the first in the US Open qualifying series, a mini-event which will be played over four DP World Tour tournaments.

Ten spots for the major will be up for grabs for the top ten aggregate points earners, not otherwise exempt, and Syme, following the British Masters, sits third in the rankings.

It all set things up nicely for this week’s event which is being played in Antwerp.

Sadly there is still no sign of a return to competitive play for Kinross DP World Tour member Calum Hill.

Hill has been struggling with injury since late 2021 and remains on the sidelines.