Next week’s US Open at Shinnecock Hills was looking like a Scottish-free zone. Thank goodness then for the last chance saloon of the 36-hole sectional qualifers.

Richie Ramsay, who played in the 2007 event as an amateur and came through the qualifying shoot-out for the 2017 championship, teed-up a third appearance in the US showpiece by sharing second place at Walton Heath in Surrey.

Across the Atlantic in Ohio, meanwhile, Inverness exile Russell Knox, the two-time PGA Tour winner, eased through in a share of fifth at the Brookside Country Club. Ryan Lumsden, the amateur Anglo-Scot who was beaten in the final of last year’s Scottish Amateur Championship, also qualified there on the six-under limit.

Calum Hill of Kinross, who has won a couple of events on the US mini-tour scene since turning pro last year, shared top spot at Canoe Brook to set up a debut in the US Open and bolster Scottish numbers in the second men’s major of the season.