Chapman following Emerson's footsteps

Veteran Roger Chapman is hoping he can cash in on some good omens and regain his European Tour card at the Cadillac Russian Open by following in the footsteps of last year’s winner Gary Emerson.

Chapman, 46, lost his card last year – as did Emerson the previous season - and he has also just started working with ‘mind magician’ Jamil Qureshi, as had Emerson just over 12 months ago.

And he hopes a new outlook on his game can help him return to the top tier of European golf after just one year’s absence.

“I have started working with Jamil and he has got me into this carefree attitude where I am just going out to play golf,” said Chapman ahead of an event co-sanctioned by the European and Challenge Tours.

“I was getting uptight with myself, not angry but more frustrated and worried. I have played 13 events this year and only missed two cuts so I am doing Thursday and Friday okay but Saturday and Sunday I have been going backwards.

“I only started working with Jamil on Sunday night so we shall see what the attitude is like when we get going. It’s a lovely coincidence with Gary – let’s hope he (Jamil) can bring me some luck.”

Although the event has been weakened considerably by the fourth major of the year – the USPGA Championship – there is still quite a lot of interest in the field.

Former tennis world number one Yevgeny Kafelnikov, an eight-handicapper and vice-president of the Russian Golf Federation, is playing, as is Nick Faldo’s protégé James Heath.

There are also some more established names in the form of England’s Peter Baker and Scotland’s Andrew Coltart.