Scott Jamieson may be fighting for his European Tour survival but the Glasgow ace reckons he can still have one of his best seasons on the circuit.

The 32-year-old continued his timely return to form in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship yesterday as he hit a five-under 67 at Kingsbarns and was heading into today’s second round in a share of fifth spot behind Swedish frontrunner Alex Noren.

Jamieson sits down in 114th spot on the Tour’s money list with just the leading 110 safeguarding their place at the top table come the end of the year.

The former Tour champion has clambered his way up the rankings in recent weeks with back-to-back top-10 finishes in the KLM Open and the Italian Open.

With a huge purse of almost £4 million on offer here in this celebration of links golf at the Old Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie, Jamieson knows that a high finish could change his year with the top 60 on the money list progressing to the lucrative Final Series.

Jamieson, who highlighted his round with an eagle on the third, said: “It was in my mind coming into this that I needed a good week. I’m just outside the bubble just now but I’m in a much better position than I was a month ago.

“One solid week and it’s done and dusted but one great week and I could go on and have my best season yet. It’s a funny old game how one week can change things massively. I think if I was to finish top 20 then the most important goal is probably taken care of in terms of securing my card. But if I can get a top 10 or a top five then you start talking about getting into the Final Series. It’s incredible how fine the margins are from one extreme to the other. It’s so close.”

Early leader Noren, the Scottish Open champ, ripped out a course record-equalling eight-under 64 at Carnoustie to lead by one from Ross Fisher.

Glasgow’s Marc Warren had a 72 at Kingsbarns while Bearsden rookie Ewen Ferguson marked his pro debut with a 74 at the Old Course.