You need a heck of a lot of patience to succeed in this game. The European Tour is riddled with tales of players who waited years for a maiden victory to come after knocking on more doors than an Avon Lady with a new range of household sundries.

Others kept chapping but success remained elusive. David Drysdale has always maintained that he would feel unfulfilled if he never managed to plunder a tour title. After the third second place finish of his long career at the top table in the Alfred Dunhill Championship in South Africa on Sunday, the Scot continues to flirt with an overdue breakthrough.

The 43-year-old has now played 471 European Tour events and, in addition to that trio of runners-up finishes, also has half-a-dozen thirds. “You’d love it to happen,” said his coach, Jamie Gough, who has been working with Drysdale for eight years.

Gough, the brother of former Dundee United, Rangers and Tottenham defender Richard, has coached 16 European Tour winners and adding to that tally with Drysdale would be particularly satisfying. “If I could help him get across the line it would certainly be the highlight of my career,” added the South African

After a scramble to safeguard his tour card last season, Drysdale, who began the 2019 campaign with a fifth place finish in the Hong Kong Open recently, came in two shots behind eventual winner, David Lipsky, at the weekend and heads home for the Christmas break sitting third on the Race to Dubai rankings.

He will resume hostilities in Abu Dhabi in January and Gough is hoping the early momentum carries on into the new year. “Even though he was struggling to keep his card last season, David still had his second best stroke average in all his years on tour but he just posted a lot of mid-table results,” noted Gough.

“The difference in these early events has been his putting. And to win on tour, you need a good putting week, as well as a bit of good fortune.

“The tougher courses, like the one in Hong Kong or at Leopard Creek at the weekend, also bring out the best in him. If every course was like those ones, with an emphasis on straight-hitting and finding greens, he’d be a lot more competitive.”

After a topsy-turvy 2018 season, Team Drysdale, which also includes his wife and caddie Vicky, seems to be back in the swing again.

“The thing I like about him is that he’s done most of his work under the radar,” said Gough. “He just gets out there and does the business. There are no frills and he doesn’t seek the limelight. He just plays golf.

“For the most part, he loves playing golf. It’s as much a hobby as it is his professional life. That’s a brilliant mix.”