Richie Ramsay inspired by major winners

Published on Thursday 8 July 2010 20:40

RICHIE Ramsay received perfect proof that his game is progressing nicely after outscoring two playing partners with five majors between them in the opening round at Loch Lomond.

The South African Open champion recovered from two bogeys in his opening three holes to sign for a two-under 69, a shot better than Retief Goosen and three less than Vijay Singh.

"Two-under is a good start in these conditions, but the biggest thing was going out and hitting form with two world stars," said the 27-year-old Aberdonian. "Although it wasn't match-play, it was nice to come out on top."

Determined to make the most of such experiences, Ramsay added: "I was watching how they went about things, especially Goosen. He's a master when it becomes tough at grinding out a score. Any time you get paired with people like that you can feed off them and measure your performance. I didn't feel as I was as far behind them off the tee as I used to be while my acuracy was second to none.

"If I had played with them two or three years ago there's no way I could have outscored them. Nowadays I'm not looking just to make up the numbers. I'm one of those people who could go out with Tiger Woods and I'd want to beat him as I've got a winning mentality."

Craig Lee, last year's Tartan Tour No 1, signed for a 70 that would have been better but for a double-bogey 6 at the second, while Martin Laird had a 71 but responded well to "being all over the place" for the first three holes. His 71 was matched by David Drysdale and Scott Drummond, while Steven O'Hara and Alastair Forsyth both had 72s, the latter's card including a one-shot penalty after accidentally kicking his ball at the 16th.

Marc Warren, who picked up two birdies in his last three holes, had a 73, one less than Paul Lawrie and two better than Andrew Coltart, while it was day to forget for Fifer Peter Whiteford as he slumped to an error-strewn 79, the same scored returned by Scottish amateur champion David Law.