Richie Ramsay roars into lead after birdie charge

Published on 20/10/2012 00:12

Scotland’s Richie Ramsay shot four birdies in his last five holes to card a second consecutive five-under-par 66 and take the second round lead in the Indian Open.

Ramsay’s round left him with a three-shot lead over three players – Thai pair Panuphol Pittayarat and Chapchai Nirat, plus Finland’s Jaakko Makitalo, all of whom returned 68s.

Ramsay, a two-time European Tour winner who was the joint overnight leader with England’s James Morrison, had an early birdie on his second hole before 11 consecutive pars preceded his superb run on the last five. Morrison shot a 71 and slipped to a share of sixth place with India’s Gaganjeet Bhullar and another Thai pair, Kwanchai Tannin and Thaworn Wiratchant.

“It’s always nice to hole a birdie on the last,” the 29-year-old Ramsay said. “The key was patience. I knew I was playing well and hit a lot of good iron shots. If you keep playing that way, sooner or later you will make something.”

Ramsay felt he could have putted better even though he made a 25-foot downhill putt on the last hole. “It was a really nice way to finish. I stayed patient and you have to find the fairways and get good angles at the pins. I felt that I could have gone really low if I sank some of my putts,” he added.

Pittayarat, a promising 19-year-old looking for his first Asian Tour title, had three straight birdies from the 14th.