Drysdale and Ramsay happy with Loch Lomond greens

TWO of the leading home-based players in the field for this week's Barclays Scottish Open have insisted there is nothing wrong with the greens at Loch Lomond despite the fact they had caused so much concern in the build-up to the £3 million event.

Due to the greens being so badly affected by ice last winter, temporary surfaces were in operation at the exclusive club throughout May, while four of the greens had to be ripped up and replaced with turf from Wentworth. As a result, the European Tour warned players of the situation, leading some, most notably Paul Casey, to pull out of the event. "I heard about the problems with the greens at Loch Lomond and that's not what my game needs the week before a major," said the world No 10.

However, after getting their first look at the greens in practice yesterday, David Drysdale and Richie Ramsay both insisted there is nothing wrong with them, reporting the only difference from previous years, in fact, being they are slightly slower.

"I don't know what all the fuss is about," said Drysdale, the leading Scot in last season's Race to Dubai. "If players have pulled out this week because of concerns about the state of the greens, they made a big mistake. I have never seen the course in better shape, the greens included. We had emails from the tournament director pointing out the bad weather they had here over the winter and the effect that had on the course and pointing out that the greens suffered.

"I was expecting the greens to be a bit patchy and not too clever, but I was pleasantly surprised, to be honest. The greens they've relaid are a little bit slower than the other 14, but they are true.

"The fairways are also in good shape. In fact, the whole course is. I played first thing and obviously the greens are pure at 7am, but if they hold up under the traffic they should be fine."

Ramsay, who played at Loch Lomond the year after winning the US Amateur but is making his first appearance in the event as a professional this week, added: "The greens are really good. You wouldn't walk on them and think they've been re-turfed. A couple are fractionally slower than the others but they run pretty good, considering some of them have been relaid just a few weeks ago. They just need the weather to stay good. I wouldn't say they're fast but they're not slow, they're just a decent speed."