Golf news: Lorna McClymont comfortably leads Scottish Women's qualifiers, Richie Ramsay on premises at KLM Open

Milngavie’s Lorna McClymont, last year’s beaten finalist, maintained her recent good form to lead the 16 qualifiers for the match-play stage by a commanding five shots in the Scottish Women’s Amateur Championship at Ladybank.

Milngavie's Lorna McClymont tees off in the opening round of the Scottish Women's Amateur Championship at Ladybank. Picture: Scottish Golf.

McClymont, who has won both the Welsh and Irish Women’s Opens, successfully defending the latter, in the past few weeks, coasted through with scores of 70-69 in the 36-hole stroke-play qualifying at the Fife venue. The Stirling University star signed for two birdies and one bogey in her opening effort then mixed six birdies with three bogeys in the afternoon to clear the first hurdle in her bid to go one better in the Scottish Golf event. Irvine’s Luisa Gibson (72-72) finished second while Swiss-based Cameron Neilson, McClymont’s conqueror at Trump International Golf Links in Aberdeen 12 months ago, and last year’s St Rule Trophy winner Jen Saxton from Dunfermline also progressed comfortably.

In the paid ranks, Richie Ramsay is chasing his second successive top-ten finish on the DP World Tour as he relishes another of the circuit’s tougher tests at Bernardus Golf in the KLM Open. The four-time tour winner, who recovered from an early double-bogey 6 to card an opening 69, added a 70 to sit on five-under, five shots behind Jorge Campillo after the Spaniard’s 63-71 at the Cromvoirt venue.

“Yeah, successful day if you look at it as a whole,” said Ramsay, who, playing the back nine first, raced to the turn in four under before starting for home with another birdie only to then drop three shots in the last seven holes. “A tale of two nines as I just didn’t hole anything on the front nine. The greens were so quick this afternoon as they were firm and fast, just like a links course when they get that shine on them. Even when you are putting from ten feet, you’ve got to hit it dead weight and the front nine definitely played harder than the back nine. But I’m in a good position, having made a move on the day and I’ve got to take the positives out of that.”

Richie Ramsay checks a yardage with caddie Scott Carmichael in the second round of the KLM Open at Bernardus Golf. Picture: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images.

As was the case when he got himself in the mix in his last outing in the Soudal Open at Rinkven International in Belgium, Ramsay is enjoying this week’s links-style course designed by Kyle Phillips. “I think to be able to build something like this, which gets firm and fast, is cool,” he said. It’s a course I enjoy and, when that’s the case, you stand on the first tee and look forward to playing it. There’s a lot of wind out there that comes across the fairways, so you’ve got to be able to hold it up into the wind and I think that’s one of the reasons I do pretty well here. I just need to tidy some things up because it’s not how good your good stuff is; it’s how good your bad stuff is. So it’s just about trying to get that scoreboard ticking over.”

Campillo, winner of the Kenya Open earlier in the year, leads by two shots from Italian Renato Paratore (68-68), with two-time winner Joost Luiten thrilling the home crowds by sitting alongside Ramsay and also Italian Open champion Adrian Meronk. Grant Forrest and Ewen Ferguson are both on two under.