Richie Ramsay goes from feeling 'a bit down' to chasing Soudal Open success

Richie Ramsay reckons a combination of gym work, dark chocolate, red wine and good music is the key to him feeling “a bit down” a week ago but now chasing a fifth DP World Tour triumph.

After carding seven birdies, including two in the last three holes in a third-round 66, the 39-year-old sits in joint-fifth, just four shots off the lead in the Soudal Open at Rinkwen International Golf Club in Belgium.

“It was a little bit of an up and down day,” said Ramsay of his effort. “I felt things were going very steady, playing some lovely golf, and then I threw a double bogey (at the par-4 tenth) in there. But things like that happen in golf. It’s how you respond that’s the mark of you and straight away I hit a wedge into about a foot, which was a great bounce back.

“I then managed to nick one at the end as well, so it was a really good day and I’m right in the hunt.”

Richie Ramsay of Scotland reacts to hitting the pin with his second shot on the third hole during day three of the Soudal Open at Rinkven International Golf Club in Antwerp. Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images.

During last week’s Italian Open, Ramsay wrote on Twitter that “golf has a habit of kicking you when you are down…..a lot like life.” He went on to say that “staying resilient is so key” when things aren’t going for someone before revealing that “gym work, dark chocolate, a little red wine and good music fire that dopamine up”.

Asked about his post in an interview for Sky Sports Golf, a smiling Ramsay said: “Those are the four things I go back to a lot. A lot of the time it’s gym work, but I am partial to a bit of chocolate and nice music.

“Everybody fails at stuff. Even the best players in the world fail, but it’s how you respond. It got in my head a little bit. To be honest, I was feeling a bit down. But then I thought about what I’ve done in the past.

“You have got to stay patient. That’s a huge part of it, but I think the last three days showed me the game is still there and that ignites the belief that’s always somewhere in your stomach.”

Swede Simon Forsstrom leads by a shot from Belgian Thomas Detry, with Frenchman Julien Brun another stroke back along with Forsstrom’s compatriot, Jens Dantorp.