Richie Ramsay on Thomas Pieters: It's like me using a peashooter against a howitzer

Richie Ramsay has likened playing with recent Rolex Series winner Thomas Pieters to him using a peashooter while the Belgian has a howitzer in his hands.

Richie Ramsay sizes up a shot during last week's Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club. Picture: Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images.

But, in his first test since adopting a new mindset about not trying to copy players like Pieters, it was mission accomplished for the Aberdonian.

Ramsay found himself in the same group as Pieters, fresh from his win in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship the previous weekend, in the final round of the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday.

Using his power to full effect, Pieters signed off with a 67 at Emirates Golf Club to finish five shots ahead of Ramsay after his closing 72, but, unlike if it had happened last season, that didn’t really bother the Scot.

Thomas Peters, a Rolex Series winner in Abu Dhabi the previous week, tees off during the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

“I don’t have the firepower that Thomas has, but there will be opportunities this season for me to get a win,” said Ramsay, a three-time champion on the DP World Tour.

“I’m not saying that I’m using a peashooter while he’s got a howitzer (laughing), but I would love to be 6ft 4in and be able to hit the ball and spin it like he does.

“I think the sky’s the limit for him, but Sunday was an example of me going out and playing my own game. Sometimes finishing 20th for me is brilliant, but there will be opportunities for me to win and I just need to try and take them.

“Everyone talks about Rory McIlroy, but Kevin Kisner is my guy and that’s why I’ve latched on to him. Look at the career he’s had. He gets the odd opportunity to win when he does the right thing.

"I just need to be a bit more like him and hopefully it will come, but it’s been a really solid two weeks to start the year.”

In his 14th successive season sitting at one of golf’s top tables, Ramsay was referring to polished performances in back-to-back Rolex Series events, having finished 25th in Abu Dhabi then 32nd in Dubai.

“Last week didn’t suit me as much as Abu Dhabi, but to hit the ball the way I did in the first two weeks of the year and also have a good mindset was really pleasing,” added the 38-year-old.

“I’m feeling a bit happier and also more content off the course. There’s a few things that happened in the winter that I feel happier with and it makes going out and playing golf that bit easier.”

Ramsay is among 11 Scots teeing up in this week’s Ras al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital at Al Hamra Golf Club, which also stages the second leg of a double-header next week.

“I get it,” he said of a concept that has been used on the circuit to help keep players at the same venue every now and again. “I’m not the biggest fan of that, but it is what it is.

“The tour are doing the best they can do under difficult circumstances and you’ve just got to get on with it. It’s tough. No-one knows what is going to happen in South Africa and also in Asia.

“Hopefully there will be tournaments going ahead, but we are still living in and will be living in a Covid world for the foreseeable future.”

A message from the Editor: Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers. If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.