Richie Ramsay shares lead as Warren eyes Masters

RICHIE Ramsay grabbed a share of the lead as George Coetzee and Tommy Fleetwood were left as the last men standing with a chance to go from Morocco to The Masters.
Richie Ramsay: Firstround lead. Picture: GettyRichie Ramsay: Firstround lead. Picture: Getty
Richie Ramsay: Firstround lead. Picture: Getty

A bogey-free best-of-the-day 66 at Golf du Palais Royal in Agadir catapulted Ramsay to the head of affairs in the Hassan Trophy II alongside Rafa Cabrera-Bello (69), Richard Green (70) and Oliver Farr (68) on six-under-par. It marked a welcome return to form for the Aberdonian after missing the cut in four of his five starts so far in 2015.

Out in two-under, David Drysdale shared the lead on seven-under at one point before taking a triple-bogey 6 at the 11th. Just two off the pace, though, he’s also still in the mix.

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Coetzee (72) is one off the pace as he chases the win that will earn him a trip to Augusta, while Tommy Fleetwood, who needs the same minimum requirement in this event, is just one further back. However, The Masters dream is over, at least for another year, for Alexander Levy, Marcel Siem, Andy Sullivan and Ross Fisher as they all missed the cut in north Africa.

Elsewhere, Marc Warren set out in his second round of the Valero Texas Open boosted by becoming the latest Scottish player to receive valuable support from Aberdeen Asset Management.

“We are really pleased that Marc has joined our stable of golfers,” said AAM chief executive Martin Gilbert. Marc has been a great ambassador for Scottish golf for long over a decade now and we look forward to working with him.”

Warren, who needs a top-15 finish to be certain of securing his Masters invitation, was in the penultimate group for the second round in San Antonio, where he opened with a two-over 74 in tough conditions to sit in a tie for 32nd.

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