Richie Ramsay still troubled by hip injury

It was reference to the Aberdonian leaving Castle Stuart last Friday with his brain scrambled. While it was said in the heat of the moment, he even threatened to quit golf. “You could have thrown it round in 75 with no clubs,” he declared of a six-over-par 78 in benign conditions that led him to an early Scottish Open exit. “It was just horrific. The worst day of the year for me. I might as well get a job somewhere else if I continue like this.”

The last time Ramsay was in despair with his game was in this event at Lytham last year. He left there on the verge of “insanity” yet turned things around in just five weeks to win the European Masters. “I forgot about it pretty quickly,” insisted Ramsay of last week’s honest assessment of how he felt and, in fairness, he deserves credit for delivering that when steam was billowing out his ears.”

Referring to his success in Switzerland, he added: “I know I can come back from it – it’s just a matter of doing all the things I need to do. Going to the gym, putting in practice, being right mentally and playing. Break it down and it’s not that hard.”

A harder challenge for Ramsay in his fourth Open appearance could be that hip, which hasn’t been right since he pulled out of the Nordea Masters in Sweden and forced him to play just nine holes yesterday in a practice round with Fifer George Murray.

“It was feeling a bit tight again, so I thought it better to come in, hold fire a little bit and go and get physio,” he reported. “It’s not something that requires surgery. It’s more a mental issue as you’re scared going on to the left side.”