Hong Kong Open golf: Richie Ramsay right on leaders’ heels after 66 in Hong Kong

TWO of golf’s biggest hitters, Rory McIlroy and Alvaro Quiros, may be sitting at the top of the leaderboard but Richie Ramsay reckons the Fanling course could favour the shot-makers in the final two rounds of the Hong Kong Open.

“It’s an old traditional course,” said the Aberdonian after putting himself in contention at the halfway stage with a second-round 66 for a six-under total of 134, just one behind the joint-leaders.

“It plays bouncy and you’ve got to keep it in the short stuff to give yourself chances. It’s not overly long, so it doesn’t suit the bombers. You’ve got to manoeuvre the ball and shape it. It’s a bit more old school than the long courses, which are softer.”

Four off the pace at the start of the day, the on-form Ramsay recovered from an early bogey with birdies at the sixth and ninth to be out in 34. He didn’t put a foot wrong coming home, picking up three more shots at the 12th, 13th and 18th. “I took a break last week and was looking forward to coming here as it’s a fantastic place and the golf course is to my liking,” he added.

“Now I’ll try to push on tomorrow and get in the hunt on the back nine on Sunday, which is where I want to be.”

Ramsay has hit a purple patch late in the season, having finished third in both the Castello Masters and Andalucia Masters in Spain before claiming his third top 15 in a row in the Singapore Open. He’s lying 30th on the money list and has his sights set on maintaining his good form heading into next week’s season-ending Dubai World Championship. “I’ve been trying to push the door open for another [win] but it’s just not happened yet,” said the 28-year-old, who claimed his maiden European Tour title in the South Africa Open just over two years ago. “To do it the week before Dubai would be a huge boost.”

McIlroy and Quiros each shot matching 69s to stay out in front in the title race, with Thailand’s Panupol Pittayarat sitting in joint third alongside Ramsay after he produced a flawless 65.

Level with Quiros and David Horsey at the start, McIlroy climbed to nine-under before his drive on the 16th ended up behind a tree and led to a bogey. The US Open champion saved par after a wayward tee shot on the 17th, but another poor drive at the 18th found the trees and resulted in another bogey.

McIlroy, who needs to win here to have a chance of overtaking Luke Donald at the top of the money list in Dubai, said his tank is running low at the end of a long season. “It could have been a bit of mental and physical fatigue,” he said of his finish. “I don’t feel like I’m completely 100 per cent and maybe made a couple of tired swings towards the end. I just need to make sure that I have decent energy levels for the next two rounds. I might have made the season a little bit too long for myself and that’s something I’ve got to learn from in the future.

“I had two weeks off in between the HSBC Champions and the World Cup and I got sick for a few days so that took a little bit of energy out of me. I was on a drip for three days in the Maldives, which wasn’t too nice.”

All five Scots in the field survived the cut. Paul Lawrie is just outside the top 20 after a 70 for 139, two ahead of Stephen Gallacher (72), while Colin Montgomerie and David Drysdale both carded 69s to make it through on 142. Gallacher has work to do in his bid to secure a trip to Dubai, having slipped three shots behind Irishman Peter Lawrie, the man sitting a spot above him in 60th position on the money list.