Alex Noren was unflappable to the naked eye but boiling underneath the cool exterior in claiming the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open title as the weather finally eased at Castle Stuart and Richie Ramsay made it six Scots in the Open at Royal Troon next week.
Sweden’s Noren (34) had won four previous European Tour titles but none as lucrative or prestigious as the Scottish, and he held the lead through the weekend and a rain-lashed final day with little sign of ever wilting.
A par at the long 18th closed out a two-under 70 yesterday for a fourteen-under aggregate of 274, a shot ahead of playing partner, England’s Tyrrell Hatton. Nicolas Colsaerts, Matteo Manassero and New Zealand’s Danny Lee shared third on 12-under.
Ramsay, meanwhile, shot a final round 67 to move into a tie for sixth and snatch the final qualifying place available for next week’s Open Championship at Royal Troon. He joins Russell Knox, Paul Lawrie, Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie and Marc Warren as the home hopes in the today’s draw for Thursday’s first round.
Outwardly serene, Noren was actually scrambling the whole day, he admitted.
“When the game doesn’t feel as good as maybe it looks, you just want it to be over and come out with a win and that’s what happened,” he said with some relief.
“I’m just being so happy it’s over, because it was a tough, tough leaderboard. A lot of guys were there at 11, 12, 13-under, and it was just not a cruising win at all.
“But thinking about it this morning, how much it would mean, then it feels like miles away, and now when it happens, it just feels unbelievable.”
Conditions were dreadful when the final groups headed to the first tee but although the rain was teeming down, the wind had stayed away and when it finally dispersed on the back nine, the best playing conditions of the week materialised.
Noren had an early birdie at the second and was caught by Hatton, Lee and even Andy Sullivan at various points in the afternoon, but was never headed by anyone and did just enough to hold the field at arm’s length.
A birdie at the long 12th indicated he wasn’t about to wilt, and he had the luxury of a two stroke lead coming down the last which meant Hatton’s birdie could only claim an outright second place.
“A lot of things clicked this week, a lot better chipping, a lot better putting and the driver was better,” he added.
Ramsay meanwhile grabbed his chance for his fourth Open appearance, and got out of an equally gruelling late-night assignment this week into the bargain.
“I was set for night feeds from Tuesday on,” said the new Dad, who now gets another week off from those duties with baby daughter Olivia.
“It wasn’t really something I thought about until I was coming down 18 and I realised there was a chance. Really what I was focusing on was this tournament, I was trying to win this and hopefully I’ll get another chance to do that next year.
“But I’ll be delighted to take my daughter to her first major, and I’m hoping I can do myself justice because I don’t think I’ve been able to do that in my first three Opens.”
Ramsay’s new confidence and assurance comes from a realisation that he needed to reel in his own negative thoughts, but also the addition of veteran caddie Colin Byrne in recent weeks.
“We’ve both got young children, so we share that,” he said. “But he’s great on the bag, the game plan was to be committed swings to every shot today and we executed it well.”
Ramsay got to within a shot of the lead at one point, although he slowed up on the back nine as the heavy rain finally cleared.
“I had that little run of birdies (four of them from the third to the sixth) and that got the butterflies in the tummy going, and that’s what I love,” he said about his first nine purple patch.
“You start thinking, `this is where the pressure is going to come on’ and there’s no better feeling than executing shots under pressure.”
In addition, Ramsay savoured the moment, which he’s certainly not made a habit of before.
“Sometimes when you’re in that moment, you forget it,” he said. “It doesn’t come along that often, especially in a Scottish Open where I’ve not played so well before.
“I’ll remember that, the cheers for holing some nice putts out there, and when it’s cold and windy in December it’ll fire me up when practise isn’t going as well.”
The three others to get their eleventh-hour spot at Royal Troon next week were Hatton and two resurgent players, Italy’s Matteo Manassero and former Ryder Cup hero Nicolas Colsaerts who stormed the back nine in six-under 30.
The big-hitting Belgian had been frustrated by a series of missed putts in the first 11 holes but suddenly clicked with a long eagle putt on the 12th and immediately followed with three birdies in the next three holes.
“To come from behind and do a late charge like this on the back nine, on the last six holes, it’s pretty satisfying because I usually go the other way,” he said.
“Every time you get a chance to play in The Open, you’re buzzing. I knew coming down the stretch what was happening, and I just needed to make four on the last just to lock the spot for next week.”
Russell Knox shot 67 for a nine-under finish and a top-ten in his home Scottish Open, a week when his only regret was that he couldn’t challenge closer, largely due to not making the adjustment from US conditions on the greens.
“I was mishitting my putts slightly and just not getting the momentum. The greens are a little slower here because that’s links golf, they have to be.
“I think it took me a couple of days to get adjusted, but it was nice to finish with a birdie on the last like that.”
