Richie Ramsay has been here before, and hasn’t lost faith – exactly the opposite in fact.
The three-time tour winner from Aberdeen is presently 127th on the Race to Dubai rankings, 17 places from where he needs to be to retain his playing rights for a tenth successive year as a professional.
The 35-year-old has come to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship before needing a big finish, when he was a rookie on tour in 2009 a fourth place finish eased any worries. He was also tied for second – with Rory McIlroy – in 2014.
But this is the first time he’s had his back against the wall quite like this. The former European Masters champion has had a desperate year, just one top 30 finish since a tie for sixth in the Dubai Desert Classic in January.
“I’ve just not played as well as I should have played,” he said. “I’ve not taken opportunities and just have got to deal with where I’m at.”
He believes his tee to green game is as solid as ever – he has been high in the tour’s stats for finding fairways and greens throughout his career.
“I pretty much broke it down in detail to find out where the problems were,” he continued. “I feel that it’s mainly been from 10 feet and in with my putting and also needing to hit my wedges a bit closer than I have been.
“You can get so much momentum from hitting a wedge close and knocking the putt in. That’s two shots straight away, the difference that makes over four rounds is big and it’s massive over the course of a season.
“I’ve been losing too many shots from 10-12 feet specifically this season, so I’ve been working hard on my green reading as I felt that’s where the problems were.”
Coming back to a tournament where he has done well before helps with confidence, but he knows he’s capable of so much more and doesn’t see why he can’t push on further than simply retaining his card.
“I’ve just got to go out and play well this week, next week at Walton Heath then the week after that at Valderrama,” he continued.
“If I can aim high, get in the mix here and even aim for a win, then hopefully I can have a good result and then suddenly my situation flips on its head. Dubai (the season-ending DP World Championship) and all those sorts of things could then come into the equation.
“It’s just a case of going out there and playing good golf over the next three weeks. I know what I have to do.”
He admits his head has been “spinning” thinking about what has been wrong
“There are times when I’ve thought to myself this year, ‘am I doing the right things?’ But I’m definitely still working as hard as I have ever done,” he said. “I don’t feel like I have backed off in that respect.
“It’s been a busy year off the course and I’ve also had a few health issues here and there that have knocked me sideways.
“I feel I have stayed patient and have just been waiting on that spell where I have a few weeks where I play well, but it hasn’t come yet. Hopefully that’s still to come over the next three week and, if so, it will be perfect timing.”
