Richie Ramsay kept coming back to the tournament director’s office at the Betfred British Masters, just to put his mind at rest.
The Scot opened his campaign at Hillside with a super six-under 66, but still ended up shaken. His drive at the fourth hole – his 13th of a dreich old day in Southport – hit a spectator full on the head, the first time the three-time Tour winner had ever struck someone in his career.
On his third visit back, Ramsay was finally assured that the middle-aged gentleman who had been poleaxed was perfectly okay, had been cleared by medical staff and was actually full of praise for the Scot’s care and attention after the incident.
“We were there for about 20 minutes,” he said afterwards. “I’ve never hit anyone before, and it was shocking. I’ve been hit myself on the leg before and I know how sore that was.
“We had shouted “fore” from the tee but all three of us in the group were down that side. There was a stretcher brought out and I was relieved that he eventually stood up, smiling, and sort of knew where he was.”
Ramsay had already reached six-under and there he stayed, finishing three behind surprise leader Matthew Jordan.
“I was steady enough from there,” he said. “But I was still upset. It’s a bit shocking because although you can’t do anything about it, you feel pretty responsible because you do hit the shot.”
Ramsay got off to a flier with a birdie-eagle-birdie start and built on his best performance for 16 months in China last week, mostly down to a detailed process of finally solving the putter problem that had plagued him during a difficult 2018.
“I tried to look at it logically and think, `when have I putted well, what do I like, what suits me?’. So I took out the putter which I won the European Masters in 2012, took another ten putters and had them all spec’d exactly the same.
“I tested them all, and picked out the best. Ever since I’ve been rolling the ball a lot more consistently, suddenly got my eye in a bit and it’s so much better.
“My tee-to-green is always steady. Committing to shots has been good. Now if I talk again about switching putters, just give me a gentle slap on the face, and tell me `don’t do it!’”
He needed just 26 putt, and returning to some proper links golf at Hillside was also a help to him.
“It’s what we grew up on and where we feel comfortable even today when it’s cold and damp,” he continued. “Last week in China the ball sits up and goes miles. This week, off links turf it spins a bit more and won’t go as far, we’re probably talking 15-20 yards on these clubs.
“This week’s a little bit of an advantage for the home guys. That flips round, though, The young Scottish guys have learned pretty quickly that you have to play the long courses, like Loch Lomond and Gleneagles back home, if you’re going to be successful out on Tour.”
There was a solid start from Scott Jamieson with a three-under 69, and from Aberdeen’s David Law with a 71.
Connor Syme opened with a par 72 having opted to take what will be a rare move back into the main circuit during this season.
“Because it’s near home, and on links, it seemed a logical thing to play here and take my chances,” explained the Drumoig player, who won his first pro title on the Challenge Tour two weeks ago to begin his season.
“But the main focus will be on the Challenge Tour. Having got off to such a good start it makes sense to stay there and aim to get the better category of card you can get if you finish in the top 15.”
