Dubai: Scotland’s Richie Ramsay is willing to put a recent ankle injury at the back of his mind and keep up the pressure on the leaderboard at the DP World Tour Championship.
Ramsay ended the opening day with a near flawless five-under-par 67 to stay within one shot of leaders Rory McIlroy and Irishman Shane Lowry.
Ramsay had the best possible start with three straight birdies on the first three holes, after which he went into par mode till another two birdies sunk on the demanding 14th and 15th holes to stay tied for third with Thorbjorn Olesen as the early challengers.
Given the circumstances that his score came in the face of a second ankle injury earlier this year in Portugal, the Scot was pleased that he could be competitive once again. “Turkey [Turkish Airlines Open] was not the best week last week but I decided to come here and with a lot to play for, I could move up quite a bit and just keep a positive attitude. I played great in the middle part of the season and I know the game is there. It is just a matter of staying out of my own way and committing to it,” Ramsay said.
After making his professional debut in 2007, the Aberdeen-born Ramsay had to wait for his first title on the European Tour while defeating India’s Shiv Kapur in a play-off for the South African Open at the end of 2009. By 2011, the 31-year-old was firmly established on the European Tour with six top-10 finishes taking him to the top-30 of the Order of Merit for the first time.
He has been cautious with the way he has treated and cared for his ankles, giving himself a fair chance of having a crack at the title. “If you do all the right things and make sure you’re prepared, then that’s all you can do, and you’re going to have no regrets if you do that. So I put as much preparation as possible, and days like today are great, when it comes off. And winning massive tournaments against the best players in the world, 5 under is a really satisfying score,” he added.
Yet, he would like to remain cautious going into Round Two on Friday. “The greens are getting quick and anything that’s downhill, downgrain is really, really fast, and you’ve got to really be aware of where the grain is coming out of the greens. Some of the sections and slopes are pretty challenging at times, so you’ve got to be good with your second shots, put it in position and give yourself nice looks at the hole. I’ve got through them fine and I will move forward tomorrow,” he said.
