Richie aiming to learn lessons

Ramsay misses cut

Published:

IMPROVEMENT: Richie Ramsay carded a three-under-par 69 in Melbourne today.

RICHIE Ramsay failed to make the cut at the Australian Masters in Melbourne today.

But the Royal Aberdeen golfer was smiling again after his round of 69 left him on three-under par.

In a complete reversal of fortunes, Ramsay confined yesterday’s uncharacteristic round of 10-over par to the history books to exit the tournament on seven-over par.

Last year’s world No.1 ranked amateur and Challenge Tour winner was so disgusted by his performance that he regretted participating in his maiden European Tour event, but today was a completely different story.

Ramsay said: “I’m very harsh on myself because I use that to turn things into a positive.

“I was embarrassed to shoot in the 80s for the first time in my career, so I was determined to do much better.

“I hit my driver great and I was pleased with my iron shots today.

“I’ve got my confidence back after hitting some very nice shots which is the main thing.

“It was a good week overall and even though I made quite a few mistakes, the most positive aspect is that I’ve learned from them and the lessons will stand me in good stead for the rest of the season.

“I knew I had it in me to bounce back but I was very disappointed not to push on after dropping a few shots early on.

“I should have gone into damage limitation mode and shot a lot lower.”

Ramsay’s immediate priority is to improve both his physical fitness and preparation before jetting off to South Africa next week.

He revealed that the loss of his clubs on route from America to Aberdeen hindered his pre-Masters plans before flying out of Scotland last week.

“Working on my fitness is a big thing for me,” Ramsay said.

“I was left without my clubs for four days when I got home after being in America for four weeks and it wasn’t an easy transition to acclimatise to the warm weather in Australia after being in the snow in Aberdeen.

“I’ve also got to improve my short game because if you hit a bad putt, you’re not getting up and down and it’s going to cost you.”

Ramsay branded his first Australian Masters campaign as “unforgettable”.

He said: “I will never forget that coming out to Australia is very expensive and after spending all that money I didn’t even make the cut!”