He eyes first Scots win in 19 years

BY DALE RANKIN It was disappointing to finish with a bogey but overall I’m really happy because it was a tough start.

“I’m really proud to bounce back well and obviously 69 is a good score considering the way I started.”

Ramsay managed to wipe out his opening hole double-bogey with birdies at two and three but he gave back both shots with bogeys on four and five.

The three-time Tour winner, seeking to become the first Scot to win the prestigious French Open title since Colin Montgomerie in 2000, then steadied the ship with birdies on six, eight and nine ahead of back-to-back birdies at 14 and 15.

But going down the last, and needing a birdie to tie the lead, the Aberdeen ace found the water guarding the green with his second shot and finished with a bogey five.

Colsaerts, 36, is looking to end a seven-year winless run and capture just a third Tour title.

The former Ryder Cup star is also lying 114th in the Race to Dubai and sitting only one place inside retaining full Tour membership.

He said: “I feel very good with how I played today as the conditions were hard when we started out with the front nine playing pretty difficult.

“It calmed down a little bit on the back nine and I managed to hole a few long putts.”

Bathgate’s Stephen Gallacher, after also dropping two shots early on, signed for a one-over par 72 to be just outside the top 30 at level par.

Glaswegian Marc Warren ensured himself just a sixth pay cheque of the season with a 72 for a one-over par total of 143. Dumfries’ Liam Johnston just made the cut on two-over par.