The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Ramsay saves card but Syme and Neil miss out
Mixed fortunes for Scots after weather-delayed Valderrama Masters
Scotland’s Richie Ramsay saved his European Tour card with two places and just 5,000 ranking points to spare, but there was disappointment for Connor Syme and Marc Warren as host Sergio Garcia retained the weather delayed and shortened Andalucia Valderrama Masters for the third year in succession.
The Ryder Cup star, without a win in 2018, finished off a closing two-under 69 to win the event reduced to three rounds after a succession of play suspensions due to lightning and rain forced play into yesterday.
Garcia finished with a 12-under-par aggregate of 201 for the three rounds and a four-shot margin of victory over Ireland’s Shane Lowry.
But in the final counting event on the Race to Dubai there were also playing rights for 2019 at stake and Ramsay left it until the 11th hour before confirming he had avoided Q School next month.
The three-time Tour winner was still outside the 116 qualifying places when play resumed yesterday, but played the final six holes of the treacherous Real Club Valderrama course in one-under to complete a three-under 68 and finish the tournament in a tie for 11th.
That moved him up to 115th on the Race to Dubai, one ahead of last placed qualifier David Horsey, but there was still a nervous wait before others finished and confirmed he was safe.
“I didn’t sleep the best, but I think I came out and proved a lot to myself, under the most pressure I’ve ever felt coming down the stretch,” said Ramsay
“But it’s a course I love, which made it far easier to go out there and play.”
“I had some good looks at putts on 16 and 17 and then I rolled in a nice little tester at the end from about three feet,” he added.
“A three footer is usually easy, but not when your job is on the line. I’m just proud of the way I played.”
The final positions showed that two more Scots near the cut in the rankings had survived, veteran David Drysdale confirming his 16th successive European Tour season in 2019, while Scott Jamieson, who did not play in Spain due to the impending birth of his third child, also ended up safe.
However, Syme and Warren, despite both making the cut in Spain, face a trip to Q School in November.
Warren, a three-time tour winner and a Top 50 player in the world rankings as recently as 2015, finished tied with Ramsay in 11th place over the weekend but was 131st in the final ranking, three spots behind tour rookie Syme.
The Drumoig player, whose best finish in his debut season was a second place in Austria in June, will return to Q School where he qualified last year, along with fellow rookie Bradley Neil, who finished 192nd in the rankings.
Garcia had carded one birdie and a single bogey in his first seven holes to remain at 10 under par before the hooter sounded on Sunday afternoon.
The 38-year-old increased his lead to four shots when he rolled in from 10 feet at the 10th hole yesterday morning.
But a bogey at the 13th saw him drop back to 10 under, and with a charging Lowry notching three birdies in a row from the 10th hole, his lead was down to one shot.
However, a double bogey at the 15th saw Lowry slip back, and Garcia added birdies at the 14th and 17th to get to 12 under par and secure a comfortable victory.
Garcia said: “It’s amazing to be able to win here at Valderrama three times – it’s a dream come true.
“This golf course is so challenging and for me to be able to go out there in the conditions we played in all week and shoot three rounds under par means a lot.”