Ramsay ‘sticking to his guns’ as he shines alongside Hill and Syme
Richie Ramsay is determined not to get ahead of himself after joining fellow Scots Calum Hill and Connor Syme near the top of the leaderboard at the halfway stage in the Canary Islands Championship in Tenerife.
Ramsay and Hill have matched each other over the opening two days at Golf Costa Adeje by carding back-toback 65s to sit on 12-under in the final leg of the European Tour’s Canary Islands Swing. Syme, who opened with a 66, joined them after an eagle on his last hole yesterday capped a second-round 64.
Overnight leader Francesco Laporta from Italy is on the same mark after a second-round 68. Spaniard Adri Arnaus leads the way on 14-under-par after repeating his opening-day 64, while South African Garrick Higgo is a shot adrift in second place after a 63.
Ramsay, who has negotiated the opening 36 holes without a bogey, is chasing a fourth victory on the circuit but first since landing the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco just over six years ago,
“I think when you go out in the first round and shoot a really good score, it’s easy to let your mind race,” said the 37-year-old, who has birdied the same five holes - the sixth, 11th, 13th, 14th and 18th - two days running.
“You start thinking about winning and what you’re going to do. The tough thing is to follow it up, so I think today
was almost more impressive for me.
“I stayed in the present, didn’t think about the future, just stuck to my guns and just thinking about picking up another shot.
“I knew I was playing well and it’s about having that inner confidence, not getting ahead of myself. Making sure I see a shot, hit the shot to my best of my ability, and move on to the next one.”
The Aberdonian's best finish last season was a tie for 20th in
the BMW PGA Championship while he’s been consistent so far this year without managing to get into the top 20.
“[A win] does feel close because I feel like I’m playing really well, and I believe fully in the process I’m going through,” he added. “Doing the right gym work, the stretching in the morning and getting enough rest. Diligent about what I do when I’m away from the golf course.
“So I believe in everything I’m doing. It’s a case of trying
to stay patient and keep working hard. I’ve always been a hard worker and it does get frustrating, but you have to stay patient because there are chances every week.
“You’ll always lose many more than you’ll win, but my aim is to get in contention in the back nine on Sunday because I love that. That's when the adrenalin gets going, you feel you can open the door and get [win] No 4.”
Securing his breakthrough success on the main tour will
see Hill, a three-time winner on the Challenge Tour, clinch a spot in the upcoming US PGA Championship through the world rankings.
“Best thing was that I didn’t require as much luck today,” said the 26-year-old after making seven birdies, including an early burst of four in the first five holes. “Yesterday I had a few fortunate things happen, today I just played really nice golf all day. So it’s good.”
Grant Forrest made the weekend after a 68 yesterday.