Turnberry’s Ramsay sees
For Richie Ramsay, it is a real shame that The Open won’t be going back to Turnberry any time soon – although he perfectly understands why.
The R&A confirmed last Monday what everyone had subconsciously known for a long while.
As long as outgoing US President, Donald Trump, remains the owner of the famous Ayrshire links, golf ’s oldest championship will keep well clear.
That followed on from the news that the 2022 US PGA had been moved from Trump National in Bedminster, New Jersey for the same reason.
“You want The Open to be all about the golf,” Ramsay told The Sunday Post.
“But if they went under the current circumstances, it would be too much of a distraction, which you don’t want.
“It’s a shame. Turnberry is a really good test of golf, and it has produced a lot of drama over the years.
“It’s not the most well-attended Open venue because it’s a little bit harder to get to. But the players I have spoken to really enjoy it, and think it’s a fantastic test.”
Ramsay has been able to compete in The Open at all five of the Scottish courses currently on the rota, and the Aberdeen man knows there is nowhere quite as weather-bound as the Ailsa course.
“Being on the south-western tip, Turnberry is the most-exposed of all the Scottish venues,” he said.
“Royal Troon sits in a little bay, so the bad weather can just go north of it, whereas at Turnberry, there is nothing to stop it. The weather can turn in an instant.
“I’m an east-coaster, but I have to admit the courses on my side don’t get nearly the same rainfall. But that’s part and parcel of The Open. We, as players, always know it will be a real battle.”
While Scotland is full of beautiful courses and hidden gems, the advances in technology in golf is
making some links courses obsolete for the modern pro.
And the space required to stage a modern Open rule out many potential replacements for Turnberry. So Ramsay thinks the R&A will be looking across the Irish Sea, following on from Royal Portrush’s successful return to the rota in 2019.
“People rave about the courses in Scotland, and rightly so. We have cool places to play all over the country,” enthused the former US Amateur champion.
“But trying to find venues for the Scottish Open that have the space for everything that goes with a tournament is hard enough.
“That is just something the European Tour, and the R&A, have to consider even more.
“Nowhere jumps out at me that could become an Open venue. When I think of lots of places, I always hit a stumbling block for one reason or another.
“Portrush was so successful that I wouldn’t be surprised if the R&A are looking for another venue in Northern Ireland.
“Portrush is probably the best course over there, but others would say Royal County Down, while I love
Cink’s 2009 success looks set to be the last time Turnberry’s iconic lighthouse will be seen on The Open rota for the foreseeable future
the front nine at Portstewart.
“The players said how cool the atmosphere was at Portrush, and there seems a real appetite in Ireland for these huge tournaments.
“There is definitely room for another Irish venue on the rota.”
The 37-year-old has been in Dubai, preparing to begin his 2021 campaign at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, which starts on Thursday.
Ramsay played a fairly-limited schedule last year once golf resumed after lockdown, and finished no higher than 20th anywhere. But the competitive juices are still driving him on.
And he is working on a new risk-andreward approach to bring about better results.
“You have to go low,” he admitted. “So I’m working on being more aggressive with my short irons, and trying to improve my green reading.
“Consistency may be good for the mind, but it doesn’t get you where you need to be.
“Over five events, if you offered me five finishes between 15th and 40th, or three comfortable missed cuts and a 12th and a fourth, I would take the latter all day long.
“That gets you more points and more money. But to do that, you have to be more aggressive and take more risks.
“That might mean taking on more flags and missing greens. But when it comes off, you should make more birdies.”