Ramsay is inspired by Scotland’s sporting greats to reach the top

Inspiration from the Murray brothers and Chris Hoy has sharpened Richie Ramsay’s belief as he took himself to the top of the leaderboard at the Betfred British Masters.

The 38-year-old from Aberdeen put together a bogey-free three-under 69 to get to eight-under at his halfway point at The Belfry. Former Masters champion Danny Willett, acting as host this week, was the big mover of the morning with a 65.

But Ramsay was two clear as he got up and down at the ninth – his final hole – for his 10th par in a row.

Listening to podcasts and documentaries about the Murrays and Foy – and one about former All Black captain Richie McCaw – are a way for the always-thoughtful Ramsay to try to sharpen his approach to his job.

“I’ve played golf for 20 years and sometimes you are looking for that little spark that says to you, ‘this is how (others) are doing it, how they are being successful’,” he said.

“I listen to a lot of podcasts, and the High Performance Podcast, inspired by Chris Hoy or different sports people. I watched Resurfacing on Andy Murray several times.

“That stuff is really inspirational, especially when they are Scottish.

“I’m fortunate that I’m able to sometimes text Jamie Murray. Any time either of us does well, we send a text back and forth.

“It’s no secret what they do. It’s just about trying to be consistent every day. Putting in the hard work and do things that make you happy. Do things that are good for your soul and that’s as much off the golf course as it is on it.”

That’s become the key to Ramsay, but on the course he’s been relentlessly consistent these last two days. Even when seeing his name at the top of the leaderboard when he came up 18 – his ninth.

“I walked up there, saw the leaderboard and your head starts running a bit,” he said. “So you pause and think ‘how do I do this?’”

Ramsay hadn’t forgotten, and splashed out of the left side bunker to four feet for his par. At the ninth, his final hole, he had a poor lie in the rough, hacked out short and then pitched to three feet for his four.

“I like that about the course,” he said. “If I hit a poor shot I should get punished. The thing was not to tackle another shot, put it left then I’m dead.

“Instead I take my medicine, pitch out and I know my short game’s quite good. 6-7-8-9 that’s a tough finish to the front nine.”

It’s still early days, even here. But Ramsay has specific targets for the next two years, after a long chat with coach Ian Rae.

“Some of it was needed, I had a lot of things on my mind,” he added. “Not concerning him, he’s just a great person to chat to. He was saying to just remember what a good player I am.

“I know where I want to get to in the next two years. If I can get to the end of next year, I’m going to be free to do anything I want.”

Richie Ramsay has been listening to podcasts.