Richie Ramsay: I'm not Rory McIlroy but it's fun being best you can be

Richie Ramsay reckons he 'sadistically enjoyed' going right to the wire before securing his European Tour card for the 11th season in a row but has returned to the scene of his first triumph on the circuit to try and ensure that close shave is a one off.
Richie Ramsay managed to hang on to his Tour card. Picture: Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesRichie Ramsay managed to hang on to his Tour card. Picture: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Richie Ramsay managed to hang on to his Tour card. Picture: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

While a number of his compatriots are at Leopard Creek in South Africa this week for the Alfred Dunhill Championship, the final event of the calendar year, Ramsay has spent the last few days at Pearl Valley, where he won the South African Open in 2010.

The 35-year-old has been putting himself through his paces at a “mini camp”, having decided that would be more worthwhile than playing in some of the early events on the 2019 schedule as he reflected on leaving it late to keep his seat at European golf’s top table.

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After a disappointing season, Ramsay had been 124th on the money-list heading into the final regular event of the 2018 campaign, the Andalucia Masters in mid-October, and was still outside the cut-off mark for retaining cards when the third and final round resumed at Valderrama after thunderstorms on earlier days.

However, the three-time Tour winner covered the six holes he had left to play in one-under – a notable achievement on a notoriously-tough course – to climb to 115th in the standings, keeping his playing privileges with just one spot to spare. “I said to someone that I sort of sadistically enjoyed it,” admitted Ramsay as he reflected on that gutsy effort with his last throw of the dice. “I’m not the most confident person in the world all the time. But there are a few things that I will back myself to do. One is being able to handle the pressure coming down the back nine and, fortunately, I was able to show that in the last tournament of the season.”

The Aberdonian had finished 31st in the Race to Dubai the previous season – his best effort since a career-best 26th in 2012. “I will definitely use it to motivate myself,” he added. “It was a slight warning to me and to people around me that this career I’ve had is not for granted and the things that go with it are not for granted.”

A return to winning ways is the target in 2019, not looking over his shoulder again in the final few weeks. “I’ve had a bit of time to think about it and it was almost like a win, really,” said the former US Amateur champion. “It is one of those things that, no matter what happens, it will be something I feed on over the next few years, especially if I am in a dark place or have my back against the wall. If you can remember the good things out of that and make sure they are engrained, then it can only be a good thing for the future.”

Ramsay’s worst season in the paid ranks wasn’t down to either slacking off or taking his eye off the ball. “It’s not easy to get it done when you are in that position,” he continued. “I remember talking to Ian [Rae, his coach] at the British Masters and saying, ‘I am doing everything right’.

“I can be too analytical sometimes – that is one of my faults. But I was going to bed early, getting up and doing stretches, doing the preparation that I think I need to do, working on the stuff that I feel can be my weakness.

“I just felt I couldn’t get a break and he said that I just needed to stick in there. You just have to keep believing. When you are in a position like that, you have to keep your chin up and keep fighting.

“Ultimately, I had a four-foot putt to keep my card. Was it worth it? Yes. I wouldn’t take anything back. As much as though you are nervous or don’t know how things are going to work out, you still have to try and enjoy it.

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“All the top guys I listen to or talk to – and not just in golf – go on about enjoying the journey. Enjoying the day-to-day stuff. It’s the work you do early in a week that makes you who you are and gives you a game to compete.

“I still enjoy that personal fight to be the best you can be. I know that I’m not Rory McIlroy. I know where my game is at. At the same time, I know what I can accomplish within myself.”

Ramsay enjoyed a holiday in Cape Town with wife Angela and their two-year-old daughter, Olivia, before heading to Pearl Valley, where he has left no stone unturned as part of his preparations for a first outing of the new campaign in Abu Dhabi next month.

“I’ve been getting up early, doing a warm up, playing and practising,” he said. “Eat-train-sleep-repeat is perfect for me. I love that. It’s good for the mind, good for the body and good for the soul as well I think. The biggest thing I feel I can benefit from, though, is having a proper rest. I’ve not had that for a while and, to be honest, the head needed a little bit of rest more than anything else.”