Carbon Financial’s European Tour ambassador Richie Ramsay and his wife Angela have celebrated the arrival of baby Olivia

Now it’s back to work for Richie and this week sees him in Spain for the Open de España at Valderrama.

Since my last blog I’m delighted to say that Angela and I are now proud parents, with the safe arrival of our first baby, Olivia.

It’s early days but already I am well aware that life has changed in the Ramsay household!

I’m writing this in Spain, where I am preparing for a return to action in this week’s Real Club Valderrama Open de Espana.

It has been almost two months since my last competitive European Tour event, on the Desert Swing.

I had always planned to make sure I was home for the birth, rather than being out in the Far East or Australia, and it has been a wonderful time for us. But now it is back to the day job.

I always had Valderrama in mind for getting back on the Tour but still it was tough when the reality of leaving home dawned on me.

There were a few tears shed. And not by Olivia! I got quite emotional.

But I have to stick to what I believe in. I am trying to make a life for her and have to make sure she is taken care of.

I think my outlook on life has changed already. You appreciate the little things in life more. A lot of your energy goes into making sure your children are healthy and safe. That will be the same for any new dad, in any walk of life.

Being a father definitely soaks up a lot of your time and energy. Fortunately I have always been good at prioritising and analysing what has to be done.

One of my good friends and mentors talks about the “value system” and where you place things in your life, in terms of concentrating time and effort. Olivia is right at the top of that list.

I’m sure any parents reading this can identify with where I am coming from.

But the competitive nature is always there and I am looking forward to the rest of the season.

My appetite has been whetted by watching The Masters, which I got the chance to experience myself after winning the US Amateur title.

I have been getting in the practice here in Spain preparing for a tournament at a fabulous venue where I have fond memories, pushing our host this week, Sergio Garcia, close at the Andalucia Masters five years ago.

When I am home, normally on a Sunday evening I pen a weekly schedule to give myself an idea of where I want to get to or what I want to accomplish in the week ahead.

Generally it will involve a gym timetable, technical work and maybe seeing my coach, Ian Rae.

By writing down your goals, in sport or business, studies have shown you are more likely to carry things out and more importantly do it successfully. I can also re-assess where I am at any given time.

I talk about the brick-building approach when I am at corporate days and pro-ams. Slowly but surely you end up with the wall.

The weeks turn into months and the months into years and hopefully you get to where you want to be.

But for now my focus is on getting back into action here at Valderrama.