Carbon’s European Tour ambassador Richie Ramsay secures place in the 145th Open Championship

Carbon’s European Tour ambassador Richie Ramsay has secured a coveted place in the 145th Open Championship being played at Royal Troon.

He faces an early morning alarm call to make the 7.19am tee-time for Thursday’s first round but, as Richie tells us in his latest blog, he’s raring to go after winning a late invite with an impressive display at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open held at Castle Stuart in Inverness.

“I must have been one of the few Scots who missed out on cheering Andy Murray to victory at Wimbledon on Sunday. But I did have an excuse – I was working!

Wearing the Carbon black and orange colours on Friday, for the first time on home soil, I paved the way to the cut and thrust of the weekend, when a handful of spots in The Open were on the line.

Obviously, I’d have loved to have won the Scottish Open. As a proud Scot, in my book that’s the equivalent of a Major. But I was delighted with my consistency over the four days and, while I was three behind winner Alex Noren, a closing five under par scorecard secured my passport to Royal Troon.

This is going to be a real test of golf, especially if the weather forecast proves accurate!

The course can play very tough, with lots of testing tee shots. The famous Postage Stamp is a classic golf hole and it can cause plenty of problems. It’s a great par 3, short, but potentially treacherous, especially if the wind gets up.

I got plenty of home support at Castle Stuart and it was nice to see Carbon MD Gordon Wilson there cheering me on.

It is important for Scottish golf to have players competing on the Major stages and I know we can expect backing from the galleries in Ayrshire. Andy Murray has shown that having a home player in a Major brings people together

and lures them into a sport in which they might normally have only a passing interest. It would be great for Scottish golf if one of us home-grown players produced the goods.

There’s always the danger that you can put too much pressure on yourself to perform because it’s your home event and you’re desperate to put in a strong performance. But I think I got the balance right at Castle Stuart.

I just tried to embrace the crowd, the course, and the conditions to get the best out of my game.

I was very steady and managed to chip well to keep bogeys off my card, especially on the first two days when it was windy. The lag putting from distance was good too, so I didn’t leave much work to do on the greens. More of the same would be nice at Troon.

It’s great having the Open in my diary, and baby Olivia could be making an appearance at her first golf tournament!

I didn’t ever play Troon in my amateur days but I have played the likes of Carnoustie, Turnberry and St Andrews in The Open before, so I know what it is about.

I grabbed some much-needed rest after Inverness but now I’m soaking it all in to make sure I am ready come Thursday.”

Photographs courtesy of Kenny Smith/PA Wire.