The race is on for Richie

This time last year Carbon’s European Tour ambassador Richie Ramsay was battling to retain his Tour card. Twelve months on, he’s got his sights set on securing a coveted passport to the end of season showpiece in the Middle East.

“There’s always pressure in my line of work and different goals you set yourself. You’re always trying to improve and competing with guys who are world class at what they do is something I relish. You never plateau out. But I must admit pushing for a place at Dubai is much nicer than scrapping to hold onto your Tour card!

“I had a couple of top 10 finishes back to back at the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth and the Dunhill Links on home soil.

“Unfortunately I succumbed to a viral infection during a break before heading to Rome for the Italian Open and that knocked me for six. I couldn’t do my normal prep.

“I missed the cut by one shot. That was disappointing. I got a really unlucky break on the third and made a double bogey. The ball held on the lip. If it had dropped I’d have been in for the weekend. It was a tough one to take but that is golf for you.

“I have tried to remain patient this season and got my rewards. If I look back on recent weeks I made a big move in the Race to Dubai with those results at Wentworth and in Scotland. I just have to forget about Italy and keep pushing on.

“Hopefully I can have a good week at Le Golf National in Paris. It gets a bit complicated with the numbers game but I should be okay for going to the Turkish Airlines Open but I need an invite to the Nedbank in South Africa, otherwise I can forget about Dubai. If I can play well this week and secure that spot it would be very beneficial. There’s a lot of points to be had at the big Rolex Series events but I have to walk before I can run.

“Obviously golf fans will be familiar with the course in Paris from the Ryder Cup last year. I have played here for maybe the last 10 years and it has matured a great deal. Believe it or not, I’d say the course has become a bit easier. There used to be a lot of bushes which were stripped out in advance of the Ryder Cup, rather like so much of the gorse and broom was removed from the PGA at Gleneagles for 2014.

“Le National is a ball striker’s course. That should help me. Normally we played the French Open in June. We’re not sure if it will be firm and fast or soft. We’ll find out soon enough.

“Looking ahead, if you do well in Turkey you can take care of a lot of stuff with a good week. Hopefully I will be arranging a flight to South Africa on the Monday morning after the Turkish Open.”