It would be premature to suggest this is a new dawn for Scottish golf with European Tour rookie Ramsay posting a 67, the lowest round of the day over Carnoustie, the toughest of the three courses hosting this £3m pro-am event. The pair, however, were certainly showing a clean pair of heels to their more established countrymen.

On the day that marked exactly a year to go before the Ryder Cup in Wales, Colin Montgomerie, the European captain, opened up inauspiciously at the 10th at Carnoustie with a double-bogey 6 before ending up with a one-over 73. David Drysdale, the top Scot in the Race to Dubai order of merit, had a 75 at St Andrews, the same as former champion Paul Lawrie.

McNicoll is at home on these courses. The 24-year-old is a member at Carnoustie where he caddied before and after his golf scholarship to Lynn University in Florida. Last year he won the St Andrews Links Trophy with a closing 68 over the Old Course when the pins were, by his estimation, in much tougher positions than they were yesterday.

He also arrived with his tail up after a closing 65 at The Oxfordshire last week to make it through the first hurdle of European Tour qualifying school by a single shot.

“I am very, very, very pleased,” he said with unnecessary repetition because the look of satisfaction on his face was amply sufficient. “The aim was to keep the form from The Oxfordshire going and to shoot a low score and I did play well. I even left a couple of shots out there.”

He was particularly satisfied with a 5-iron he played to the sixth that set up a birdie chance he missed, but that effort told him he was swinging well and he went on to plunder an eagle 2 at the 352-yard ninth where he drove the green and holed from 30 feet.

He finished with a flourish and a 3 at the 357-yard last. With the wind behind, there was a 10-minute delay on the tee to allow the group including rugby’s Gavin Hastings and football’s Alan Hansen to clear the green before having a go. He came up 20 yards short but made an exquisite up-and-down.

The end result was joint 10th place and a great confidence boost to his fledgling professional career that is uncertain to say the least. The son of former Hearts, Dunfermline and St Johnstone defender David has not looked beyond a three-week return to Florida before the next stage of tour school.

Neither is there any back-door entry to the European Tour bar outright victory here because he has not paid the £2000 that is required for the affiliate membership that would give official status to any earnings.

The only matter concerning him at the moment is his round today at Kingsbarns, a course he also knows well, and although a debutant, he stole a march on his more experienced rivals with his knowledge of the conditions that looked warm but were anything but in a chill wind. “I knew exactly what was going on, that it would be a six-hour round, and it would be cold out there, and so I was using hand-warmers,” he said.

McNicoll also went out of his way to meet his amateur partner, American businessman Scott DeSano, during a practice round at Carnoustie. “I told him this was my first tournament as a professional and he said he was delighted to help. He also played well and had pars at the two holes I bogeyed,” he said.

That kind of dovetailing has left the duo in joint second place on 63 in the team competition. It’s all to play for today.

Ramsay also played with a smile yesterday. The 26-year-old Aberdonian is partnering Ian Webb, chairman of the R&A’s general committee and also a member at Augusta National, and the fourball included South African Anton Haig and former Springbok lock Schalke Burger.

“It was a great laugh all the way round and I didn’t take too many shots seriously. I played well and from the few bad shots I hit I made up-and-downs,” said Ramsay who was first out at 9am and had a bogey-free round with birdies at the fifth, sixth, 12th, 14th and 15th.

Ramsay, who continues today over the Old Course and onward to Kingsbarns tomorrow, came into the field only as a late replacement for English world No.4 Paul Casey, which he learned about actually playing Carnoustie in practice just in case. He, too, professed local knowledge.

“I know the shots to play and how far the ball flies. All those little things add up to give you that little edge that can make a difference,” he said, and he needs everything going for him at No.141 on the order of merit and in need of more than £40,000 over the closing stages of the season to retain his card. A top-10 finish and possible top 15 this week would do it.

He also revealed that his American girlfriend, Angela, who he met while winning the US Amateur Championship at Hazeltine three years ago, had asked him to produce a top-five finish in next week’s Madrid Masters to celebrate her birthday. “I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if I did it a week early,” he said.

There was a hard-luck story from rookie Callum Macaulay, who hit 16 greens in regulation and found water at the other two including the last where he had a double-bogey 6 for a level-par 72 at Kingsbarns. “I played so much better than level,” he lamented. “I just need to come back tomorrow and go again.”

Alastair Forsyth and Marc Warren had 70s at St Andrews and Carnoustie respectively while debutant Wallace Booth outscored playing partner Lawrie by three shots with a level-par 72 at St Andrews.