The drought goes on for Marc Warren but one of his fellow Scots believes it is only a matter of time before he wins his third European Tour title.
Warren reached a play-off in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth on Sunday but was the first to fall in a three-man shoot-out involving Simon Khan and eventual champion Matteo Manassero.
The 32-year-old Warren's last tour title came in 2007 at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, although he has had chances to claim the Scottish Open, the Spanish Open and now the PGA Championship over the past 10 months.
Richie Ramsay, also a double tour champion, shared ninth place at Wentworth before yesterday pulling out of US Open qualifying with an injured hip. The Aberdonian, however, is optimistic that Warren, after a couple of seasons in the doldrums, is on an upward curve.
"He used to be statistically the best putter in the world at one point, he hits it long and he's definitely a lot straighter now," said Ramsay. "If you can get the middle bit sorted out it's a no-brainer. In my mind, he's one of the top-three guys I've seen, and there is so much more in his tank. He's got that attitude that when he goes out and plays, he can win. It will be great to see him do that and get back to where he should be."
With Scott Jamieson and Stephen Gallacher winning on the European Tour this season, and Warren and Peter Whiteford both missing out in play-offs, Ramsay is upbeat about the Scottish men's game at the top table. "This is the strongest we've been on the tour since I came on to it," said the former US amateur champion. "You have guys like Scott Jamieson right through to Paul Lawrie, and that's the best part of 15 years in terms of age. It's a strong group."
Meanwhile, in the wake of the European Tour's flagship event, officials at Wentworth announced world No.1 Tiger Woods has confirmed he will play in the new Turkish Airlines Open at the end of 2013. The £4.63m championship, a 78-man affair played at the Montgomerie Maxx Royal course in Belek in November, will be part of the inaugural Final Series on the tour's Race to Dubai.
It will be the third tournament in a lucrative string of events which includes the BMW Masters, the WGC-HSBC Champions and the season-ending DP World Tour Championship. The combined purse of the four-tournament series is just shy of £22m.
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