There’s not been a Scottish winner of the Scottish Open since Colin Montgomerie back in 1999. And even then, the event wasn’t actually called the Scottish Open but the Standard Life Loch Lomond.
But it was, essentially, a Scottish Open. So, what are the chances of a Scotsman bridging that yawning gap at The Renaissance? Well, Richie Ramsay has not given up yet.
The three-time European Tour winner, and a member of the host club, revelled in the home comforts on day three and a neatly assembled six-under 65 left him on a 10-under tally alongside his fellow Aberdonian, David Law.
With the title still in his sights, as well as a late place in next week’s Open Championship, Edinburgh-based Ramsay has every reason to approach the closing day with tingling anticipation. The 38-year-old will keep the emotions in check, though.
“Getting the opportunity to play in a Scottish Open on your home course against one of the best fields in the world, you have to cherish that and not put yourself under too much pressure,” he said. “This is a major for us. I've always said, the Scottish Open or the Dunhill Links, they would be career-defining wins.
“Not many people have managed to circle them off. The Scottish Open title is special. I went to watch it when it was held at Gleneagles back in the 90s. So to go to a tournament and watch it as a little kid and come to the same event and be able to compete is a pretty cool feeling.”
Buoyed by a share of fourth in last week’s Irish Open, his best result of the season, Ramsay has continued to mine the rich vein of form he has found and a tidy card, which featured three birdies on each side, kept him ticking along nicely.
“It's a very good day's work,” added the former US Amateur champion. “After struggling on Friday, I just spent a little bit of time on the range to work on the strike and it paid off massively.
“With it being my home club, it's probably extra special. There's a lot of familiar faces out there and, of course, you know the slopes, you know the wind, you know where to play. I’m just really enjoying playing against what is one of the best fields in the world.”
Ramsay’s compatriot, Law, was out in a tasty group which included Ryder Cup talisman Ian Poulter and the world No 3 Justin Thomas. On the 10th hole, mind you, Thomas didn’t resemble a player holding such a lofty perch as he topped a 3-wood with a shattering shot that wouldn’t have looked out of place in the Saturday medal at nearby Kilspindie. It's a humbling old game.
Despite a bogey on the last, Law, a winner on the tour back in 2019, outscored both his decorated playing partners with a 69 and finished a stroke ahead of them on 10-under.
Robert MacIntyre, the leading Scot on the world rankings, finished on the nine-under mark after a 67. The Oban left-hander was bounding up the order after covering 10 holes in five-under but he cooled off on the back-nine and came home in one-over.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here