The ultimate prize may have eluded the tartan contingent at the abrdn Scottish Open but Richie Ramsay still took home a cherished momento from The Renaissance.
A late brace of birdies in a closing 69 for a 12-under total left the Aberdonian as the leading Scot in the field and his efforts were rewarded with the Jock MacVicar Memorial Trophy in memory of the doyen of Scottish golf writing. The auld yin would have approved.
“He knew me from a young kid and obviously when I was younger, I was a bit fiery,” said Ramsay with a wry grin as he followed up a share of fourth in Ireland last week with a top-20 on home soil.
“Sometimes I may not have been in the best of moods when I came off the course but when it was Jock, you took time for him.
"He was someone who wanted to see Scottish success, it didn't matter who it was. He just wanted to see that saltire on the leaderboard.”
Ramsay’s birdies at 16 and 17 saw him pip Robert MacIntyre to the prize.
The Oban left-hander, a proud Argyll man like Jock, had two-birdies in a steady 69 as he finished on 11-under.
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MacIntyre won’t have any competition for the bragging rights at The Open this week. He’s the only Scot in the Sandwich showpiece and he’s heading there in a chipper mood after a decent four days in East Lothian.
“It's not often I go to golf tournaments feeling really comfortable and know what's going on with certain shots,” he said.
“I feel really comfortable just now with my golf game and within myself. I don't think there's much reflection needed at all.”
David Law slithered out of the top-10 with closing 72 for a nine-under tally.
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