Richie Ramsay now needs to pay former Masters champ, Sergio Garcia’s more than his bar bill after the Scot not only secured a career-best finish of sixth at the BMW PGA Championship but also booked a place in this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
Ramsay overcame a third hole bogey to grab four birdies in a three-under par 69 for a 13-under par total, and in the company of a second Masters winner, Patrick Reed.
Richie Ramsay secures best BMW PGA finish and also a start in this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and thanks to Sergio Garcia withdrawing from Wentworth. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)
Ramsay’s finish, and in a 11th started appearance in the flagship event, is three places higher than a then best of ninth in 2013, and the Scot owes it all to Garcia.
The Edinburgh golfer was first reserve into the BMW PGA but was handed a tee-time when Garcia elected to take a week off in capturing last week’s KLM Open.
There’s the double reward for Ramsay as a top-10 result has secured him an automatic place into this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship starting Thursday in the east of Scotland.
And Ramsay goes straight into joint third on the 2020 European Ryder Cup points table having earned a cool £180,000 and also jump from 91st to 62nd on the Race to Dubai to now book tee times in the Italian Open, the Turkish Airlines Open and the penultimate season’s Nedbank Challenge.
He said: “I now owe Sergio more than a few drinks after this week’s result and I’m now exempt into the Dunhill Links.
“My caddie was looking at the board and saying we’ve got a bit of a gap but it was nice to make it anyway.
“I’ve now got myself into the Dunhill now while my Tour card for next year is now okay with my goal now to get into the top-30 for the DP World last event.
“This week has proved that I can mix it with the best because if you look at the field, it is probably the strongest field we have had. I love the golf course and I love coming here.”
Bob McIntyre was the next best of the Scots posting a 73 to drop back to just inside the top-30 at four-under par.
