Richie Ramsay about as loud as some of the neighbouring fauna to boost his quest of qualifying for next week’s season-ending Tour event after an impressive 69 on the opening day of the Nedbank Challenge at Sun City.
Ramsay grabbed six birdies and dropped three shots to be in a seven-way share of fourth place at three under par but only one stroke from the lead in hot but windy conditions on a course that borders the Pilensberg National Wildlife Reserve near Pretoria.
Three players – Chilean Felipe Aguilar, England’s Ross Fisher and South Korean Jeunghun Wang – on four under par where crocodiles and money are in plentiful number while lions, elephants and other wildlife roam close-by.
Among those tied with Ramsay is Race to Dubai leading Henrik Stenson but with nearest money list challenger, Danny Willett continuing to struggle in taking a triple bogey at his second on route to a three over par 75.
Richie Ramsay roars on day one of the 2016 Nedbank Challenge. (Photo – www.europeantour.com)
Also at three under is Alex Noren and with the Swede having already one three times this year.
Ramsay, with nine-time Major winning and host Gary Player looking on, capped his first Sun City showing with a trio of back-to-back birdies including at the second and third holes, also at nine and 10 and then at 14 and 15.
“It was a really good round and I love the golf course here. I haven’t been here before so this is my debut,” he said.
“It’s a great course to play. You’ve got to drive it well, which I did today. It gave me lots of chances coming into the greens but then it’s a little bit of a tricky wind there as it swirls at times and you’ve got to be quite accurate coming down the stretch with the clubs.
“So, all in all, a really good day.
“I just need to sharpen up the short game a touch, and bring it into tomorrow and then chase another good score.”
The Edinburgh-based Ramsay went to South Africa lying 69th on the Race to Dubai but as fellow Scot Russell Knox (31st) and Graeme McDowell (56th) will not compete in Dubai next week it means Ramsay is lying some 38,000 points behind 62nd place and the cut-off mark for selection.
That translates into a top-40 South African finish for Ramsay if he’s to grab a third straight start in the Tour’s season-ending event.
And having stormed onto the pro-career world stage in capturing the 2009 South African Open at Pearl Valley in Capetown, Ramsay’s ready to again shine this week.
“A couple of my friends have been here to Sun City before and played the Lost City and the Gary Player, and they were very complimentary about it,” he said,
“And I love coming back to SA. It’s a fantastic place. I won the South African Open in 2009 and I’ve come back here on honeymoon in 2012.
“It’s just a lovely place to come back to. People are really nice. The food and the wine is exceptional.
“It’s also it is incredible to see the wildlife just not in a cage or not in a zoo, just out in the open, roaming.
“So it’s just a great place to come to visit”.
In contrast, Marc Warren’s goal also of playing next week in Dubai soured when he failed to post one birdie in a three-over par 75.
Warren is 65th on the Race to Dubai and like Ramsay needs to get himself inside the top-62 come Sunday night.
David Drysdale never recovered from an opening hole double bogey to be soon five over par through five holes, and while he birdied three in a row from the ninth, it again turned pear-shape when he doubled 14.
The Cockburnspath player eventually signed for a four-over par 76.
And double Major winning Martin Kaymer posted his worst score in 226 European Tour events to be in last place by two shots with a nine-over par 81 that included three double bogeys.
