Richie Ramsay marvels in Morocco

• Richie Ramsay ends poor form with Trophee Hassan II win
• The 31-year-old’s previous best finish in 2015 was 73rd
• ‘It was just perfect’ … ‘It means a huge amount’

Richie Ramsay’s run of poor form in 2015 came to an abrupt end as he secured a one-shot victory at the Trophee Hassan II in Morocco.

Heading into the final round, the 31-year-old was tied with fellow Scot Andrew McArthur and Romain Wattel at the summit of the leaderboard and looked to have the tournament wrapped up early on with four consecutive birdies between holes three and six.

A bogey at seven and a triple-bogey at the eighth from Ramsay allowed Frenchman Wattel ahead, but a faultless back nine including three birdies meant the Scot inched back ahead to clinch his third European Tour title by one shot on ten-under.

The win marks a significant turn-around for Richie Ramsay, who had missed four cuts in five European Tour events in 2015, and in the event he did make the cut, the Dubai Desert Classic, he withdrew from in the final round.

“It means a huge amount” – Richie Ramsay

Speaking about his final round and a remarkable victory considering his form in the lead up to the event, Richie Ramsay told the European Tour: “I made great putts on nine and ten just to keep the momentum going. I stood over the putt on the 12th hole and I just thought ‘my putter feels absolutely great’, I could see all the lines. I thought ‘just go for it, this is your time’.

“I pretty much took it by the scruff of the neck the next two holes and the 7-iron on the last is probably one of the best shots I’ve ever hit in terms of visualisation and execution, it was just perfect.

“It means a huge amount. I just want to say to my brother and my wife Angela at home. My brother has supported me since I was young so this is for him and for Angela.”

The win was Richie Ramsay’s first since the Omega European Masters in September 2012, moving him up to No.77 in the world rankings and becoming the first Scot to win on the European Tour since Marc Warren won the Made In Denmark last year.

And despite competing at the Valero Texas Open, where he came T35, Warren was quick to congratulate his compatriot.

He tweeted:

Wattel finished alone in second place on nine-under, while Chris Wood, Pablo Larrazabal, Mikael Lundberg, Jaco Van Zyl and Kevin Phelan and George Coetzee – who needed a win to qualify for the Masters – all finished in a six-way tie for third.

Former Ryder Cup captain Jose Maria Olazabal carded the joint-lowest round on Sunday of 66 to come T9, the 150th top-ten finish of his European Tour career.

Scott Jamieson finished T24 on four-under and after co-leading heading into the final day, McArthur carded a five-over round of 77 to finish back in T34. David Drysdale came T55, while Craig Lee and Scott Henry both missed the cut.

Richie Ramsay wins the Trophee Hassan II :: Your thoughts

Richie Ramsay became the first Scot to win on the European Tour in 2015. Will there be more Scottish success this year? Leave your thoughts in the ‘Comments’ section below.