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Richie Ramsay continued his blistering form from the Irish Open in the opening round of ‘his major’ at Dundonald Links.

The Scot followed up his 67-65 on Saturday and Sunday at Portstewart – which helped secure his biggest career pay cheque to date and a place at next week’s Open – with a four-under-par 68 to sit just three behind leader Mikko Ilonen and alongside fellow Scot Stephen Gallacher.

And with confidence rising, Ramsay believes he is in a good place to contend at an event he called ‘career-defining’ earlier in the week.

“The Scottish Open is a major as far as I’m concerned and you’re trying to get in contention and feel the same thing that I felt back nine on Sunday in Ireland – and hopefully a little bit better,” said Ramsay.

“There’s nothing better than practising really hard and coming down the stretch with the pressure. That’s what I love to do.

“It [the Irish Open] was a massive confidence boost and you’re always trying to get that. The money relates to the ranking and the ranking for me is an important thing. It’s pushed me way up in building a schedule and I’m looking forward to some fantastic tournaments at the end of the year.”

Ramsay was handed the pairing of Matt Kuchar and Matt Fitzpatrick in the draw for the opening rounds and, with the American also going round in four-under-par, the Scot was watching the Ryder Cup star’s game with interest.

“Matt’s been around for a long time, and you can see the consistency,” he added. “It’s really impressive. You see his demeanour – he’s very relaxed and makes the most of his game. It’s interesting to watch.

“We also hit it a very similar distance, so it was good for me to go around there and see the way he gets around sometimes when he doesn’t have his A Game. He always puts a number on the board and that’s what you’ve got to do to be in contention come Sunday.”