Ramsay leads by two at Valderrama

The Valderrama course in Sotogrande, Spain, is considered one of the toughest courses in continental Europe, but Ramsay seemed to have little trouble overcoming the challenges it provided in Thursday's opening round, moving two shots clear of second-placed Ross Fisher of England, who opened with a 67. (Callaway Diablo Octane Tour Driver
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Not all the players were finding it as easy as the Scot, however, evidenced by the fact that only eight of the 96 players in the field managed to finish under par on the day.

France's Gregory Havret and Scotsman, Stephen Gallacher, were tied for third on three under, three shots behind Ramsay and one behind Fisher, while four more players managed one-under-par 70s and are tied for fifth - Ireland's Peter Lawrie, Australian Scott Strange, another Scot David Drysdale and last week's runaway winner at the Castello Masters, Sergio Garcia. ( Callaway Diablo Octane Tour Driver
Ramsay, who finished third at the Castello Masters last week, acknowledged that Valderrama has always been a course he's happy to play on, despite its fearsome reputation.

"Valderrama is the kind of course that suits me," said the 28-year-old.

"It's a shot-maker's course. You need to manoeuvre the ball right to left or left to right, sometimes you need the low shot or the high one and I feel comfortable doing that.
"I worked out a good game plan with my Callaway Diablo Octane Tour Driver
about how to play it in the wind and it's always nice to have a 65 around a classic course like this because it's had the Ryder Cup and so many great champions."

Ramsay picked up birdies throughout his round on the day, starting with three on the front nine at the second, fifth and eighth.

Once he made the turn, he picked up three more shots in the space of two holes, birdying the par-four 10th and then eagling the long 11th.

Another birdie was to come at 15, taking his score to seven under at that stage, but the only blemish on his card came at the par-five 17th, where he took a six after missing the green with his Callaway Diablo Octane Tour Driver
over the water into the wind.