Richie Ramsay is confident he can add to his four DP World Tour victories but admits he is in the "autumn" of his career and is keen to appreciate every second of it following a strong start at the BMW International Open.
The 42-year-old has not been in the winner's circle since lifting the 2022 Cazoo Classic, however, the Scot has proved he can still contend with a fourth placed finish at the KLM Open last month.
Ramsay continued his fine form with five birdies and two dropped shots in his opening 69 at Golfclub München Eichenried, to sit two shots adrift of first round leaders Marco Penge, Gavin Green, Wenyi Ding, Darius van Driel and Ugo Coussaud at three under.
The World Number 286, who sits in 57th position in the Race to Dubai Rankings, opened up about his love of competing and his passion for golf architecture, something he is looking to explore after his playing career.
"I thought it was steady. I saved par a couple of times, which gave momentum to my round, that was really important," Ramsay said.
"The greens are in great condition, and I feel good over the putts, which, ask any golfer, that’s a nice feeling. You can give the ball a run at the hole, and yeah, I made some putts. The rest of it was just making good decisions.
"It’s very tricky out there. The wind kind of moves from north, northwest and it sort of moves around and changes direction on a lot of holes. Whether it’s in or down, it makes things a little bit tricky. But I’ve been coming here for a good few years now. I feel like my game’s in a good place.
"It’s just about keeping the body fresh and improving the short game, which is really important. I had a good lesson with Graham Walker this week and that settled me down around the greens.
"I think my game is good, but I think I’m clear in what I want to do. Not just with golf, but moving forward. There’s no secret that I’m in the autumn of my career.
"I definitely feel like I can still win, but there’s other stuff I’d love to do, travel a bit more, see places we don’t always get to go out and enjoy because we’re always practising or preparing.
"The architecture side of golf, I really love that. I’m quite passionate about it and I’d love to explore that more. So I just feel quite content. I’m trying to enjoy the moment and being out here. It’s been a good few years, but I still love the competition.
"It’s one of the best things about being out here, being in that environment, being competitive, trying to beat each other, but at the same time, shake hands and walk off the course.
"It’s a fantastic tournament, no doubt about it. BMW pull out all the stops. Just look around at the people that come out and watch.
"It’s a tournament that every player pencils in and says 'yeah, I’ll be playing that one'. Because when you win it, it carries status. You’re beating really good players in a fantastic environment they set up for you."
