Ramsdale in the hunt for Tour passport

Oct 9 2007 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

FORMBY’S Mark Ramsdale has reached the end of a disappointing season to now play some of the best golf of his professional career and produce his best performance at the European Tour School.

The 27-year-old, who has been going to the Tour school each year since 2004, has reached stage two for the first time

At St Annes Old Links he finished with opening rounds of 70,70 and played with such confidence he was undisturbed by the 74 that followed in round three.

“I did bogey the last two holes,” he said. “But then it was a tough day with wind and rain for the last four holes and I knew it was tough for others, too.”

He finished with a final round of 69 to claim a share of fifth place and earn a place at the next stage in Spain early next month.

He said: “In the last few years I have missed getting through stage one only by a few shots.

“So obviously I am very pleased with this, my best yet at the Tour school. It’s pretty cool. I just played pretty steady, tee to green and I did not do anything stupid. Now two more stages and then, well, who knows.”

Ramsdale turned professional in 2004 and then was hit by a strange and severe attack of glandular fever.

He never found out the reason for the illness but says: “It seems to attack fitter people. It probably knocked me back 18 months to two years. It was a big blow.”

He has played in the Gateway Tour in San Diego and in the EuroPro Tour, where last year he finished 10th in the Order of Merit.

Unlike 2006 this season his EuroPro Tour results have been disappointing and playing the tournaments have cost him significantly more than his winnings.

But he reveals that the reason for that – and now his improved late season form – has been some adjustments to his golf swing.

In February he went to see his coach in San Diego, Dennis Sheehy. He works on a regular basis with Sheehy, discussing his game and receiving advice, corresponding via e-mails and relayed pictures of his golf swing. He also sees a sports psychologist, Alan Fine who is from Wales but, like Sheehy, is now based on San Diego and looking for improvements he works with Phil Kenyon from Hillside.

Ramsdale says: “I trust Dennis 150%. There are not many I trust but he is one of the best coaches in the world. He said I needed to make some basic changes. He said he wanted to see me perform better in tournaments and so I have been hitting lots of golf balls to get into this swing.

“This season has been disappointing but then I have been making these changes. You take a few steps back to make a big step forward. I am not looking for a quick fix, early results, but for some changes which will help in the long term.

“Now it is working well. In the short term the results have not been good but hopefully the results will come.

“I can see the improvements coming through now. I have more consistency and I feel this is the start of a breakthrough. Also, working with Phil, my putting has improved. I have more consistency there too. Added together, at the Tour school I probably played the best golf since I turned professional.”

The EuroPro Tour season has now finished for Ramsdale and he is now practising most days at Formby, preparing for his bid to pass through the next stage of the school in his bid to join the lucrative European Tour.

“This is where I want to be in the long term,” he says. “This, for me and for others, is what it is all about in the end.

“At each stage of the Tour school, with the qualifiers coming through and those exempt joining the later stages, it obviously gets tougher. But then I cannot be thinking of others, how they might perform, what they are doing. I just have to think of myself, concentrate on my own game.

“You never know what is going to happy but I have been working on this swing all summer and I am pretty confident of getting through the next stage of the Tour school.

“If I play well I always know I can compete and win.”