British Masters leader Richie Ramsay 'inspired' by Andy Murray and Chris Hoy

Richie Ramsay, who holds the clubhouse lead in the second round of the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry, is being inspired by sporting legends Andy Murray and Chris Hoy in his bid to do Scotland proud before potentially bringing his career to an early end next year.

The 38-year-old, who has won three times on the DP World Tour, loved seeing his name at the top of the giant leaderboard screen close to the ninth and 18th greens at the Sutton Coldfield venue after backing up an opening 67 with a bogey-free 69 to sit on eight-under-par.

“If you had told a 14-year-old Richie Ramsay, he would be leading the British Masters, you would grab it out of your hand,” said the Edinburgh-based Aberdonian of his promising position heading into the weekend in an event being hosted at the same venue by former Masters champion Danny Willett.

Before teeing off at the four-time Ryder Cup venue this week, Ramsay sat down with his long-time coach and confidant, Ian Rae, for what he said had effectively been a much-needed pep talk.

“I had a lot of things on my mind,” he admitted. “Not concerning him, he’s just a great person to chat to. He was saying to just remember what a good player I am. I know where I want to get to in the next two years, and I feel that if I can get to the end of next year, I’m going to be free to do anything I want.”

Is it a life-begins-at-40 outlook? “You just realise you don’t have all the time in the world,” added Ramsay, who, as much as though he’s still immersed in golf, has a different outlook as husband to Angela and dad to Olivia. “And, as much as golf is important, there are other things in life that are more important to me.”

Over two days in the Midlands, Ramsay has produced some of his best golf for a