Ramsay cruises to 4-shot win in Switzerland

Crans Montana, Switzerland – Richie Ramsay posted his fourth round in the 60s on Sunday to cruise to a 4-shot win at the European Masters.

Ramsay closed with a 5-under 66 to finish his second European Tour win at 16- under-par 267. He had pulled away with five birdies on the front nine, then jumped six shots clear of the field with an eagle on the par-5 14th.

"It was going to be difficult. Paul (Lawrie) is a fantastic player and I know Danny (Willett) is a great up-and-coming player as well. I couldn't get sucked into what they were doing," Ramsay said in a post-round interview of his playing partners.

"My plan all day was to go out and play the golf course, imagine I was playing with two of my best mates."

Willett, this year's BMW International Open winner, carded a 2-under 69 in the final round. He was joined in second place by Marcus Fraser (66), Fredrik Andersson Hed (66) and Romain Wattel (66).

Lawrie, last week's Johnnie Walker winner, managed a 1-under 70 on Sunday. He shared sixth at minus-11 with Felipe Aguilar (67) and Bernd Wiesberger (66).

The event was plagued by weather issues in the second and third rounds. So much so, that the sixth hole at Crans-sur-Sierre was shortened from a par-4 to a par-3 for the third round.

Early on, it looked like it would be a two-man race between Ramsay and Lawrie. Ramsay opened with a birdie on the first, but Lawrie made eagle on the same hole to forge a tie at 12-under.

The duo both parred the second before the big turning point. Ramsay birdied the third from 13 feet out, then ran home a long birdie putt at four. While he did that, Lawrie tripped to bogeys on both holes to fall from a share of the lead to four shots back in the blink of an eye.

Ramsay could have extended his 4-shot lead, but missed birdie chances from inside 15 feet at five and six. He did birdie the seventh from three feet out, then birdied the ninth from just over 10 feet.

The Scotsman made the turn with a 4-shot cushion over Willett. He parred the first three holes of the back nine. After tripping to a bogey at the 13th, Ramsay holed out for eagle on the par-5 14th to jump six clear of the field.

"I thought there was still a little bit to go, but that was a massive step. Massive, massive step because I knew the guys cause you can make eagle on 15," Ramsay stated. "There's just no better feeling than that. The adrenaline was rush was great, but I had to calm myself the last few holes."

Ramsay parred his next two holes, before tripping to a bogey on the 17th. He parred the past to seal win.

NOTES: Ramsay earned 350,000 euros for the win and moved to 20th in the Race to Dubai standings...Mathias Gronberg had a hole-in-one on the par-3 third for the lone ace of the week...The tour heads to The Netherlands next week for the KLM Open, where Simon Dyson is slated to defend his title.