Sport

Scotland's Ramsay set for his professional debut

European Tour: England's Steve Webster heads to the Russian Open as the form player after top-10 finishes in his last two events…

Thu Aug 02 2007 - 01:00

European Tour:England's Steve Webster heads to the Russian Open as the form player after top-10 finishes in his last two events have put his season back on track.

The 2005 Italia Open champion followed his joint-eighth place finish at Loch Lomond with a joint-seventh place in last week's Players' Championship of Europe, his closing 66 providing a welcome boost of confidence as he makes his way east to Le Meridien Moscow Country Club.

Those two performances lifted Webster from 160th to 76th on the European Order of Merit and now he can build on those performances as he sets his sights on adding to his sole European Tour title to date.

The Russian Open also marks the professional debut of US Amateur champion Richie Ramsey of Scotland. His victory at Hazeltine last August, the first British win in the US Amateur Championship since Harold Hilton 1911 and first Scottish win for over a century, earned him a place in the Masters, US Open Championship and the British Open. The 24-year-old then opted to turn professional last week, joining the International Management Group stable.

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The Russian Open is in its second year as a fully fledged European Tour event having been a Challenge Tour event in its first seven years of existence from 1996 to 2002 and a dual ranking event between The European and Challenge Tours from 2003 to 2005. The winner this week will get €244,250 and earn a two-year exemption to The European Tour.

Last year Spain's Alejandro Cañizares became the quickest Affiliate Member to win a European Tour event when he claimed the title in only his third start, surpassing the previous record holders Sergio Garcia and Graeme McDowell.

The Irish players in the field are Peter Lawrie, Gary Murphy and David Higgins.

Italian golfer Alessandro Pissilli has failed a drugs test, the Italian Olympic Committee said yesterday.

Pissilli, who plays on the Italian pro tour, tested positive for finasteride during the Omnium National Championship near Turin on June 29th after a test was requested by the Italian Golf Federation.

Finasteride, most commonly used in treating hair loss, is not performance-enhancing but is on the banned list because it can be used as a masking agent.

The Italian Olympic Committee, which acts as the country's anti-doping body, has been on a crusade to clean up sport with athletes from volleyballers to cyclists being brought in for doping hearings.