Why Rory McIlroy is in different league to most of his BMW PGA rivals

But the Scot is hoping a course like Wentworth, venue for this week’s BMW PGA Championship, gives him a better chance of competing with the Masters champion than the likes of The K Club in Ireland.

McIlroy landed his 20th DP World Tour triumph with a play-off victory at the County Kildare venue, where Ramsay, uncharacteristically it has to be said, missed his fifth straight cut.

“I don’t think a lot of people sometimes realise the difference where Rory plays from,” said Ramsay, who is among eight Scots teeing up the $8 million Rolex Series event. “They don’t quite understand where he starts. If you were in a F1 race, he would be starting two seconds ahead.

“I think Rory has gained more shots on the green in terms of putting this year than anywhere else, but you saw last week when he was playing the par-5 18th, where he knocked it over the corner and was left with an 8-iron in.

“I was hitting 3-wood or a rescue because I have to go left to go right and it was soft, which is a big part of it. That’s the way it is. But I would say that this course in some respects mitigates that a little bit.

“When Rory wins around here, I think it’s more of an impressive win because he can’t just overpower it. There are a lot of holes where you have to position it off the tee and wedges become important. This is going to sound like a funny comment, but the wider you hit it the more you get hurt. That’s not the case on a lot of the other courses we play.”

Ramsay sits 86th in the Race to Dubai after one of the worst runs of his career and, though he is unlikely to find himself in a fight to save his card over the next month or so, making it to the weekend at the Surrey venue would be a timely boost.

“I’ve had a few health things off the course that I have been trying to fix but, on the course, I am actually playing quite good,” said the Edinburgh-based Aberdonian. “When I say it is fractions, I mean it is fractions. Last week I hit the lip on 18. I think I have missed four or five cuts by a shot.

“I would love to turn around and say it is one thing, but I can’t put my finger on one particular thing. Last week at The K Club, I actually led driving accuracy in the first round on quite a soft course, which favours guys who move it.

“I’ve made some changes with my irons and my iron play has been really good, especially mid-to-long irons. I have been working hard on my chipping and feel it has improved. But it just hasn’t come together.

‘Missing cuts still really p***** me off’

“I’ve got more patience as I’ve gotten older, but I would be diplomatic when I say that it still really p***** me off. It does play on your mind. Like any other golfer, you wake up thinking about something and don’t get back to sleep.

“That is part and parcel of golf. I’ve done that for 20 years so I know more how to handle it and it’s not to panic. I knew when I turned pro in '07 where the game was going and it has gone in a certain direction, which, in some respects, goes against the way I play.

“There is one certain element now if you are turning pro I would always say is integral to success and that is having a high ball speed, which I think personally should be nonsense.

“You should be able to move it, but distance has become such a thing these days. I feel like I am equipped to deal with a lot of the stuff that comes at me. I just need to stick to my own path and maximise what I can do.”