Richie Ramsay is making a rare excursion on to the European Tour at this week's Italian Open but assured that otherwise he is planning to stick rigidly to his plan to work his way up the ranks.

The 24-year-old Aberdonian showed his promise by winning the 2006 US Amateur Championship and there is enough form in his embryonic professional career so far to hold out hope that he will make the grade in the paid ranks.

Taking a break on the range at the Tolcinasco Castle course on the outskirts of Milan, Ramsay reflected that he would not be here this week if he had not turned down an invitation to play in last year's Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

"I played in Holland on the Challenge Tour instead and did well he tied 11th, then I got the momentum going in France 8th and was second in Germany. Before I knew it I had secured a place in the top 45," he said.

His end-of-season Challenge Tour ranking of No.30 after just 10 events - less than a third of the full schedule - gave him the status that will allow him a limited number of top-tour starts, but it is unlikely he will take them all.

"I'm going to concentrate on the Challenge Tour," he said. "It's a means to an end and it's a lot easier to finish in the top 20 and earn my European Tour card that way than come out here and try to win enough money in six or seven events."

Ramsay also spurned a chance to play for Great Britain and Ireland in last year's Walker Cup to make an early start to his pro career and he said he might even be willing to make a big personal sacrifice should he be invited to play in the Barclays Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.

"That's one of my favourite courses," he said. "When you get a sunny day there you can't beat it, but sometimes you have to stick to your plan."

He is No.61 after five events and he has opted for the European Tour this week because of the high quality of the course and to check on whether he is competitive at this level, particularly his short game, which is currently his weakness.

Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, of Spain, defends his title on a course where players are praising the high quality of the greens and tight fairways that demand accuracy.

Former Open champion John Daly reckoned he might drop down to a 3-wood because he had been missing so many fairways in practice, "not by much, but you only need to be 10 feet away to be in brutal rough".

Daly revealed he goes through two drivers a month because the faces nowadays are so thin and he hits the ball so hard. "They just cave in," he said. "I'd much rather go back to wooden woods and balata balls."

Organisers have missed the opportunity to pair him today with the Italian, Costantino Rocca, whom he defeated in a play-off for the 1995 Open at St Andrews.

There are 12 Scots in the field and Alastair Forsyth, at No.89, could become the leading Scot in the world rankings. A top-six finish would almost certainly take him past Colin Montgomerie at No.83.