“COME on Scotland!” The shout that greeted Richie Ramsay as he strode purposefully down the first tee at Royal Birkdale yesterday was one laden with enthusiastic encouragement. Had it come later in his round, it could have been interpreted as more of a frustrated lament.

Ramsay’s slow and steady round of 70 on Friday had been hailed as a triumph in increasingly adverse weather conditions, but 24 hours later with the sun splitting the sky for the most part, the conditions were set fair for a day of low scoring. Another 70 was, therefore, never likely to be enough to challenge at the top, the Aberdonian grateful for the two late birdies that at least kept him on the first page of the leaderboard rather than falling back into the chasing pack. Barring another Paul Lawrie at Carnoustie-style comeback, Scotland’s 18-year wait for its next major champion will likely now roll on to the US PGA at Quail Hollow next month.

Playing with Canadian Austin Connelly in the third-last group of the day, Ramsay was perfectly poised to make a charge but couldn’t build up a head of steam. He had looked calm on the opening tee, sunglasses on, waving politely to the gallery, but a bogey after sending his second shot into the rough at the back of the green was not the start required.

The Scot was not overly deterred, however, and, after Connelly had holed his second shot from the fairway on the second for an eagle, Ramsay sunk his long birdie putt and then picked up another shot on the fourth hole after earlier turning around on the tee to ask an increasingly boisterous Birkdale crowd for a bit of respectful calm.

“The second hole was a bit mental with Austin holing out and me making a birdie,” he said. “The roars were crazy. But I didn’t get overawed. I actually really enjoyed it. The biggest worry I had was that I wasn’t nervous and I began to wonder if there was something going on as I normally get a few butterflies. I really tried to embrace it.

“I loved it out there. It was really brilliant. The crowds were possibly the best crowds I’ve ever played in front of. The atmosphere in some of the greens was second to none.”

At that point it was looking promising - the 34 year-old was up into a tie for sixth place - but it would prove his last birdie for 13 holes. The roars, and occasional groan, that could be heard as Ramsay made his way around the course tended to more often for Rory McIlroy playing in the group in front and followed by the sort of numbers not seen since the Pied Piper was last in town.

A bogey at the long sixth – after he had scurried off into the wilds after his drive for an impromptu bathroom break, much to some of the crowd’s amusement – took Ramsay back to level-par for his round, before a further two dropped shots on the back nine took him to the same score for the tournament as a whole. A birdie on the 17th and another on the last – after the ball had perched for an age on the lip of the hole before dropping in - offered some late optimism but it wasn’t nearly enough.

With overnight leader Jordan Spieth and others scoring in the low to mid-60s, the tantalisingly idea of a Scot challenging once more on the last day of a major quickly and disappointedly fizzled out.

It felt like an anti-climax after the build-up, especially when playing partner Connelly showed what was possible with a round of 66 that took him up to a share of third place. A stoic Ramsay though, was not hugely downbeat as he summarised his day’s work.

“I didn’t hole that many putts from six or seven feet,” he admitted. “It wasn’t what you could call a Jordan Spieth-esque round. The best players in the world are good at finding a way to score. And I probably didn’t do that which put myself a little bit behind the black ball there. I just tried to stay patient, but it’s tough when your putter was a little cold.

“But I fought really, really well. And when it gets into a fight I never back down, and that was a fight today. And the two birdies were just reward for perseverance, if nothing else.

“I thought I came through with flying colours. And under certainly the most intense pressure when you’re trying to chase down the best players in the world. I kept a good mindset and attitude and stayed positive.”

The birdie on the last helped put a smile on his face, the ball hanging for what seemed like an eternity over the lip before eventually clattering into the cup.

“I thought for a minute it was definitely going in,” admitted Ramsay. “I thought it was going to stop and then go straight in but for three or four seconds it wasn’t going in. And then I just started walking. And it just trickled over. You need a few things like that because today I didn’t feel like I got much out of it.”