Open 2017: Richie Ramsay will work on his mental strength

Richie Ramsay said his final round was simply "not good enough"

Richie Ramsay wants to improve his mental toughness after being left disappointed with his display at The Open at Royal Birkdale.

The 34-year-old carded a final round of 72 to finish as the top Scot on level par for the tournament.

But he says the mental side of his game is letting him down on the big stage.

"If you don't have a sharp short game and if you are not strong mentally, that is the difference," Ramsay told BBC Scotland.

"I just play a little bit too conservative at times. The difference is you have to walk with a little bit more of a strut.

"I have got to surround myself with as many positive people as possible. It's a negativity that falls in there. It's an old Scottish thing. There are a few other things that maybe hold us back as a nation and hold us back in general."

Ramsay was two-under after three days but was unable to make any inroads on his final round, which included an eagle at the 17th, but also four bogeys, one double bogey and just two birdies.

He finished in a tie for 22nd place, with USA player Jordan Spieth winning the event on 12 under.

"I just played poorly today," Ramsay added. "I didn't execute any of my shots. The week was summed up by the last hole. It was a very tough pin to get to and I decided to go for the middle of the green and it just run off the back edge.

"I rolled it up to six feet and didn't hit the hole with the putt. It was good but just not good enough. Probably when I go away and reflect on it I will be a bit happier with it."

David Drysdale was the only other Scot to make the cut and he carded a level-par final round to finish a shot behind Ramsay in a tie for 27th.

The 42-year-old, however, later revealed he had been close to pulling out before his round got started.

David Drysdale was delighted to finish in the top 30

"I did something to my neck on the range this morning after hitting a couple of three woods," he said.

"I actually thought for a couple of minutes I wouldn't be going out. I couldn't really turn through the ball but I hobbled round. I had a little bit of physio on the putting green before I teed off."

Drysdale, who finished in a tie for 60th in his only other Open appearance to date, at Turnberry in 2009, is now hoping to make himself a regular at the majors.

"It was a good experience overall," he said. "Finish top 30 or somewhere like that, I'm delighted. I would have taken that at the start of the week.

"I felt really comfortable out there this week. I have really enjoyed the crowds. I should be playing in a few more of these types of events. I hope I can in the future."