The 29-year-old opened his challenge in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship yesterday with a seven-under 65 over the Old Course at St Andrews to sit five behind South African leader Branden Grace, who hit a dazzling 12-under 60 at Kingsbarns.
Ramsay, a two-time winner on the European Tour, didn't watch any of Team Europe's stunning singles fightback against the United States of America on Sunday night. However, he still insists he was given a real wake-up call to just what it takes to make the European team.
The transatlantic tussle will head for Scotland in 2014 and, while Ramsay has always harboured his own dreams of representing the continent in the biennial clash, the Scot appreciates just how difficult it will be to achieve that goal when the USA come calling at Gleneagles.
Ramsay, who won last month's Omega European Masters, said: "I didn't see any of the last night of the Ryder Cup, but I know that in order to compete and try and be as good as those players are, I need to be going to bed and not staying up and watching them winning the Ryder Cup.
"I'm not going to start saying that I want to play in the Ryder Cup (at Gleneagles in 2014), but all I would say is that when I was 16, a dream of mine was to play on the European Tour and to win on it and I've done that.
"The Ryder Cup is a similar dream. I'm a big believer that if you work hard then you can achieve a lot. It's a big, big question mark, but it's something I would love to do."
Frontrunner Grace romped to the head of the pack with a sparkling 60 that broke the Kingsbarns course record and also equalled the lowest ever round on the European Tour.
The 24-year-old, with three victories on the European Tour this season, ripped out 10 birdies as well as an eagle as he set a blistering early pace in Fife.
French youngster Victor Dubuisson also launched his own birdie blitz at St Andrews and brought the Old Course to its knees with a course record 10-under 62.
The former European Amateur champion had also raised hopes of a magical 59 having covered 15 holes in 11-under, but a bogey on his 16th halted the charge.
The 22-year-old Dubuisson said: "When you are 11-under and you have a few holes to play you start to think about the 59.
"It's almost like a dream, but after that second shot in a seven I said 'oh no, it's finished now, no 59'."
Glasgow's Scott Jamieson led the local hopefuls after a tidy 68 at St Andrews while Marc Warren, tied fifth in last year's Dunhill Links, hit a 70. Helensburgh veteran Gary Orr had a 72 while Stateside star Martin Laird had a one-over 73 at Carnoustie.
