David to call on a Lawrie load of wisdom
PAUL’S PROTEGE PRIMED FOR FIRST-EVER MAJOR
WALKING up the 18th fairway at the end of his practice round yesterday, Paul Lawrie didn’t have to look too far to see the legacy of his Open victory of 1999.
A few paces ahead of him marched his fellow Aberdonian David Law. The 31-year-old might well have qualified for his first major this week without Lawrie’s unstinting help down the years but there is every chance that his natural talent alone would not have taken him quite so far.
Two years after holding the Claret Jug at Carnoustie, Lawrie established his foundation to offer opportunities to juniors and improve their chances of one day competing at the highest level.
Four years after it opened its doors, Law walked through them and embraced all it had to offer. Having claimed a string of amateur titles prior to turning professional, he won on the Challenge Tour prior to his first European Tour victory, the ISPS Handa Vic Open, in 2019.
Requiring a high finish at the Irish Open a fortnight ago to stand any chance of teeing-up at St Andrews, a tie for fourth place saw him join Lawrie and Robert MacIntyre as just the third Scot in the field. The circumstances which have brought him to this cherished moment could never be lost on him.
‘It’s just nice to be here and it was good to play with Paul as well,’ said Law. ‘He has helped me out since I was 14, so it’s special to play in a major tournament he is competing in as well.’
Lawrie will get this milestone staging of the event underway at 6.35am tomorrow. His protege could think of no more fitting recipient of the honour.
‘It’s something he deserves, and he’s excited about that,’ added Law.
Asked for the one nugget of advice Lawrie has passed on as his debut on this stage approaches, Law was spoilt for choice.
‘It’s quite a difficult question — because he has given me so many little things,’ he said. ‘Whether it’s things he has said or done, I am always learning and trying to pick up on the things he does. ‘He has said to me right from the start, on the Challenge Tour and then European Tour, that I’m here to compete because I deserve to be here.’ Nor can anyone dispute his right to tee it up beside a galaxy of stars in the coming days. Having come this far in his career, he’s determined to go a little further. ‘It’s a fine line between really enjoying the week, but first and foremost I’m here to compete,’ he stressed. ‘I checked in on Monday afternoon. I’m mindful that I don’t really want to do too much. I have played the last two weeks. ‘I’m trying to find the balance as I want to enjoy every minute but, at the same time, prepare to play a golf tournament.’
That necessitates a full appreciation of when to rein himself in. Today will largely be spent resting before he gets down to business.
‘It’s going to be windy on Wednesday, so there’s no point in beating myself up out there,’ he said.
‘If it was to be like that during the tournament, I might go out and play a few, but I don’t see the point in it.
‘A younger me might have been playing 18 holes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then be burnt out by the time the tournament starts.
‘To play 18 today is enough for me.’
He still feels sufficiently informed by what he experienced around the most famous links in the game yesterday.
‘It was good. The course is playing really firm,’ he said.
‘I needed to see the golf course but it was probably a bit too windy to play, because it’s not going to be like that during the tournament.
‘Direction-wise, it’s going to be the same, so it was worthwhile going out and seeing it, and it was good fun.
‘The place is brick hard. We discussed that it was difficult to even take bunkers out of play because you can’t predict — it might run 60 yards along the ground. It’s a completely different test to most weeks. Luckily last week, it was really similar in terms of balls running a long way. It was tough to stop the ball on the greens.
‘That was a good run-out, and a good warm-up for this week.’
The draw sees him go out at 2.15pm with Australian Jason Scrivener and Shugo Imahira of Japan.
‘It’s a good draw,’ added Law. ‘I will maybe watch a bit of the golf on the TV in the morning.’
He will not be the only one. With Law and Lawrie in the field, the city of Aberdeen would be practically empty if tickets were not an issue, but they remain as rare as hen’s teeth.
‘There are a lot of guys that have struggled for tickets because it’s sold out,’ he added.
‘The ones that are here are grateful they are.’
And after blossoming under the wing of a former Open champion to make it this far, it goes without saying that so is he.
‘The first time I was here was 2010 when I played the St Andrews Links Trophy, very unsuccessfully,’ Law smiled.
‘We came to the Dunhill Links when I was young, and I was at the Open here in 2015 when play was stopped on the Friday afternoon.
‘It’s a really special one to play as my first major. If you were to pick one it would be The Open, and if you were to pick one particular Open it would be at St Andrews.
‘You can feel the buzz and the vibe around the tournament.’