LAWRIE IS IMPRESSED BY QUALITY OF COURSE

Tournament host Paul Lawrie believes Royal Aberdeen is in the best condition he has ever played as the Scottish Senior Open prepares to get under way.

It is the former Open champion’s turn to play host this week and he could not be prouder of the venue selected for the event where he is defending champion from the last edition in 2019 at Craigielaw.

Lawrie said: “The feedback from the players about the course has been unbelievable as it is the best I’ve ever seen it. I think it will be the best course we play this year on tour.

“It’s amazing we haven’t hosted that many top events here at Royal Aberdeen. The Scottish Open was here and was a huge success but it is a shame we’ve not had more.

“The course is set up brilliantly and I think this is the best condition I’ve ever seen Royal Aberdeen in, so I can’t wait to get going.

“There’s a wee bit of wind expected on Saturday but overall it is pretty good. Yesterday was unbelievable, it was scorching in Aberdeen but I don’t think we’ll see much more of that as the big yellow thing in the sky has gone, unfortunately.”

As tournament host, Lawrie welcomed the players to the pro-am on Wednesday before taking part in the celebrity pro-am yesterday and he is thrilled to see his tour colleagues play their part in making the build-up an enjoyable one.

Lawrie said: “I’ve been here the last couple of days. I watched everyone tee off on the first tee in the pro-am where you see some great shots and some not-so-great shots. But it was a lot of fun and I think everyone enjoyed it.”

Lawrie finished seventh in the French Senior Open at the weekend and he believes there is cause for optimism as he begins his defence, despite being unhappy with his ball striking.

He said: “My game is not good. I’ve been getting it round and getting some decent results despite not playing well, which is a good sign.

“I feel I’m just about ready to click and start putting up good shots rather than just good scores.”