Lawrie jnr says it would be ‘unbelievable’ to secure Open spot at Carnoustie

Craig Lawrie is relishing the prospect of trying to ease dad Paul’s disappointment about missing a return to Carnoustie in a fortnight’s time by seeing him tee up in the 147th Open.

Lawrie jnr is among 72 hopefuls vying for three spots in today’s final qualifying event at The Renaissance Club in East Lothian, having already come through the regional phase at Panmure last week.

That success came on the same day that Paul, the 1999 winner at Carnoustie, announced he’d be sitting out the game’s oldest major for the first time since 1997 after shutting down his season due to back and foot injuries.

“It’s the first time I’ve entered the Open qualifying and I couldn’t not give it a go with the event being at Carnoustie this year,” said 23-year-old Lawrie jnr after completing his preparations for the 36-hole shoot-out.

“I played lovely at Panmure last week and my game is getting better and better. I struggled at the start of the year with my ball-striking, but it’s getting there now. It would be amazing if I could make it to Carnoustie. It’s a shame that my dad has pulled out and for me to play in an Open there, it probably wouldn’t get any better than that. It would be unbelievable.”

The field for the event’s first staging at The Renaissance Club has been weakened by the withdrawals of World Cup winners Marc Warren and Soren Kjeldsen along with American trio Julian Suri, Harold Varner and Chase Koepka.

However, the hopefuls still include recent Shot Clock Masters runner-up Connor Syme, who is hoping to repeat his success 12 months ago at Gailes Links, where he tied for top spot with Suri.