Eagle lands Law a fairytale win

Scot David Law pulled off a remarkable first victory on the European tour in the Vic open in Australia yesterday to complete a fairytale journey from the golfing outback. Until he won promotion from the challenge tour last November, the 27-year-old from Aberdeen was planning to supplement his income this winter by working in the warehouse for one of his sponsors, who make gym equipment. Instead, in only his 18th tour appearance, he found the strength to recover from calling a penalty shot on himself at the ninth hole that left him five shots behind local favourite Wade ormsby at the Beach course, near Melbourne. He was still trailing by three shots on the 16th tee but a birdie on that hole, followed by a stunning eagle at the last, where his approach finished eight feet away, piled the pressure on ormsby, who cracked with a double bogey on 17. ‘this is just massive for me,’ said Law (right). ‘It’s not something I expected. I was happy just to be a European tour player and now to win is the stuff of dreams. I had to call a penalty shot on myself because my ball moved as I went into my putt but my caddie said to me, “Reset, try to keep calm,” and that’s exactly what I did.’ Given what he has been through, it is perhaps not surprising that Law has such a good handle on perspective. Last December, he wrote a moving blog for the tour website on the pain of losing his stillborn child Freddie in July, 2017. ‘the six or seventh months after that were the longest of my life,’ he wrote. on the course, things took a turn for the better a year later with a first win on the challenge tour in his native land. It helped him to 14th place in the order of merit, with the top 15 earning tour cards. Last December, the healing process moved on another step when his partner Natasha gave birth to their daughter, Penelope. Now, following this success, Law can look forward to playing in all the big events. He is managed by Paul Lawrie, who knows something about comebacks himself having won the open in 1999 despite trailing by 10 shots with a round to go. the Vic open was an event co-sanctioned with the LPGA tour, with men and women playing on the same courses at the same time for equal prize money. celine Boutier from France won the women’s competition, with England’s charlotte thomas joint second.