LAWRIE GETS REAL KICK OUT OF HIS MATCHPLAY

ABERDEEN’S narrow defeat to Kairat Almaty was the only minor blot on an otherwise perfect day for Paul Lawrie yesterday as the tournament which bears his name enjoyed a successful European Tour debut. A 5&4 victory over Romain Wattel in the first round of the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Matchplay saw the former Open champion finish in time to watch his beloved Dons’ Europa League tie in Kazakhstan. Although Derek McInnes’s side lost 2-1, Lawrie (left) could reflect on a day at Murcar Links when fellow Scots Richie Ramsay, Chris Doak, David Drysdale and Marc Warren joined him in the last 32. ‘The last couple of days have been really busy, but I knew that was all part of the deal. If your name is on anything, you want it to be right,’ said Lawrie, who saw 1,500 spectators take advantage of free entry for children and adult tickets costing £15. ‘I don’t think I’ll ever complain about a small thing again when you see all the work that goes into staging an event. ‘But then I knew as soon as I got to my bed last night that was me pretty much done and I was a normal player. ‘I got here nice and early, did some practice and got my head around exactly what I needed to do today and did it.’ Lawrie faces Doak in today’s second round after the 37-year-old recovered from four down after five holes against Londoner Anthony Wall. ‘I feel as if I stole it off him,’ Doak said. ‘I holed a couple of long putts and had a couple of chip-ins and one was a beauty. I missed the green way left on 12, lobbed it over the bunker and it went in. If the TV cameras had been there, it would have been shot of the year. That was a dagger in the heart, I think. ‘I didn’t feel I hit the ball that well but that’s match play. You can shoot five over and win and that’s probably what I shot!’ Ramsay, who set the course record of 62 here a month before winning the US Amateur title in 2006, fought back from three down after seven holes to beat India’s Shiv Kapur, taking the lead for the first time with a birdie on the 17th and sealing victory with another on the last. ‘The front nine was below my standards but I’d give myself an A to A-plus for the last two holes,’ Ramsay said. ‘It was nice to do that under pressure.’ Drysdale was three down after six before eventually beating Thomas Pieters on the 19th, while Warren was seven-under par but only edged past England’s Richard Bland on the 18th. Matt Fitzpatrick, second in the Omega European Masters last Sunday, thrashed Bradley Dredge 6&4, while Edoardo Molinari defeated Sweden’s Magnus Carlsson 5&4. But John Daly crashed out after losing by two holes to Spain’s Jorge Campillo.