The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Lawrie looks forward to some Love at the Open
PAUL LAWRIE has insisted Davis Love III’s alleged slight on his 1999 Open triumph was put to bed years ago and will not be an issue when the two men play together in the first two rounds of this year’s championship.
The US Ryder Cup captain was quoted as saying Carnoustie “got the champion it deserved” when Lawrie defied the odds to claim the Claret Jug on a course which had a notoriously severe set-up.
If there was a hatchet to be buried, that happened nearly a decade ago, and Lawrie is looking forward to renewing their acquaintance tomorrow morning, and hopefully in Medinah in September.
“There was never any ill feeling on my part,” the Scot pointed out.
“Davis came over to me on the putting green at Troon in 2004 and there were some reports in the paper again about what he had allegedly said.
“He came over and said ‘I just need you to know that I never said that. I wouldn’t say that about a fellow pro. I don’t know where that came from – but I’m telling you straight to your face that I never said it’.
“That was good enough for me. got a problem with him at all.
“We’ve played together since and he’s a great lad. He’s good to play with, very experienced, so it’s a good draw.
“I’m playing with Davis and, of course, I’m planning to see him later in the year. But whether that happens, we don’t know.”
Lawrie missed the cut at last week’s Scottish Open but he made sure it was still a working weekend.
He explained: “I did a lot of putting after last week.
“I got back on the chalk line because my
I’ve not putting was pretty poor at Castle Stuart. I hit the ball really nicely in Inverness but the putting was horrendous, especially on the Friday –—I scored three under with 33 putts.
“I can’t really play any better than I did that day. Eight under would have been a fair score for how I hit the ball. But sometimes you just don’t putt well.
“I’ve spent a long weekend hitting a lot of putts and it will hopefully be better this week.
“I knew what I was doing wrong, coming out of putts and missing them right a lot – just being a bit too keen to see them going in, I suppose.
“I just worked on keeping the head down a bit longer in the stroke and it feels better.”
Lawrie arrived at Lytham late yesterday morning before heading out for his first practice round with fellow Aberdonian Richie Ramsay.
He has heard all the horror stories about the course conditions but is not fazed.
He said: “It is what it is. There’s not much you can do. If it’s low scoring and the course is easy, that’s what it is.
“If it’s tough and level par is going to be a good score, that’s what you deal with.
“It’s the same for everyone and you should just get on with it. It’s no different for anyone teeing off on the first.
“The Open is always the best week of the year, regardless of the conditions.
“I’ve read a few reports from players saying the rough is brutal, unplayable, all that.
“But it’s not going to change now, so you have to get on with it.”
It is not lost on Lawrie that post-1999 his Open record is far from impressive. He has come into championships in good, bad and indifferent form, so he does not believe that is the explanation.
Whatever the reason, it is a situation he wants to start addressing.
He said: “This is my favourite form of golf, with the weather and the need to be a bit more strategic to avoid the bunkers.
“I feel it is my best chance to do well in a major but my record is pretty poor — apart from winning it.
“So every year I turn up just trying to improve on my record.”