Accenture Match Play Championship: Paul Lawrie back in action in the United States - Golf News
Scotland’s Paul Lawrie is going to end his eight-year match play drought in the United States when he makes his first appearance in the Accenture Match Play Championship, starting from Wednesday, February 22, 2012.
Lawrie will be contending against England’s South African-born Justin Rose in the opening round of the tournament.
The main reason for him to be out of the scene was his slumping ranking for the past several years.
He was ranked out of the top-200 in the Official World Golf Rankings, which makes him look weaker in the 64-man field.
The tournament features only top-64 available players from the OWGR. Therefore, his appearance in the tournament this year speaks of his huge improvement in the rankings, as he is currently ranked 45th.
According to Lawrie, the death of his long-time coach, Adam Hunter, improved his focus on the game and he won the Qatar Masters in the first week of February.
“I speak to his wife Caroline all the time and as a family we're very close to her and the girls,” said Lawrie about the sad demise of his beloved coach.
He added, “I know they follow my scores and it makes a difference to them if they see me on a leaderboard. So I want to do as well for them as I can”.
Another reason for the improvement in his rankings is his two sons, as he spends plenty of time practicing golf with them.
“In the past I would practice at home instead of playing and probably got too technical,” he said.
He continued, “Now I'm playing with the boys and they're at a standard where I have to play pretty well just to beat them. I like to do well in tournaments, and make them feel proud”.
He will now play in the Sam Snead bracket, which showcases some of the big names in golf, such as world number three, Lee Westwood, Japan’s young sensation, Ryo Ishikawa, and former world number one, Tiger Woods.
He said that he will give his best at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, where the tournament is scheduled, and prove that he still has plenty of game left in him.
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