Paul Lawrie opts to stay out of the US Open because of his consecutive failures
Scotsman Paul Lawrie has stunned his fans with a strange decision of not playing in the US Open and says he has his logics and reasons for taking the extreme step.
Lawrie has already qualified for the second major event of the year scheduled in June this year and says that his past performances at the US Open are more than an indication that the course setup for the high-profile event doesn’t suit his game.
The 43-year-old Lawrie who won the season-opener Commercialbank Qatar Masters, is well aware of the fact that he is not up for the mega event and has decided to play the following event on the European Tour calendar, the BMW International Open.
He said, "My record in the U.S. Open is not good and I understand that it is a major, but I feel I have more chance of playing well at the BMW International Open the week after”.
Lawrie is now pitched in an attempt to gain enough points to make it into the Ryder Cup at the end of the year and is hoping to post a strong finish if not a win at the BMW International and other events on the tour calendar.
He added, “I know people are going to be surprised ... but I stand more chance of earning Ryder Cup points at the BMW in Cologne then in the U.S. Open in California”.
Lawrie broke his winless curse last year when he landed the Open de Andalucía de Golf after a lapse of a nerve-wrecking nine years.
He continued with his stunning reincarnation and posted some strong finishes for the rest of the season and went over to win his second title in two years in Middle East this year.
The 1999 Open winner has a poor record at the US Open where he has made four appearances from 2001 to 2004 and made the cut just once in 2002.
Lawrie believes the only reason he was able to make the halfway cut that year was the docile conditions and everyone was shooting low that year.
He said, "That year everyone was shooting low despite the weather. So it's a decision I had been thinking about for a long time".
Lawrie had a tough time returning to Spain from his last appearance at the Ballantine’s Championship and had to switch three flights to reach the continental Europe for this week’s Spanish Open.
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