Paul Lawrie recalls his 1999 Open victory and hopes for an inclusion in the Ryder Cup this year
Paul Lawrie, the resilient Scotsman who survived the gruesome form vows for a staggering nine years, is back in the groove and will be appearing in his 500th European Tour event this week at Finca Cortesin, the venue of the star-studded Volvo
World Match Play Championship.
Lawrie shot to fame in the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie where he came back from a deficit of a whooping 10 strokes to land the title on the Playoff.
The comeback is still a record in more than 40 years of European Tour history and has some fond memories for the 43-year-old Scot.
He said, “In the play-off it was amazing how this feeling came over me and everything was clear and I just knew what I was doing and I was focused and I wasn't harassed. There were people everywhere and there was a circus inside the ropes and I just remember
being really, really calm. It's amazing how you can get in that position”.
He won his first European Tour event in the year 1996, the Catalan Open. He broke headlines in 1999 when he landed the Open Championship title, defeating Justin Leonard and Jean Van de Velde on the Playoff.
Lawrie also played in the Ryder Cup the same year where he outperformed many of the American players and won his singles round with a stunning margin.
Honoured with a MBE for his contribution to the promotion of the sport, Lawrie fell for severe form vows later in his career and was not able to win a single title from 2002 to 2011.
He was finally able to break his winless streak last year when he surged to limelight with victory at Open de Andalucía de Golf where he defeated Johan Edfors by one stroke.
Boosted by the confidence, Lawrie clinched his seventh European Tour title earlier this year when he landed the Commercialbank Qatar Masters taking over the young Jason Day and Peter Hanson by four strokes.
For the moment, the grizzled veteran is contemplating an inclusion in the Ryder Cup this year and insists that his selection would be the zenith of his career.
He added, “If I get in The Ryder Cup, it would be the biggest achievement of my career, so that's the motivation. I really want to play on that team”.
Lawrie is the 22nd player in the European Tour history to reach the 500 event benchmark.
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