The spring in the steps of Paul Lawrie, after playing the ProAm round yesterday, was a signal that he is looking to atone for his disappointing showing at last week’s Abu Dhabi Championship, the first event of the Desert Swing, where he missed the cut.
Lawrie, known to make strong last-round comebacks—he pulled off the largest final-round comeback in a major championship—is aiming for a spectacular third Commercial Bank Qatar Masters titles.
His belief is a key attribute for a champion and Lawrie was full of it when he said, “I feel ready for the show. I am feeling good (about my shot at the third title).”
“Last week was my first event of the year in Abu Dhabi for quite a few months. I was a bit rusty and missed the cut by five shots, but I did a lot of work over the weekend. I have been here for a couple of days now and I think I’m ready,” the 49-year-old, who won his first Qatar title in 1999, told Gulf Times yesterday.
“I hit it pretty good from tee to green but my short game and putting was pretty poor in Abu Dhabi. The course and event as always was brilliant and is a great way to start the season for most of the players. I stayed over the weekend in Abu Dhabi and managed to put in some quality practice, especially with the putter,” he added.
Lawrie won his second title in Qatar, defeating Jason Day and Peter Hanson by four strokes after a gap of 13 years in the wind-hit 2012 edition, his seventh win on the European Tour. The other two-time winners in Qatar are Australian Adam Scott and Brenden Grace of South Africa.
Lawrie said he has a special liking for the Doha Golf Club course. “It is my favourite course,” he said.
“The course is pretty much the same… some new tees are there. Overall, the place is nearly the same. The top hasn’t changed. The event has become bigger than it was. Obviously over the years, it (the tournament) has grown,” Lawrie, who won the 1999 British Open despite starting the final round 10 shots behind Frenchman Jean van de Velde, said.
Commenting over the competitive field, he said, “The field is quite strong. It is always good (field) here. These three weeks are always pretty busy and people like to play them here.”
Lawrie’s last title was the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in 2012. He won the Open de Andalucia title in 2011, which came after his 2002 Wales Open win.
Lawrie played the Pro-Am yesterday with local golfers Yasmain al-Sharsani and Mariam al-Sada and was happy with the conditions. “The Pro-Am went ok. The course is very good and the greens are beautiful but the fairways are not as good as they normally are. There are a fair bit of problems with them. But it is always nice to play here,” the vice-captain of the European Ryder Cup team last year said.