Triumphs after nine years without doing so in the Tour
The Scotsman Paul Lawrie won the Open de Andalucía by Turkish Airlines in a very complicated last round due to the changing wind that blew at the Parador Málaga Golf. Despite a bad start with three bogeys in the first round, Lawrie managed to keep calm and use his experience to win with a round under par. Nine years later, the Scotsman won his sixth title on the European Tour.
The tournament was wide open until the last holes, as the Scot’s erratic start brought numerous rivals into the fray. Up to four players tied for the lead after the first nine holes, Lawrie, Mark Foster, Johan Edfors and Felipe Aguilar.
Lawrie rediscovered his best putt at the right time and achieved a victory that takes him from 115th to 24th place in the Race to Dubai, and qualified him to compete in the Volvo World Match Play Championship to be held at Finca Cortesin from May 19 to 22. The other place at stake went to the Swede Johan Edfors, second classified at one stroke (-11).
Third with 270 strokes was Chile’s Aguilar, while fourth place was shared by Denmark’s Jeppe Huldahl, France’s Raphael Jacquelin and England’s Foster.
The bitter side of the day came from José Manuel Lara, who played very well and reached the 18th one stroke behind second place. With his second shot, he left the ball out of bounds near the green, which cost him a triple bogey and relegated him to eighth place tied.
At the presentation of the cards, Miguel Angel Jimenez encouraged him by saying: “Pisha, you played very well and that’s what happened to you because you were brave, you have shown that you are there and you will win any week of these”.
Lawrie, who recorded 66, 67, 65 and 70 for a total of 268 strokes (-12), achieved his first victory in Spain at the 1996 Catalan Open. In 1999 he won the Qatar Open and the British Open in a playoff with Jean Van de Velde and Justin Leonard at Carnoustie.
The Scottish player won the Alfred Dunhill Championship in 2001 with a 13-meter putt that was considered shot of the year on the Tour, and the Celtic Manor Open in Wales in 2002.
“I’m very happy, I have no words,” said the champion. “I haven’t won for nine years and that’s a long time. The start was horrible, bogey on one, two and five, but the important thing is that I did not panic, I was patient and I have not lost confidence in myself”.
“Despite the bad start,” he explained, “I always felt like I was in control of the situation and in the second round I managed to make birdies on the first three holes and on the 14th. I always putted really well, but I stopped doing that for a long time and today the putts came back in, that was the key.”
“I’m very happy for the win and for earning a spot in the Volvo World Match Play Championship,” said the ‘resurgent’ champion.
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