Paul Lawrie

Paul Lawrie
— Golfer —
Personal information
Full name Paul Stewart Lawrie
Nickname Chippy[1]
Born (1969-01-01) 1 January 1969
Aberdeen, Scotland
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st)
Nationality  Scotland
Residence Aberdeen, Scotland
Spouse Marian Giles
Children Craig, Michael
Career
Turned professional 1986
Current tour(s) European Tour
(joined 1992)
Former tour(s) PGA Tour
Professional wins 13
Number of wins by tour
European Tour 8
Other 5
Best results in major championships
(wins: 1)
Masters Tournament T15: 2003
U.S. Open T30: 2002
The Open Championship Won: 1999
PGA Championship T34: 1999

Paul Stewart Lawrie OBE (born 1 January 1969) is a Scottish professional golfer who is best known for winning The Open Championship in 1999. He was a vice-captain for the European Ryder Cup team in 2016.

Lawrie at the Scottish Hydro Challenge

Early career

Lawrie was born in Aberdeen. He turned professional in 1986 and became a member of the European Tour in 1992. He performed steadily without doing much to draw attention to himself, aside from a 6th-place finish in the 1993 Open Championship. In his first seven seasons his only top 50 finish on the Order of Merit came in 1996 when he was 21st. However he also finished in the top 100 in all but one of the other six seasons, and picked up a debut tour win at the 1996 Catalan Open.

1999 onwards

Lawrie's career was transformed in 1999. After winning the Qatar Masters, which is a European Tour event, early in the season, he went on to win the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie in July.[2] This was the Open where the Frenchman Jean van de Velde blew a three-shot lead on the final hole. Lawrie won a four-hole playoff against Van de Velde and American Justin Leonard. An unusual aspect of Lawrie's victory was that he was neither leader nor co-leader at any time during his regulation 72 holes, only moving into a share of the lead when the leaders came back to him after he had completed his final round. Also, Lawrie came back from the largest third-round deficit ever faced by a major championship winner; going into the final day, he trailed the leader, Van de Velde, by 10 shots. This is also the record for the biggest final-round comeback on the PGA Tour.[3]

After his major championship victory, Lawrie's game shifted to a higher level without quite moving him into the global elite group of golfers. He finished 9th on the European Tour Order of Merit in 1999; 6th in 2001, when he captured the lucrative Dunhill Links Championship; and 10th in 2002, when he won his fifth European Tour title at the Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open.

In March 2001, the Paul Lawrie Foundation was created. The Foundation aims to support and sustain an interest and enthusiasm for the game of golf amongst under 18s. Activities are delivered in a fun and relaxed setting with equipment provided if necessary. The Foundation has grown rapidly and now includes football and hockey.[2][4] In 2011, a 54-hole tournament, the Paul Lawrie Invitational was added to the Tartan Tour.

After winning the Open, Lawrie was a member of the PGA Tour for several seasons, while also continuing to compete on the European Tour. He enjoyed little success in the U.S. and when his five-year major championship exemption expired at the end of the 2004 season, he lost his PGA Tour card.

Lawrie comes out from the rough at the Scottish Hydro Challenge

Lawrie was the last European player to win a major until 2007, when that drought was ended by Pádraig Harrington of Ireland in The Open Championship. He was the last player from the United Kingdom to win a major until Graeme McDowell won the 2010 U.S. Open. Lawrie is still the last player from Scotland to win a major.

At the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry, Lawrie scored what is believed to be only the eighth albatross (double eagle) in the competition's 150-year history by holing his second shot at the par 5 seventh hole in the final round.[5]

On 27 March 2011, Lawrie won the Open de Andalucía de Golf by one stroke over Johan Edfors. Lawrie finished the championship at −12 and in doing so ended a nine-year period without a tour win.[6]

In February 2012, Lawrie won the Commercialbank Qatar Masters for the second time in his career, having previously won in 1999. Lawrie became only the second player to have won the tournament more than once alongside Adam Scott. It was Lawrie's seventh win on the European Tour. The tournament was reduced to 54 holes after strong winds hampered the play during rounds one and two. He won by four strokes over Jason Day and Peter Hanson after a final round of 65.

Lawrie skipped the 2012 U.S. Open in an attempt to qualify for the 2012 Ryder Cup. He secured qualification with victory at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in August. He has stated that he would accept the captain's role for the 2014 Ryder Cup if offered.[7] Lawrie helped Team Europe retain the Ryder Cup at Medinah.[8] He finished the season in the top 10 of the Order of Merit for the first time in ten years.

Lawrie was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2000 and Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for voluntary service to golf.[9][10]

Non-playing work

Lawrie is passionate about junior golf and his Paul Lawrie Foundation has taught thousands of youngsters. In 2012, he also bought Aspire Golf Centre in Aberdeen (now called the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre). Partly due to this, he was named by the Golf Club Managers' Association's Golf Club Management magazine as the 37th most powerful person in British golf. Lawrie is a fan of Aberdeen FC.[11]

Lawrie was also a columnist for bunkered golf magazine between 1999 and 2004.

Lawrie also has his own golf brand, called Cardinal Golf.[12]

Professional wins (12)

European Tour wins (8)

Legend
Major championships (1)
Other European Tour (7)
No. Date Tournament Winning score Margin of victory Runner(s)-up
1 3 Mar 1996 Catalan Open −9 (65-70=135) 1 stroke Spain Fernando Roca
2 20 Feb 1999 Qatar Masters −20 (68-65-67-68=268) 7 strokes Denmark Søren Kjeldsen, Wales Phillip Price
3 18 Jul 1999 The Open Championship +6 (73-74-76-67=290) Playoff United States Justin Leonard, France Jean van de Velde
4 21 Oct 2001 Dunhill Links Championship −18 (71-68-63-68=270) 1 stroke South Africa Ernie Els
5 11 Aug 2002 Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open −16 (67-65-70-70=272) 5 strokes England John Bickerton
6 27 Mar 2011 Open de Andalucía de Golf −12 (66-67-65-70=272) 1 stroke Sweden Johan Edfors
7 5 Feb 2012 Commercialbank Qatar Masters* −15 (69-67-65=201) 4 strokes Australia Jason Day, Sweden Peter Hanson
8 26 Aug 2012 Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles −16 (68-69-67-68=272) 4 strokes Australia Brett Rumford

* Note: The 2012 Commercialbank Qatar Masters was reduced to 54 holes due to strong winds.

European Tour playoff record (1–2)

No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult
1 1999 The Open Championship United States Justin Leonard, France Jean van de Velde Won 4-hole playoff (Lawrie:15, Leonard:18, Van de Velde:18)
2 2001 Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open England Daren Lee, Republic of Ireland Paul McGinley McGinley won with par on fifth extra hole
Lawrie eliminated with par on second hole
3 2003 Alfred Dunhill Championship England Mark Foster, Denmark Anders Hansen,
South Africa Trevor Immelman, South Africa Doug McGuigan,
South Africa Bradford Vaughan		 Foster with eagle on second extra hole
Hansen and McGuigan eliminated with birdie on first hole

Other wins (4)

Major championships

Wins (1)

YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up
1999 The Open Championship 10 shot deficit +6 (73-74-76-67=290) Playoff 1 United States Justin Leonard, France Jean van de Velde

1 Defeated Justin Leonard and Jean van de Velde in 4-hole playoff: Lawrie (5-4-3-3=15), Leonard (5-4-4-5=18), Van de Velde (6-4-3-5=18)

Results timeline

Tournament 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
Masters Tournament DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship T22 T6 T24 T58 CUT DNP CUT 1
PGA Championship DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP T34
Tournament 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Masters Tournament CUT CUT CUT T15 T37 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP CUT T30 CUT CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT T42 T59 CUT CUT T52 CUT CUT CUT T47
PGA Championship T72 CUT CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
Masters Tournament DNP DNP T24 T38 DNP DNP DNP
U.S. Open DNP DNP DNP T32 DNP DNP DNP
The Open Championship CUT T66 T34 T26 CUT T40 T63
PGA Championship DNP DNP T48 CUT DNP DNP DNP

DNP = Did not play
CUT = missed the half-way cut
"T" indicates a tie for a place
Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10

Summary

Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts made
Masters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 1 7 4
U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2
The Open Championship 1 0 0 1 2 4 24 14
PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3
Totals 1 0 0 1 2 5 42 23

Results in World Golf Championship events

Tournament1999200020012002200320042005200620072008
Accenture Match Play Championship DNP QF R32 R64 R64 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Cadillac Championship T37 DNP NT1 T54 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Bridgestone Invitational T21 DNP DNP T65 DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP
Tournament20092010201120122013
Accenture Match Play Championship DNP DNP DNP R16 R64
Cadillac Championship DNP DNP DNP T60 T58
Bridgestone Invitational DNP DNP DNP T50 T27
HSBC Champions DNP DNP T49 T36 DNP

1Cancelled due to 9/11
DNP = Did not play
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play
"T" = Tied
Yellow background for top-10.
Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.

Team appearances

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lawrie looks to show his mettle at Medinah". Ryder Cup. 22 September 2012.
  2. 1 2 "The Foundation". The Paul Lawrie Foundation. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  3. ↑ Kelley, Brent. "Largest Final-Round Comeback on PGA Tour". About.com. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  4. ↑ "Paul Lawrie". The Paul Lawrie Foundation. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
  5. ↑ "Paul Lawrie sinks Turnberry albatross to join select Open club". The Guardian. 19 July 2009.
  6. ↑ "Lawrie finally a winner again". Sky Sports. 28 March 2011.
  7. ↑ "Paul Lawrie: Former Open winner would accept Ryder Cup captaincy". 13 June 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2012.
  8. ↑ "Europe seal Ryder Cup win with comeback of epic proportions". Guardian UK. 1 October 2012. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  9. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60534. p. 11. 15 June 2013.
  10. ↑ "Paul Lawrie receives OBE". 14 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  11. ↑ The Golf Power List 40-31 Golf Club Management, June 2012
  12. ↑ McEwan, Michael (3 August 2016). "Cardinal Golf: Paul Lawrie's new venture". bunkered.
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