At first, the chitter-chatter centred on the rights and wrongs of this unfortunate affair. Predictably, Stenson’s decision to move to LIV Gof is receiving widespread condemnation and has provoked a mixture of anger and sadness amongst DP World Tour players and staff.

Still, things move on. And gossip is no exception. Now that Stenson has been shown the exit, speculation is rife over just who will lead the European side in Italy in September 2023 and how the decision will be reached.

“We don’t have as many options as we had a few months ago,” says Jose Maria Olazabal, who skippered Europe to famous victory at Medinah in 2012. “So many of the potential candidates are already on the LIV Tour. I think we are down to three possibilities: Paul Lawrie, Luke Donald and Thomas Bjorn.”

A seven-time Ryder Cup player, Olazabal contends that Donald of the three is more suited to a match in the US. “He makes his home and his life there,” Olazabal says. “Travelling to the site would be easy for him.” That leaves, in his mind, Lawrie and Bjorn for Rome in 14 months. “Both would be good. Thomas has experience. He did a great job in 2018. But Paul has played enough times to know what the job entails. I would not be unhappy if he got the job.”

As to just how the final decision should be arrived at, Ian Woosnam, European captain at the K Club in 2006, keeps things characteristically simple. The wee Welshman thinks as quickly as he plays.

“For me, they should just go through the process again,” he says. “I don’t think they should do anything different. That would be the fairest way. It’s not as if it’s going to take long. One meeting would be enough.”

Anyway, let’s take a close look at the most prominent names in the frame, with one addition to Olazabal’s list of contenders.

Luke Donald

By all accounts, the former World No. 1 was more than a little miffed that he did not get the job first time round. And, to an extent, Donald had a point. Even in March this year Stenson’s appointment was seen as a little “iffy”, his name having cropped up often enough whenever LIV Golf was mentioned.

By that measure alone, Donald must be seen as a favourite. The 44-year-old Englishman has played in four (winning) Ryder Cups with some distinction, his 10-4-1 record an obvious reason for pride. And he has twice served as an assistant, to Bjorn in 2018 at Le Golf National and again under Padraig Harrington in 2021 at Whistling Straits. Perhaps the only slight knock on his candidacy is that he has hardly been an avid supporter of his home circuit. Over the course of his 21-year professional career, Donald has played in only a relatively paltry 183 European/DP World Tour events.

Paul Lawrie

Lawrie has never hidden his interest in being European captain. More than once the 53-year-old has stuck his hand in the air. But each time he has done so he has gone away disappointed, which is odd. A major champion and respected by all for both the undoubted quality of his game and his work away from the tour (his eponymous junior foundation in the north-east of Scotland has introduced golf to thousands of youngsters), Lawrie, a veteran of 621 European/DP World tour events, ticks many Ryder Cup boxes.

“I’d like to see Paul get the job,” says Peter Baker, a Ryder Cup player in 1993 and an assistant to Woosnam 16 years ago. “He absolutely deserves it. He’d be a really good captain. And, apart from anything else, he has done so much for the game.”

Lawrie has another supporter in former US Senior Open and PGA champion, Roger Chapman.

“I really think Paul is worth a shot,” says the Englishman. “I’m not sure he’ll get it though. Thomas will be promoting himself. No question. But I would go for Paul. He would be a bloody good captain.”

Twice a player in European colours (13 years apart in 1999 and 2012), Lawrie compiled a commendable record of 4-3-1 despite never playing in a home match. An assistant to Darren Clarke in the 2016 matches at Hazeltine National, the former Open champion has been strangely (and perhaps significantly) overlooked since, something that clearly rankles.

Speaking to The Scotsman newspaper, Lawrie was quick to point out that the upcoming selection process should follow the same path as the original. In other words, only he, Karlsson and Donald should be interviewed. And the final decision should be made by the same five-strong panel that includes the three most recent past-captains — Harrington, Bjorn and Clarke — DP World Tour chief executive Keith Pelley and David Howell, chairman of the tour’s tournament committee.

“If that’s not the case then it’s a joke, to be honest,” said Lawrie. “It has to be the same way as it was before. You’re still trying to appoint the captain for a role, you’re not looking for something different.”

Whether going public with that outspoken view proves to be the right thing to do remains to be seen.

Thomas Bjorn

The 51-year-old is seen by many as a safe pair of hands in this unprecedented situation, Bjorn’s captaincy of the winning 2018 European side in France was widely applauded. Unlike his American counterpart, Jim Furyk, the Dane arrived at Le Golf National armed with a team well suited to the straight-hitting demands of the course. Bjorn had clearly done his homework and planned meticulously.

Still, as Lawrie pointed out this week, it would be odd indeed if a man involved in the selection process were to be appointed to a role that is not only prestigious, but highly lucrative. So if Bjorn is to be a candidate, he would surely recuse himself from the aforementioned five-strong committee.

Regardless, Bjorn just might get the job if past (and winning) experience is, as Olazabal pointed out, seen as a vital part of the transition from controversy to calm.

There’s another side to this though. More than one player asked for anonymity when espousing the cynical view that Bjorn (a past chairman of the tour’s tournament committee and now a member of the board of directors) will ultimately benefit most from his establishment credentials.

“It’s a done deal,” says one, summing up the prevailing sentiment. “Thomas will be looked after.”

Robert Karlsson

The lanky Swede is a long-shot this time round for a couple of reasons. First, rightly or wrongly, his nationality will be seen by many as hardly an asset in the current climate. And second, Karlsson, 52, is playing most of his golf on the PGA Tour Champions these days, not exactly the best way to stay on top of all things DP World Tour.

Still, by all accounts he was a stand-out assistant at the last two Ryder Cups. Look for him to possibly make it a hat-trick of back-up roles in Italy, particularly if Bjorn gets the top job.

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The post After Henrik Stenson’s shift to LIV Golf, Team Europe need a new Ryder Cup captain. Here are the four leading candidates appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — At the end of a round that saw 24-year-old Australian Lucas Herbert at the top of the leader board at 11 under par, the second day of the Scottish Open was perhaps most notable for the contributions made by more “experienced” members of the 126-man field. Forty-something Englishmen Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood showed they can still play more than a bit. And 51-year-old Paul Lawrie said a last cheerio to the European Tour when he missed the halfway cut.

Poulter first. Europe’s Ryder Cup talisman isn’t leading the Scottish Open at the halfway stage. But he’s close. With 36 holes still to play in what is predicted to be foul, wet-and-windy weather, Poulter’s nine-under-par 133 has him two shots off the pace, tied with Westwood (who took nine shots more with a second-round 71 compared to opening 62). Only compatriot Robert Rock sits between the pair and the leader.

Not surprisingly, Poulter was at his “cheeky chappie” best discussing a second round that contained six birdies and only one dropped shot. He was certainly more than happy at being part of the late/early half of the draw. Treated to almost flat calm conditions on Thursday, the six-time Ryder Cupper enjoyed the same again 24 hours later, with some sunshine thrown in.

“I’ve had my fair share of bad draws over the years,” said Poulter, a large smile confirming his pleasure at avoiding another meteorological calamity. “But this has been a really good one. At times out on the course I almost felt guilty. But only almost. If I was on the other side of the draw I’d be feeling a bit hard done by. But hey-ho, that’s how it goes.

That’s not to say that he played in perfect conditions. We’re still talking Scotland in early October. Warm is not usually part of the forecast.

“I’m not accustomed to wearing all this gear,” said Poulter, a 12-time European Tour winner but whose last triumph came in 2012 at the WGC-HSBC Champions (he also won the 2018 Houston Open). “I’ve gone from shorts and a t-shirt in Florida to waterproofs and two sweaters, which look like they’ll be staying on for the weekend. But I’m obviously happy with my start. I’m making birdies. I made two mistakes yesterday. Which was frustrating. But I came out today and holed a few nice putts and hit a few nice shots.”

Indeed, as was the case on an opening day when 54 players broke par, the Tom Doak design on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth—next door to Muirfield—was vulnerable to those able to cope with its vagaries. Although that may change, given the weekend forecast.

“This is one of those courses where you can funnel the ball into some of the pin positions,” Poulter said. “But over the next couple of days it could show its teeth. It’s going be raining. It’s going to be windy. And the rough is thick. So far, it’s been OK to see the ball run just off the fairways. But that won’t be the case tomorrow.”

Speaking of tomorrows, there won’t be one for Lawrie. The 1999 Open champion bade farewell to the regular tour with a second-round 79 in which he was plagued by back pains. No matter, it was a score deemed, by universal acclaim, irrelevant given all he has achieved over the course of his 28-year tour career.

Ross Kinnaird
Paul Lawrie is congratulated by Stephen Gallacher on the 18th green after completing the final round in a regular season European Tour event on Friday at the Scottish Open.

Which is not to say Lawrie, eight times a winner on the European Tour in his 620 appearances, left with nothing but sympathy and tributes ringing in his ears. Fellow Scot Stephen Gallacher was all smiles walking off the 18th green alongside his close friend. “Get him some help,” said Gallacher as Lawrie neared the stone steps leading to the clubhouse. “He forgot his walking stick.”

And there was more. Asked if he would miss his pal on tour, Gallacher wasn’t quite done with the good-natured abuse.

“Miss him?” he asked rhetorically. “I’m glad to see the back of him.”

Caledonian humour, folks.

The post Ian Poulter is in prime position to end a European Tour winless streak dating back to 2012 appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
In the absence of many star names plying their trade primarily on the PGA Tour Champions in the United States, what was the European Senior Tour, then the Staysure Tour, has always struggled for attention. Nostalgia was its biggest selling point, the circuit reliant on pro-am income to survive.

Although specifics in terms of scheduling and the number of future events are still to be determined, things are going to be different in 2021. For one thing, the Staysure name will be replaced by the rather grand Legends Tour. And for another, Staysure Group CEO Ryan Howsam has assumed a majority equity share in what is, in golf, a unique ownership structure. Working alongside the head of the Legends Tour, Mark Aspland, Howsam, who founded the travel insurance company in 2004, will oversee the tour’s commercial strategy.

In that regard, the so-far lack of many recognisable names to build events around has been acknowledged and rectified. Going forward, former Ryder Cup captains Darren Clarke, Mark James, Tom Lehman, Paul McGinley, Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam, along with 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell and 1999 Open champion Paul Lawrie, will act as the tour’s “official ambassadors.” They will, according to the press release announcing the changes to the 50-and-older circuit, “play a key role in outlining the tour’s vision in the months to come.”

“Our major champions, our past Ryder Cup players and captains and our European Tour winners have considerable pulling power,” Aspland said. “The accessibility to them offered by our new structure will form the basis of our growth plan moving forward.”

Indeed, perhaps the biggest difference will be in what Howsam calls the “alliance format” of the as-of-now undetermined number of 2021 events, in which amateurs will get the chance to play alongside the pros in tournament conditions. An additional focus on the amateur experience, will include a selection of celebrity pro-ams aimed at bringing together the “legends of golf” with others from sports, music and entertainment.

“I see the re-launch of this tour as something which could change the landscape of over-50s golf forever,” said James, a seven-time Ryder Cup player. “The alliance format brings a different dimension to competitive golf and will give the players the opportunity to meet a plethora of people and form new relationships, while amateurs will continue to hear the many stories from our lives on tour.”

Entry to that sociable atmosphere will come at a premium price. Membership into the “Legends Club” will cost £60,000, a source told Golf Digest. There will also be a dedicated Order of Merit where the amateurs will compete for a place in the end-of-season Tour Final by playing in three-day alliance events at some of the “best golf courses in the world.”

The post European senior tour preps for 2021 overhaul, eyes unique playing experiences for amateurs appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
Just as it has been pretty much everywhere else in the world, golf in Scotland has been badly affected by the coronavirus crisis. Things are slowly returning to something akin to normal across the game’s birthplace, but playing opportunities for professionals competing at lower levels have been, until now at least, severely limited.

Still, all is not lost. Launched earlier this month, former Open champion Paul Lawrie’s Tartan Pro Tour—comprising of eight 36-hole events over the next couple of months—will provide some relief for both male and female pros struggling to find places to play. And now, another Scot, former Carnoustie course-record holder Alan Tait, has come up with another, perhaps even more innovative idea.

Here’s how Tait’s Get Back to Golf Tour will work:

At each of the eight venues—Crail, Murrayshall, Montrose, Duddingston, Hayston, Arbroath, Musselburgh and Longniddry—the tour will require entrants to post an 18-hole medal score within a designated 10-day period. The first of those will take place at Crail Golf Society’s Craighead Links between July 31 and Aug. 9. When and with whom every entrant plays is up to each individual. Two-balls, three-balls or four-balls are allowed, with pros and amateurs (maximum handicap of 4) able to play together.

Of the £30 entry fee, £25 will go into the prize fund, with the remaining £5 going to the host club. All scores will be submitted to Tait, who will distribute the cash amongst the top 20 percent of the field. If, say, 100 players enter, first place will be worth £500, with the player in 20th spot getting his or her money back.

RELATED: How the European Tour is approaching its return to golf

“It’s been a frustrating year for all golfers, especially for our elite players who rely on tournament conditions to maintain their sharpness,” says Tait, who in 1987 lost to Colin Montgomerie in the semifinal of the Scottish Amateur at Nairn. “Having played golf at a reasonable level, both amateur and professional, I totally understand the need to remain competitive and to test yourself against others of a similar standard to yourself. With the lack of opens, pro-ams, medals and so on, I hope the players use this to keep their edge.”

As an added bonus, the winners from each of the eight events will be invited to play Scotland’s newest course, Dumbarnie Links, on Oct. 25.

The post Get Back to Golf Tour launches with unique format to help U.K. mini-tour pros find place to play appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
In a strange new world in which professional golfers suddenly have time on their hands (and feet, legs and just about every other part of their anatomies due to the coronavirus), Paul Lawrie is suffering less than most. The 1999 Open champion has never had much trouble finding things to do, no matter the circumstances.

One of only eight men to have played more than 600 events on the European Tour—where he won eight times and twice represented the Old World in the Ryder Cup—the now 51-year-old Scot was last season’s rookie of the year on the Staysure (European Seniors) Tour, winning the Scottish Senior Open along the way. Lawrie also competes as and when he can on the PGA Tour Champions (invitations have, however, been less than plentiful), in between helping out at his eponymous Golf Centre just outside his home city of Aberdeen.

Away from the tour, Lawrie and his wife, Marian, organize and run the Paul Lawrie Foundation, its core aim to get as many juniors as possible playing golf. Since its formation almost two decades ago, more than 30,000 youngsters have taken part in the various activities that run weekly from April to October every year.

And there’s more. On the back of helping European Tour player David Law with his various sponsorships two years ago, Lawrie founded the Five Star sports agency, which now boasts six clients, including himself. The company is also involved in running and promoting events like Lawrie’s own invitational pro-am, the Brewdog Northern Open and the Farmfoods Scottish Par-3 Championship.

That relatively modest operation suits Lawrie just fine, at least for the moment. Long experience has shown him the many pitfalls that can await a management group that gets too big, too fast. And, having made a few mistakes himself along the way, he brings to his still newish role a neat combination of enthusiasm and cynicism.

All of a sudden, for example, Lawrie has gone from always being able to get people on the phone, to having some not return his calls. It’s a strange feeling, one he sometimes struggles to understand. To him, it does seem like bad manners.

“I’ve always enjoyed meeting business people and being involved in any deals that result,” Lawrie says. “It’s not quite the same as playing, of course. But when I come away from a meeting with a good deal for a player, I get a huge buzz. So for us to take on more than we have at the moment, I would have to hire someone. I don’t want to do that just yet. As things stand, I can do all that I need to do and play a bit too. Six of us is enough at the moment because of how much I am involved.”

And on the other side of that equation?

“I’ve always been hard but fair with agents,” Lawrie says. “But I hammered them for not letting me know what was going on. If they had a meeting with someone, I wanted to know what happened straight away. I wanted to know what was said. Basic communication is huge with me. Plus, I like honesty. I’ve had situations in the past where I have signed with someone who told me their intent was to have only three or four players on their books. Then, six months, on they have a dozen, which affected how much time they devoted to me. That won’t be happening at Five Star.”

Ross Kinnaird
Lawrie says he hopes to continue to play some golf, after winning rookie of the year honours on the European senior tour in 2019.

Indeed, as a manager, Lawrie is impressing on all of his clients the importance of creating a close relationship with each and every sponsor. Which is how he operated as a player.

“I was always a little different from most players,” Lawrie says. “I wanted to really know my sponsors, which is unusual. Most players leave everything like that to their agents. They meet sponsors only rarely. But I have always maintained contact with those giving me money. I go and see them. I call them on the phone. I email. I often play nine holes with some of my longer-standing sponsors. I don’t pester them. But a few times a year it is nice to meet up and talk about things.

“When I set up Five Star, I drummed that approach into all the players,” he says. “It has worked for me. I am someone who has had sponsors for long periods. I’ve been with Aberdeen Standard Investments since 1999. I like to think there are good reasons for that.”

Lawrie’s charges can also expect their agent to take advantage of every opportunity. Living up (or down) to the careful-with-cash image of every Aberdonian, he was always well covered in company logos. “Festooned” might be a more accurate description.

“I had as many as 12 sponsors pretty much my whole career,” says Lawrie with a smile. “That is both sleeves, both sides of the chest, both collars, back of neck, hat, glove, ball, clubs, shoes. At the moment, David Law has only his left chest for sale.”

RELATED: Golf is still being played at St. Andrews, but the R&A Clubhouse closes

Looking forward, Lawrie sees only slow expansion for Five Star, mainly because he isn’t quite finished with his own playing career. Despite on-going issues with his feet and lower back, he still intends to play 14-15 events in any “normal” year. But not on what Lee Trevino famously called the “flat bellies tour.”

“I’ve enjoyed my time on the European Tour,” Lawrie says. “I’ve had a good career. But it’s over now. I can’t compete at that level. I still hit the ball far enough. But my body is letting me down. I don’t enjoy playing rubbish. I can’t do what I used to be able to do. I hit 100 balls now and my back is loupin’ [aching]. So I can’t do the things you need to do to maintain the level of play you need on the main tour. But I can still compete with the seniors. There’s no cut and although the standard is good it is nothing like the European Tour.”

So there’s still a lot going on for Paul “Chippy” Lawrie. Oh, one last thing, he also helps out his clients with their short games. The man never stops.

The post Paul Lawrie’s golf career takes a twist as he dives into sports management appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By John Huggan
Scotland’s Paul Lawrie added his name to a distinguished group on Thursday upon receiving an honourary degree from the University of St. Andrews. The 1999 Open champion joins a select group of golfers to be awarded the honour, among them Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Seve Ballesteros, Colin Montgomerie, Sir Michael Bonallack, Peter Alliss, Peter Thomson, Nick Faldo, Charlie Sifford, Renee Powell, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson and Padraig Harrington.

Following a ceremony held in Younger Hall on the Old Grey Toon’s North Street—where 60 years ago Bobby Jones made one of the game’s most famous speeches: “I could take out of my life everything except my experiences at St Andrews and I would still have had a rich, full life”—Lawrie can now call himself a “Doctor of Laws.”

“This is an amazing thing for someone like me,” said Lawrie, who was among a group of three honorees that also included American businessman and golf course owner Herb Kohler. “My background is far from academic. I left school at the age of 16 with no qualifications. But this shows you what can happen when you have a strong work ethic and a bit of desire to succeed in whatever walk of life you choose. It’s humbling really, especially when I look at those who have gone before me. It’s like a who’s who of golf.”

Not having played competitively since April because of on-going problems with his right foot, Lawrie underwent surgery 10 weeks ago to alleviate the pain caused by torn ligaments and bone spurs. It will be another month before he can hit full shots. In the meantime, Lawrie is focused on his eponymous and highly successful junior foundation and, intriguingly, a new role as agent for a few of Scotland’s up-and-coming players. Lawrie’s fellow Aberdonian and new European Tour card holder, David Law, is just one of the two-time European Ryder Cup player’s clients.

Still, Lawrie is, injury permitting, far from finished as a player. He turns 50 on Jan. 1 and is already eagerly anticipating a 2019 schedule that will include events on the European Tour, the European Seniors circuit (now the Staysure Tour) and the PGA Tour Champions.

“I’m exempt for all the senior majors, and my plan is to play as many as eight or nine more events on the Champions Tour,” he said. “I think I can be competitive out there once I get back to full fitness—although there are still no guarantees in that department. I’ll have to wait and see how my foot is in the new year.

“I’m hopeful though. I was still reasonably competitive on the European Tour until recently. Even alongside the younger lads, I hit the ball far enough off the tee to do that. It was nice to see that, when I played my last events in Morocco and Madrid last April, there weren’t too many players driving it too far past me. My short game is as good as it has always been. And I don’t feel dodgy over the four-foot putts yet. So I like to think I’ll do well on the senior tour if I’m able to play.”

The post Paul Lawrie joins select company with honorary degree from the University of St. Andrews appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Brian Wacker
The last time the Open Championship was at Carnoustie, a doughy-cheeked 18-year-old amateur from Northern Ireland introduced himself to the world with an opening-round 68 to sit in a tie for third just three strokes off the lead in what was the only bogey-free score of the day. Rory McIlroy, who earned the silver medal as the low amateur that year with his tie for 42nd, has since gone on to win four majors, including an Open at Hoylake in 2014.

Sam Locke can only dream of that kind of that kind of success. The more immediate concerns for the 19-year-old amateur from nearby Stonehaven Golf Club, an hour up the eastern coast, are how to make a latte and, this week, finding his way from the driving range to the putting green and eventually the first tee.

Locke, who when he isn’t honing his future craft, works as a barista in the coffee shop at the Paul Lawrie Academy, punched his ticket to the Open by winning a qualifier two weeks ago at The Renaissance Club in East Lothian, a couple of hours to the south. Locke’s only other round at Carnoustie prior to this week was during a sponsor’s day. Needless to say, things look a little bit different—major championships are big productions with large stages in a literal and metaphorical sense.

“It’s pretty exciting,” said Locke, a slender boy-next-door type with a shy smile and enough game to have won last year’s Scottish Amateur at Prestwick in a 9-and-8 whitewashing. The last player to win by the wide a margin in the event was Colin Montgomerie 30 years ago. His career worked out pretty well, too.

“I’m trying to treat it as another event but obviously enjoying it,” Locke said. “I’m trying to take everything in. Getting asked for photos and autographs and interviews, I’m not really used to that. You’re treated like royalty. That’s what it feels like for me, anyway.”

Contributing to that feeling is being mentored by one of Scotland’s greatest sporting heroes, Lawrie, the 1999 Open champion and eight-time European Tour winner, whose foundation Locke has come up through.

RELATED: A baked-out Carnoustie makes an unpredictable Open even more unpredictable

Though Locke is coached by his dad Andrew, Lawrie has proved a beneficial hand and mind. On Monday, the teenager played nine holes with Julian Suri and another nine by himself. Joining him the whole way around was Lawrie, who due to foot and back injuries aren’t playing in the championship. Nonetheless, he was more than happy to show his young protégé around.

“It’s important when he finishes his practice round to just get out of there,” Lawrie said. “Not hang about and not hit too many balls and take it in too much. That’s what normal tour players do.”

“It was him helping me deal with everything, say where everything is, telling me how to prepare properly for people and interviews,” added Locke, one of four amateurs in the field along with Nicolai Hojgaard, Yuxin Lin and Ernie Els’ nephew Jovan Rebula. “Also course strategy in the way that best suits my game, not necessarily how he would see it. I got to enjoy it but he told me that on Thursday I need to switch on, that it’s a golf tournament then.”

Locke, who was introduced to golf at age 3 by his father, a PGA professional who also used to coach Lawrie, wasn’t yet a month old when Lawrie raised the claret jug here in 1999. He has seen clips of it, though.

“You forget how good Jean van de Velde played the whole tournament,” Locke said. “A lot of people say Paul was given it, but he played really well and in the playoff as well.”

More impressionable memories came from attending the 2013 Open at Muirfield when he followed boyhood idol McIlroy around and later watched Phil Mickelson outlast Henrik Stenson to claim the claret jug.

Locke has memories of Tiger Woods, too, though not the Tiger in his prime save for some YouTube clips, and more recent ones of last year’s winner Jordan Spieth.

Whether he can come close to having even half the success McIlroy or any of the aforementioned names have had, time will tell. It would be a lot to ask. But Lawrie likes what he sees so far.

“Tee to green he’s very strong, he swings it well, hits it high and a long way,” Lawrie said. “He’s prepared to do the work. He’s not scared to do that. I like that. I don’t see any reason he can’t be a good tour player. It’s just letting him get there and have to be careful not to get ahead of himself. It’s going to be a huge week. Let’s see how he handles it.”

Still, Locke couldn’t help soak in some of the atmospheres. Making lattes can wait.

“The first hole tee shot is pretty cool,” he said, noting the new grandstands that have been installed. “Going down 18 as well. It makes you feel excited to play.”

And perhaps mark the beginning of something much bigger.

The post The Open 2018: Paul Lawrie’s Carnoustie legacy lives on in an amateur protégé, Sam Locke appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The series is an R&A-led project that’s aired on the Golf Channel but now also lives on a number of streaming platforms, including Netflix and Sling. The first season kicked-off in 2016, and it’s a pretty simple format: Each 30-minute, documentary-style biography charts the golfing journey of a past British Open winner. It’s cleanly shot, understated and pouring with emotion. The series is, in a word, brilliant. Here’s why:

It’s Brutally Honest
Press conferences are useful for lots of things, but raw honesty isn’t one of them. Talk to players before big tournaments and they’re consumed with the task at hand and busy getting themselves into a certain mindset. Talk to them immediately after, and they usually either stewing or basking in the glory of whatever just happened. Players just aren’t in the mood to be reflective about their journey, and I get that.

It’s why the most candid moments come when players are more removed from competitive settings. You see them on David Feherty’s Golf Channel show, and they’re littered throughout this entire series. There’s Greg Norman talking about his relationship with Nick Faldo—“The rivalry was very real”—or Faldo himself, holding back tears, looking back on his British Open wins. I particularly enjoyed the new episode this year on Nick Price, in which he says at the start of his episode:

“I don’t think you can have good times without having really bad times. If life’s just a bed of roses for you, that’s great, but you’re never going to get anywhere.”

The Stories Are Fascinating
The series’ ability to draw such honesty from its subjects lets it highlight so many truly wonderful stories.

The Rory McIlroy episode provids an astute example. When you look back on his 2014 Open Championship victory and think about “game-changing” moments, you may think of Sergio Garcia’s bunker-induced collapse. McIlroy, in his episode, explains in fascinating detail that his most important shot of the week was his “perfect” approach into the second hole on Thursday.

To most of us, it was little more than a great shot early in the tournament. To Rory, it was defining moment. And the series is packed with gold like that. When Norman talks about his first Open win in 1986, he describes the “positive energy” that surrounded him all week. When Lee Trevino recounts being struck by lightning early in his career, he talks of moving towards bright light, surrounded by faces of people he loves.

You simply don’t hear golfers speak like this very often. When they do, it pulls you in, and it’s utterly riveting.

It Brings You On A Journey
The best part of this entire series is the brief but wonderful journey it brings viewers on. The archived footage is key to it all: Video of young Rory opening presents on Christmas Day, rejoicing over a new Game Boy, as the voice of the man today thanks his parents for their sacrifices. Or of Faldo recounting life at the lowest ebb of his career as sensational old tabloid press clips fly by.

The series is relentlessly single-minded, but it couldn’t work any other way. Victories in other majors barely warrant a passing mention, because the series simply isn’t about that. It’s about the highs and lows, the hopes and dreams. Battling the press, the course, your own demons. It is, simply, players’ journey to becoming the champion golfer of the year.

SEASON 1
Tiger Woods
Greg Norman
Jack Nicklaus
Ernie Els
Darren Clarke
Tom Watson

SEASON 2
Nick Faldo
Lee Trevino
Gary Player
Padraig Harrington
Henrik Stenson
Rory McIlroy

SEASON 3 (airing this summer on Golf Channel)
Nick Price
Paul Lawrie

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By Ryan Herrington
Paul Lawrie will forever be linked to Carnoustie after his fateful playoff victory there at the 1999 Open Championship. But an anticipated return to the site of the biggest triumph in the 48-year-old Scotsman’s eight-win European Tour career apparently is not meant to be. The R&A announced on Sunday that Lawrie has withdrawn from the Open later this month due to injury. Ryan Moore will replace him in the field.

Left unsaid in the R&A release is the long-standing foot and back injuries that Lawrie has been struggling with. He hasn’t played on the European Tour since late April at the Trophee Hassan II. He has made just six Euro Tour starts in 2018, making the cut only twice and finished T-61 both times.

Diagnosing his herniated disc has been easy compared to figuring out his foot ailment. Those close to Lawrie say he’s OK to walk, but that hitting shots off any kind of slopes results in pain.

Ben Curtis – PA Images

Lawrie recently flew to Munich to meet with the doctor who helped Jose Maria Olazabal rehabilitate his own foot injuries, but nothing that had been offered seem to be helping.

Lawrie’s absence will hardly prevent the retelling in the coming weeks of his improbable win at Carnoustie 19 years ago. Lawrie came from 10 strokes off the lead in the final round, shot a closing 67 and got into playoff with Jean Van de Velde and Justin Leonard after Van de Velde made a disastrous triple-bogey 7 on the 72nd hole. Lawrie proceeded to win the playoff with an even-par score over the four holes while Van de Velde and Leonard finished at three over.

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By John Huggan
ABERDEEN, Scotland — Ask your average golfer to name his or her favorite holes—whether par 3s, 4s or 5s—and the responses invariably include the word “short.” Hardly anyone loves long holes. Short is where it’s at for most players. Think of the diminutive but deadly Postage Stamp at Royal Troon. Or the drivable 10th at Riviera. Or the 13th at Augusta National, the ultimate “risk and reward” par 5 because of its slightness. All are prime examples of holes beloved by all—and all are a long way from long. Indeed, the Postage Stamp is so short Dustin Johnson might just about be able to reach it in zero.

Multiplying that widely held preference for brevity by nine, former Open champion Paul Lawrie this week hosted the Scottish Par-3 Championship at his eponymous golf center on the outskirts of his home city in the northeast of Scotland. Over two days, four rounds and 36 holes, an eclectic mix of amateurs and professionals teed-up with EuroPro Tour (Europe’s third division) player Louis Gaughan picking up his first win as a professional. A birdie at the first extra hole saw the 23-year-old Scot edge out former European Tour winner Alastair Forsyth after the pair tied on four-under-par 104. Vaughan earned £3,250 for his trouble.

The 108-strong field contained two major champions, two Ryder Cuppers and cardholders from the European Tour, the Challenge Tour, the EuroPro Tour, the German Pro Golf Tour, the Alps Tour, the Ladies European Tour, the Tartan Tour and the European Senior Tour, as well as a member of the Scottish Ladies amateur team. Connor Syme, a recent quarterfinalist at the U.S. Amateur and a member of the Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup side that next month will take on the United States at the Los Angeles Country Club, was also in attendance.

And here’s the thing: A good time was had by all. In a world where “takes too long and costs too much,” is golf’s most common complaint, many rounds were completed in less than three hours at a facility where an adult membership costs £300 per year (less than $400). Even more farsightedly, juniors yet to reach their teenage years can play for 12 months for one tenth of that amount.

“We were members here when my two sons were small,” said Lawrie, who purchased the picturesque 1,352-yard course that sits hard by the River Dee in 2012. “We came a lot to play a few holes and hit balls. It was ideal for them. They learned how to play on a proper layout that wasn’t too long for them. This is not a pitch-and-putt course though. You could put any of these holes on an 18-holer. Nothing is compromised. The bunkers are just as you would see anywhere and the holes ask for a nice variety of shots with anything from a 5-iron down.

“The great thing is that families can come here and enjoy themselves. Most people get around in 90 minutes or so. That’s perfect for kids. They have a good time and don’t get bored by being out there too long.”

Lawrie, the former Open champion, sees par-3 courses as fun venues for players of all skill levels. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

Certainly, none of the competitors were complaining about any feelings of ennui at an event with a bright future. Already there is talk of moving to U.S. Open week in 2018 in the hope that majority of European Tour players not playing in the major would be able to compete.

“This is such a fantastic event and represents the future in many ways,” said 2005 U.S. Open champion Michael Campbell. “The dynamics of golf have changed over the last few years, and this sort of event is going to be more common. People just don’t have the five hours it takes to play most courses these days. So places like this are ideal. You can stroll round in an hour-and-a-half.

“I enjoyed it so much. I loved the variation in distances. The shortest hole is less than 110 yards and the longest is about 215. I hit everything from a 3-iron to a lob wedge. Brilliant.”

Whether this inventive but not unique format—the British Par-3 Championship has been played at Nailcote Hall in the English Midlands since 2001—has a future as part of an official tour remains to be seen, but anything that interrupts the almost constant flow of 72-hole stroke-play on courses stretched to their physical limits and beyond is surely worth considering. In the U.S., the PGA Tour Champions current plays a portion of its Bass Pro Shops Legends of Golf event on the par-3 course at Big Cedar Lodge.

“Our executive director, Keith Pelley, is experimenting with a lot of different ideas, so anything is possible,” pointed out European Tour player Scott Jamieson. “This could be something he might look at. I love the shorter format. It was still 18 holes, but it was so nice to play quickly. And the golf was fun, interesting and challenging. I certainly had to call on a slightly different skill set.”

That sentiment was almost universally echoed elsewhere. Challenge Tour player Peter Whiteford, who finished T-8, was just one who celebrated the event’s “shortness.”

“There aren’t any 230-yarders out there [on the Lawrie course], holes where all you are trying to do is pump the ball into the middle of the green,” he said. “That’s boring. Here almost anything is possible. You can be as aggressive as you like really.”

All of which is great, but perhaps more important is that nine-hole facilities like the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre (one of two owned by the two-time Ryder Cup player) fill a void for those reluctant or unable to find the time and money to join a more traditional club. Unlike so many locked within that increasingly outmoded business model, the PLGC provides a welcoming environment for young people – and older citizens looking to get into the game. All those potentially intimidating rules – “Don’t do this. Don’t wear that. Don’t walk there.” – are absent. Anyone lacking experience and/or confidence is made welcome.

Fun for everyone. What a concept. With a bit of luck, it might even catch on.

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