PAUL LAWRIE has signed on to try for a record third Commercial Bank Qatar Masters as he aims to follow up his brilliant 2012.
The 43-year-old Scot signalled his most consistent, and some would argue his greatest-ever, season with victory at Doha in January, going on to claim the Johnnie Walker Championship in August, playing in the European Ryder Cup team at Medinah and beating FedEx champion Brandt Snedeker, and winning a total of £1,500,000 in prize money while attaining his highest-ever world ranking.
The Aberdonian will play in the Volvo Masters in Durban and the Abu Dhabi Championship before heading to Doha to defend his title.
“It’s a tournament I enjoy, where I’ve not only won twice but had a lot of good finishes. It’ll be my third event of 2013 so I should be game sharp,” said Lawrie.
“I know the course well, as we’ve played there many times. I look forward to going back, but there are very few people who go to tournaments and successfully defend. Obviously you go there with good feelings, but sometimes that holds you back a wee bit, makes it harder to win again.”
Lawrie spends a good deal of time in the Middle East practising and he enjoys the way the Doha course plays like a Scottish course, even if the above ground conditions are a stark contrast.
“It’s a ‘linksy’ course, it’s usually windy, you’ve got to knock the ball down, you’ve got to think a wee bit more. It’s not just stand up and give it a ‘batter’,” said Lawrie, who won the first of his eight European Tour titles in 1996.
“I enjoy it that way. You’ve got to play the ball, shape the ball a wee bit. You don’t have to do that very often, but Qatar’s got that. It’s always breezy, but even though it’s windy, scoring’s always good because there are chances and the greens are firm. But you’ve got to keep the ball down.”
Lawrie’s two wins in Qatar have launched the two best seasons of his career, his first coming in 1999 just five months before his incredible Open Championship win at Carnoustie, but last year’s win was also a springboard.
“It was a huge week for me, as I was just outside the top 50 and it was one of my last chances to get top 50 for the Accenture Match Play and also to get into the Masters,” Lawrie said.
“Consistency wise, 2012 has been my best season. I’ve been top 10 in about a third of the events I’ve played in, had two wins, won over €1.9 million.
“I’ve played lovely this year. At 43 I feel as though I’m getting better, as though my game’s improving. Things are in good shape,” said Lawrie, who turns 44 on New Year’s Day.
“This is how I would have expected to have played after I won The Open, but it’s just so difficult when you win something as big as that.
“Your time is not your own. It’s very hard to practise and to get minutes to yourself, as you’re kind of busy all the time. I’m not knocking it, because you want to be the Open champion, but there are so many things you’ve got to do and playing golf almost gets in the way of everything else.
“However, these last two or three years, I’ve been able to get back to doing what I want to do, swing the way I want to swing, and relax and just go to tournaments and chill, so it’s been a nice run.”