Lawrie out of Royal Trophy

Published on 05/12/2012 00:00

PAUL Lawrie’s sensational 2012 campaign is over after the Aberdonian pulled out of the European team for next week’s Royal Trophy in Brunei.

The Ryder Cup winner had been set to link up again with Jose Maria Olazabal, his captain at Medinah, but has finally run out of steam at the end of a long season.

Last week’s Nedbank Challenge in South Africa was his 26th event of the year and that doesn’t include the energy-draining week in Chicago or some Tartan Tour appearances. “I was suppose to be playing in the Royal Trophy [a Ryder Cup-style match against Asia] but pulled out two weeks ago as I’m pretty tired after a long year and didn’t want to not give the event 100 per cent,” said Lawrie.

His first 2013 appearance will be in South Africa for the Volvo Golf Champions event in Durban on 10-13 January. Lawrie, who qualified through both his victories this year, will be joined in the select field at Durban Country Club by compatriots Richie Ramsay and Colin Montgomerie. Ramsay gets in as the European Masters champion while Montgomerie qualifies along with the likes of Olazabal, Darren Clarke and Thomas Bjorn as current European Tour members with more than ten victories on the circuit.