Family affair as Paul Lawrie puts name to boys championship

PAUL Lawrie may have been reduced to a nervous wreck when he watched Craig, the oldest of his two golf-mad sons, make his debut in last year’s Scottish Boys Championship, but the trip to Dunbar has led to an exciting new chapter in terms of what the former Open champion is giving back to his sport in the home of golf.

Fuelled by the success of the Paul Lawrie Foundation, which he launched in his native North-East shortly after his major win at Carnoustie, the 43-year-old is becoming the first Scottish professional to put his name to a national event by sponsoring this year’s Scottish Boys Championship, which takes place at Murcar Links on 9-14 April and could feature both of his offspring.

Sixteen-year-old Craig, who is down to scratch at Deeside, will definitely be in the 256-strong line-up for the second year running, while Michael, a 13-year-old who plays off 5.6, also has a chance of surviving the traditional ballot if the cut-off point is marginally higher than it was last year.

“The Scottish Boys is a great tournament with a great history,” said Lawrie at yesterday’s sponsorship announcement at Gleneagles. “When I went down to Dunbar last year to see Craig play in it for the first time, I was blown away by how big it is in terms of players, parents and Press and also the way it is run so professionally. It is the biggest tournament in Scotland for under-18 boys and it was a no-brainer for the foundation when I was approached by the Scottish Golf Union and asked if I would like to put money in.”

First played for in 1935, the SGU’s flagship boys’ tournament has been without a title sponsor since BP ended its backing. The winners under the BP guise, as well as STV and Mobil, having included Colin Gillies (1983), Andrew Coltart (1987) and Steven O’Hara (1998).

Ewen Murray, now Sky’s main golf commentator, and amateur legend Ronnie Shade were among the champions when the event was held exclusively at North Berwick before it switched to Dunbar then, more recently, started to move around the country.

David Law, one of Lawrie’s protégés, having come through the ranks of his foundation, lifted the title at Royal Aberdeen in 2009, the year after Michael Stewart, another of Scotland’s new batch of rookie professionals, was crowned as the champion at Southerness.

Looking forward to this year’s event and the prospect of both his sons having a chance of playing, Lawrie added: “I will be there every day at Murcar Links and it would be fantastic if Michael could get in as well as Craig, although it looks at the moment as if he might just miss out.

“I think it was 5.4 [handicap limit] at Dunbar and he’s 5.6 and there are no medals between now and then for him to get his handicap down.

“But he’s only 13 and has plenty of time.”

Lawrie and wife Marian both made the trip to watch Craig last April on the East Lothian coast.

They saw their talented son win his opening two matches before going down on the last green to Barassie’s Jack McDonald, one of the pre- tournament favourites, in the third round.

“I said at the time that it was ‘nae great’ waiting for him to tee off at the first hole in the opening round and I stick by that,” recalled Lawrie with a hearty laugh. “Marian was the same and I now realise what they go through when they watch me.”

Lawrie didn’t play in the Scottish Boys, the traditional season-opening event, himself due to the fact he had little of an amateur career to speak of, having played off five when he turned proat the age of 17 and headed down the PGA training path.

“I actually played a lot of football around that time,” he recalled of his days as a flying right winger who was good enough to play for a Grampian Select but reckoned he was never going to make the grade for his beloved Aberdeen. “On reflection, though, I wish I had played more amateur tournaments.”

One thing Lawrie doesn’t regret is deciding to launch his foundation, which now encompasses football, curling, swimming and hockey as well as golf, at a time when he was still an active Tour player, rather than waiting until the end of his career.

“It would be easy to be retired and try to put something back when you’ve got nothing else to do, but it was very important to me to be doing this as a current player,” he said before revealing that fellow Scottish professional Stephen Gallacher is on the verge of launching a similar foundation in the Lothians.

“He’s been chatting to me for about the last 18 months about what’s all involved and huge credit to him for starting up something in the Edinburgh area similar to what we’ve got in Aberdeen,” added Lawrie.

Although the Scottish Boys Championship sponsorship deal is initially just for this year, retiring SGU chairman Douglas Connon is hopeful that it will be extended.

Paying tribute to Lawrie, he said: “It has become typical of Paul to put something back into the game. Ever since he won at Carnoustie, he has tried to do something for Scottish professionals and also been unstinting in his support of amateurs, giving time and passing on experience to aspiring young professionals.”

On the professional front, plans are in place for the Paul Lawrie Invitational to be held again at Deeside, with the host aiming to pull out all the stops to welcome “a few more Tour players” in a May slot which is set to be confirmed soon by the Scottish PGA.