Injury is a pain in the neck for Paul Lawrie

Paul Lawrie has been struggling with a nagging neck injury. Picture: Jane Barlow

He could soon be needing attention himself at the adult equivalent in the Granite City if the ageing process continues to wreak havoc on his body.

“I’ve been struggling with my neck,” reported the 1999 Open champion, whose last competitive outing was the Dubai Desert Classic, six weeks ago.

Having slipped out of the world’s top 50, he didn’t qualify for the opening two WGC events of the season. That was a disappointment, but he’d have struggled to do himself justice in either Arizona or Florida.

“Even if I wanted to play I probably couldn’t have played more than one event since Dubai – I’ve not been fit,” added Lawrie.

“I played last week [in the first round of the North East Alliance Championship at Buckpool, where he shot five-under with just eight clubs in the bag] and it was fine.

“But I played this morning [in the second round of that event at Portlethen, where he shot three over] and it wasn’t good at all. I really struggled. I was making half-swings on the back nine and nearly walked in.”

Lawrie’s next scheduled event is the Malaysian Open starting on 17 April. By then, he’ll not have played competitively at the top level for close to three months.

“I don’t play much this time of year, generally, though the last couple of years I’ve been in all the World Golf events and the majors,” he said.

“But it’ll be 11 weeks by the time I play again, which is a long time. I’d like to get going again, but it’s been pretty frustrating due to my neck.”