Paul Lawrie lands second Legends Tour title with Trevose triumph

Paul Lawrie led a Scottish 1-2 as he held off in-form compatriot Euan McIntosh to land a second Legends Tour title with an impressive victory in the European Legends Links Championship.

Paul Lawrie gets his hands on the trophy after winnng the European Legends Links Championship hosted by Ian Woosnam at Trevose in Cornwall. Picture: Phil Inglis/Getty Images

Hosted by Ian Woosnam at Trevose Golf & Country Club in Cornwall, Lawrie’s win in the event came seven days after he’d been pipped in a play-off in the Jersey Legends by Australian Richard Green.

The Aberdonian laid the foundations for his £43,000 success with a brilliant opening 64 at the Padstow venue and led by two shots heading into the final round after adding a 71 on Saturday.

Battling gusty conditions throughout the final day, he signed off with a 70, having picked up four birdies in the first 10 holes, to win by three shots from McIntosh after he closed with a bogey-free 69.

“I played nice all week,” said Lawrie as he celebrated adding to his breakthrough win on the over-50s’ circuit in the 2019 Scottish Senior Open at Craigielaw.

“I played nice last week and really had a chance to win and that’s what you try to do. So, when you give yourself a bit of a lead, you’ve just to take the emotion out of it and have no ups and no downs, don’t get too excited, don’t get too angry, especially when the wind is like that. The attitude is very important.

“I just kept playing nicely and, though I was disappointed to three putt the last – my pace putting this week has been exceptional and then I battered the one at the last which is about right – I’m absolutely chuffed to bits.

“It’s always nice to win - that’s what you try to do. You try to give yourself a chance to win, no matter what level you’re playing at. Everyone’s here to win this week and only one person can, so it’s nice to be that person.”

Lawrie had his youngest son Michael, who has now graduated from Stirling University, caddying for him after Craig, his other sibling, had been on the bag in Jersey.

The 1999 Open champion is busier than ever off the course, having set up the Tartan Pro Tour in 2020 and now managing players and running events through his Five Star Sports Agency.

“I am really busy off the course, but I kind of thought if I’m going to still play then I need to practice and prepare a little better than what I’m doing,” he added.

“I enjoy the other stuff more than playing, to be honest, now, but when I get a chance to play on this tour then I am going to play and if I am going to play I don’t want to play poorly so I need to practice a bit more which I’ve been doing.”

On the back of his two performances over the last two weeks, the 53-year-old has jumped to second in the Legends Tour Order of Merit, with McIntosh cementing his top spot.

The Edinburgh man has now followed his maiden win in Austria at the beginning of May by finishing third and second.

The next event on the Legends Tour international schedule is the second major of the year, the US Senior Open, which starts on Thursday at Saucon Valley in Pennsylvania.