Lawrie hopes flawless first day in Dubai helps silence family banter

The former Open champion marked his debut in the season-ending event with a flawless seven-under-par 65 to sit a shot behind leader Peter Hanson after the opening round.

Out in the third group of the day after arriving in Dubai sitting 56th on the money-list, Lawrie made his score with a blistering run of seven birdies in ten holes from the fifth on the Greg Norman-designed Earth course.

It was a splendid effort from the 42-year-old, who admitted it pleased him to know that he would also have put a smile on the faces of his sons, Craig and Michael, back home in Aberdeen. “My boys are now 16 and 12 and I don’t want them seeing dad as a poor player,” he said. “They gave me a bit of mickey-taking when I didn’t win for nine years. It was teenagers basically being teenagers, but when I won [the Andalucia Open] in Malaga in March, it was nice to give it back to them a little bit. They are good boys though, bless them, but that drives me on, the fact I want to be a decent player for them.”

Lawrie and wife Marion were nervous onlookers as Craig, who plays off scratch, made his debut in the Scottish Boys’ Championship at Dunbar earlier this year. Michael also plays off single figures and both brothers helped Deeside win the Aberdeen and District Junior Pennant League this season.

“They have both beaten me in the last year or so,” added Lawrie. “Both of them work hard at their game, so it would be pretty cool if one of them, or both, came on Tour. They are both miles ahead of where I was at the same age. I just cannot comprehend how far ahead. In fact, there are a lot of good kids that play now, very talented kids, so if they make it as a pro they deserve to, because it is pretty hard out there.”

Along with members of his Foundation team, Lawrie plays with his sons as often as he can and revealed he’d resorted to a bit of gamesmanship in a desperate bid to turn the tables the first time Craig had earned some bragging rights by beating him. “I wasn’t really paying attention when we got to the last hole and I realised he was beating me,” said Lawrie. “He had a five-footer to beat me and I even tried to put him off.

“I said, ‘You do know this is to win?’, and he went, ‘Yeah’, and just knocked the ball right in the middle of the hole. I shook his hand and said, ‘Well done’, but I was thinking something else under my breath.” It’s doubtful if either of the siblings would have lived with their old man yesterday as he produced a polished performance, describing his iron play as “fabulous”.

“I was in to between six to 12 feet in that spell in the middle of the round and rolled in a couple of nice putts,” he said. “I had a great start to the season, when I was swinging it nicely, but then had a few injuries in the summer and had about seven weeks out.

“It takes a bit of time to get back up to speed again when that happens but I’ve been hitting it better again in the last few weeks and hopefully I can keep it going here.”

Scott Jamieson and Richie Ramsay, the only other Scots in the field, opened with rounds of 72 and 74 respectively.