Lawrie lends a hand to nurture new pros

HAVING already helped David Law and Philip McLean establish themselves as leading amateurs in Scotland over the past few years, Paul Lawrie is now devoting time and money to the pair as they set out on their professional careers.

Along with fellow North-East player Kris Nicol, the duo are being paid to wear the Paul Lawrie Foundation logo on their clothing and have also been offered free advice from the former Open champion as they bid to make the transition into the pro ranks.

“The Paul Lawrie Foundation will pay each of them to wear the PLF logo on their tournament clothing and I will fix them up with that with the help of Glenmuir,” said Lawrie. “I have built up a lot of contacts in the game over the years and I can make things happen for them a lot quicker than it might otherwise.

“A lot is done for top amateurs but they really need that help to continue when they turn pro. That’s when they really want assistance and advice. I was lucky I had people like Stewart Spence, Martin Gilbert and Bruce Davidson around to make life that bit easier when I became a tour pro. Other people helped me when I was young, now it’s my turn to lend a helping hand.”

Law, the two-time Scottish Amateur champion from Hazlehead, and Peterhead player McLean have enjoyed having the 42-year-old Aberdonian as their mentor over the past few years and now Nicol, from Fraserburgh, has been added to ‘Team Lawrie’.

It’s a timely boost for Nicol, in particular, as he prepares for the second stage of the European Tour Qualifying School along with McLean later this week.

“When I set up the Paul Lawrie Foundation for a group of young, talented youngsters in the North-East, it was always my intention to extend the support, be it money, clothing, equipment, balls or advice into their pro golf years if any of them decided to go down that road,” added Lawrie. “I took David, Philip and Kris out on the Deeside course for nine holes last week and they were asking me, for instance, how much time I left myself to hit balls on the range before a round on the European Tour. That’s the kind of thing I can really help them with – advice based on my experience of tournament play and other aspects of life as a pro golfer. We will meet regularly for bounce games when they are at home and I’m always there at the end of a phone line if they want a more urgent response to a problem they come up against a long way from home.”

Nicol, a Great Britain & Ireland squad member this season, has made a promising start in the paid ranks, having not only progressed to stage two in the European Tour process but also topping the Qualifying School for the third-tier Alps Tour a fortnight ago.

“Getting started is the really hard bit about pro golf,” he said. “For Paul to step in and offer his help is terrific.”