Paul Lawrie chasing world ranking points in Turkey

Paul Lawrie takes a selfie with his playing partners Andrew 'Chubby' Chandler, Ahmet Agaoglu and Seda Kalyoncu during the Turkish Airlines Open Pro-Am at Regnum Carya in Belek. Picture: Getty Images

The 47-year-old was delighted to receive an invitation for the first event in this season’s European Tour Final Series after getting into the mix in the Portugal Masters a fortnight ago.

He eventually finished fifth - his best performance of the year - behind Padraig Harrington and is now hoping to maintain that form at the Regnum Carya course in Belek over the next four days.

“I actually didn’t play very well from tee to green in Portugal, but that’s the best I’ve putted for about five years,” said the Aberdonian. “Padraig still had nine putts less than me, 100 to 109. One hundred for the week in just incredible. But, for me, 109 is just brilliant.”

Pour putting has been Lawrie’s Achilles’ heel over the past couple of years, so, for once, it was pleasing for him to see the ball dropping into the hole on a regular basis over 72 holes.

“It’s amazing how you knock in a few and you’re able to compete,” he added. “My iron shots were pretty poor, but when you have 109 putts and you’re hitting greens, you’re going to make birdies.

“On the last day I up and downed five of the first eight greens. It’s amazing how it just oozes through you. You think, ‘this is going in, this is going in’. Right in the middle of the hole, too.

“It doesn’t matter what level you play at. If you hole a couple of putts every nine holes, it’s just amazing what it does to your confidence and your score.”

Despite that effort in Vilamoura, Lawrie finished 121st in this season’s Race to Dubai, meaning that he can’t qualify for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in the UAE in a fortnight’s time.

However, the former Open champion was delighted to receive his invitation for this week’s £5.7 million event from ISM boss Chubby Chandler, who was instrumental in the Turkish Airlines Open starting up four years ago.

“I spoke to Chubby a couple of weeks ago and he said, ‘I’ll send it on to the guy who makes the agreements’, and just there on Saturday night I got a text to say there was a place if I still wanted to play,” he said.

“I’ve always got on well with Chubba and I’m pretty pally with Darren Clarke, of course. It’s nice of him to do that.

“This tournament doesn’t count for the Order of Merit for me, but the biggest reason I’m here is the world ranking points (he’s sitting 377th in the standings) as there are a lot available this week.

“On the back of Portugal I wanted to play once more this year. Then, after here, I’ll be starting rehab on my foot and other bits and pieces, like my shoulder and neck.

“There’s stuff I have to start now to get ready for the start of next year in Abu Dhabi. This week, get playing, hopefully have a good week, then start the rehab next week and do some work in the gym.”

That neck problem reared up again after he arrived here on Monday, forcing him to get some treatment on it.

“It’s at the back of my neck and top of the shoulder,” he said. “I seem to get it watching my ipad in bed, which is very bad for posture. It’s still not 100 per cent but I’ll certainly be giving it a go this week, that’s for sure.”

Lawrie’s biggest disappointment this season was slipping out of contention after leading going into the final round of the Qatar Masters, an event he’d won twice before, back in January.

“I just don’t know what happened there,” he admitted with a shrug of the shoulders. “I still have nightmares about it. I never thought I was that kind of player. I never thought I would shoot 78 on the last day. I just don’t see myself as that kind of guy.

“But, every now and again, you hit a wrong shot at the wrong time, you hit another one at the next hole, the confidence goes. Boom, it’s easy to do.

“I just didn’t think I would do that. It’s amazing how you can go from feeling in complete control to boom. You hit one bad shot, and you think, ‘where the hell did that come from?’”

The two-time Ryder Cup player was much happier with his final-day effort in Portugal, even though his momentum was halted after a pulled tee shot at the 11th ended up in the water.

“The longer you go without having a decent finish, the more it hurts,” he said. “It’s a confidence thing and, apart from a couple of shots in the last round, I was happy enough.

“Not being contention for a while, and making birdies coming down the stretch, man it’s the confidence boost that you’re after.”