Paul Lawrie 'testing the waters' at Deeside as new event tees off

HAVING cut his own competitive teeth on the Tartan Tour just over 20 years ago, Paul Lawrie appreciates how important it is for aspiring young professionals to be tested in the right environment.

The plethora of pro-ams run by the PGA Scottish Region are excellent events - having played in one myself a fortnight ago, at West Lothian, I can testify to that - and also provide a decent income for the more prolific winners.

However, just as Lawrie discovered when winning tournaments such as the Scottish Young Professionals' Championship at Cruden Bay in 1990, players aiming to step up on to the European Tour need more than one-day sprints to prepare them for that next stage in their career.

Which is why the former Open champion, by way of trying to give something back to the Scottish circuit, is staging a new event that tees off today at Deeside. The inaugural Paul Lawrie Invitational carries a prize fund of 25,000 but, while a chunk of that would certainly come in handy for some players in the field, it's not just about the money. "The idea of this event is to give the Tartan Tour players more competition," said the Aberdonian. "It's no-one's fault, but there aren't many three or four-round tournaments (on the circuit]. I felt I wanted to put a tournament together and it's great we've managed to get sponsorship for it."

Using his bank of contacts in the North-East, Lawrie has managed to drum up support from Farmfoods, Aberdeen Asset Management, Saltire Energy, (oil and gas company) Hunting and Marcliffe Hotel, where he held his press conference nearly 12 years ago after claiming the Claret Jug at Carnoustie.

"We're testing the water this week," he said of a 54-hole event that has a 66-strong starting line-up, which will be reduced to 30 for the final round on Friday. "We'll find out if the format is right or whether it needs a little bit of tweaking. But the plan is to build it up into something bigger and better."

Lawrie apart, the leading light in the field is Englishman Kenneth Ferrie, the former European Open champion who, exactly five years ago this week, led the US Open after three rounds before finishing sixth behind Geoff Ogilvy. Ferrie, who earlier this season shot a European Tour record-equalling 60 in the Andalucian Open, won by Lawrie, didn't even have to be asked to support this week's event.

"I played in the same group as him in a recent European Tour event and he heard me talking about putting on a new invitational event in Scotland. He said he would like to play and I'm delighted to have him in the field - it's very nice of him," said the tournament host.

According to Greig Hutcheon, last year's Tartan Tour No 1, Ferrie is a fan of the work Lawrie puts in with his Junior Foundation, the success of which in the North-East has encouraged another high-profile Scottish golfer, Stephen Gallacher, to put plans in place to roll out a similar programme in the Lothians next year.

"I actually spoke to Kenny during the PGA Championship at Wentworth recently and the main reason he's playing this week is that he admires Paul for the work he does for junior golf," said Hutcheon. "You can see why as Paul has done an excellent job with his Foundation, which isn't just for golf these days. It has branched out into other sports.

"It's become a big thing and he deserves a lot of credit for devoting the time he does to it, having a hands-on involvement at the same time as he's still playing on Tour - and winning on it, too."

Having made the cut in both the PGA Championship and Wales Open and since followed up with two victories on the Tartan Tour, Hutcheon is one of the favourites to win this week, when a place in the Scottish Hydro Challenge at Spey Valley next Thursday is also up for grabs.

The Banchory man pinpointed Paul O'Hara as one of the less experienced players in the field to look out for over the next three days, when the likes of Greg McBain, who emulated Lawrie by winning the Scottish Young Pros' event in 2008, will also be aiming to make his presence felt on the leaderboard.

Former European Tour winner Stephen McAllister and Peter Smith, the newly-crowned British PGA Senior Professionals' Championship, add some experience to the mix, which also includes Heather MacRae and Michelle Thomson as well as Shaun Lawrie, the host's 18-year-old nephew who plays off 0.4 and is heading off to Midland Junior College in Texas later in the year.

"He's old enough now to play in an event like this and it will be good experience for him," said Lawrie, who had a cortisone injection in his foot last week after an old injury flared up but has been told he will require surgery on it in January.