Lawrie romps to Qatar Masters glory

Scots star continues rich vein of form by winning in the Gulf for second time

Law and order: Paul Lawrie’s victory in Qatar made it four consecutive top tens for the Aberdeen man

Paul Lawrie continued his rich vein of form and climbed into the world’s top 50 by recording a four-shot win in the Qatar Masters.

Fresh off an eighth place finish in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, the Aberdonian held off Australia’s Jason Day and Ryder Cup star Peter Hanson to claim his second European Tour title in under a year.

The win also gave Lawrie his fourth consecutive top ten on the European Tour.

“I can’t play much better than that,” said the 43-year-old after carding a sensational 65 to close out the win. “I’ve been playing well. I’ve just not been making enough putts you need to make to win tournaments.

“But these past few months I’ve putted better. I’ve been working on it over the winter. So when you putt half decent, and you hit it solid, there’s a fair chance you’re going to play good.”

The win was Lawrie’s seventh on the tour and catapulted him to 43rd in the world, his highest position in almost nine years. It also gave Scotland a 128th victory in the history of the European Tour.

Not only that, the win was the second time that Lawrie has won the Qatar Masters. On the previous occasion, in 1999, he went on to win the Open the same year.

The victory has also helped bump Lawrie into the reckoning for this year’s Ryder Cup match at Medinah, though he is remaining coy on his prospects of a second appearance in the match.

“The Ryder Cup is a long way off, and there’s a lot of golf to be played from now until then,” he said. “I’m obviously playing very well, but who knows what’s going to happen.

“It would be silly to sit here and say that I’m going to get on the team when you don’t know what’s going to happen you don’t know if you’re going to play good enough to get in.”

Lawrie’s fellow countryman, Scott Jamieson, finished in a share of 12th, with Marc Warren also giving another good account of himself, coming in a tie for 35th.

Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered