Paul Stewart Lawrie (born 1 January 1969) is a Scottish professional golfer. He is best known for winning The Open Championship in 1999. He was a vice-captain for the European Ryder Cup team in 2016.
Career In 1969, Lawrie was born in Aberdeen, Scotland.
In 1986, Lawrie turned professional. in 1990, he won the Scottish Assistants' Championship at Cruden Bay by five strokes and the Scottish Under-25 Championship at Deer Park by seven strokes. In 1991, he won the Daily Express Scottish National Pro-am at Carnoustie by a stroke from Craig Maltman.
In 1992, Lawrie became a member of the European Tour. He performed steadily without doing much to draw attention to himself, aside from a 6th-place finish in the 1993 Open Championship. In his first seven seasons his only top 50 finish on the Order of Merit came in 1996 when he was 21st. However he also finished in the top 100 in all but one of the other six seasons, and picked up a debut tour win at the 1996 Catalan Open.
Lawrie's career was transformed in 1999. After winning the Qatar Masters (a European Tour event) early in the season, he went on to win the 1999 Open Championship at Carnoustie in July. This was the Open where the Frenchman Jean van de Velde blew a three-shot lead on the final hole. Lawrie won a four-hole playoff against Van de Velde and American Justin Leonard. An unusual aspect of Lawrie's victory was that he was neither leader nor co-leader at any time during his regulation 72 holes, only moving into a share of the lead when the leaders came back to him after he had completed his final round. Also, Lawrie came back from the largest third-round deficit ever faced by a major championship winner - going into the final day, he trailed the leader, Van de Velde, by ten shots. This is also the record for the biggest final-round comeback on the PGA Tour.
After his major championship victory, Lawrie's game shifted to a higher level without quite moving him into the global elite group of golfers. He finished 9th on the European Tour Order of Merit in 1999; 6th in 2001, when he captured the lucrative Dunhill Links Championship; and 10th in 2002, when he won his fifth European Tour title at the Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open.
In March 2001, the Paul Lawrie Foundation was created. The Foundation aims to support and sustain an interest and enthusiasm for the game of golf amongst under 18s. Activities are delivered in a fun and relaxed setting with equipment provided if necessary. The Foundation has grown rapidly and now includes football and hockey. In 2011, a 54-hole tournament, the Paul Lawrie Invitational was added to the Tartan Tour.
In 2000, due to his Open win, Lawrie became a member of the PGA Tour for several seasons, while also continuing to compete on the European Tour. He enjoyed little success in the U.S. and when his five-year major championship exemption expired at the end of the 2004 season, he lost his PGA Tour card.
Lawrie was the last European player to win a major until 2007, when that drought was ended by Pádraig Harrington of Ireland in The Open Championship. He was the last player from the United Kingdom to win a major until Graeme McDowell won the 2010 U.S. Open. Lawrie is still the last player from Scotland to win a major.
At the 2009 Open Championship at Turnberry, Lawrie scored what is believed to be only the eighth albatross (double eagle) in the competition's 150-year history by holing his second shot at the par 5 seventh hole in the final round.
On 27 March 2011, Lawrie won the Open de Andalucía de Golf by one stroke over Johan Edfors. Lawrie finished the championship at −12 and in doing so ended a nine-year period without a tour win.
In February 2012, Lawrie won the Commercialbank Qatar Masters for the second time in his career, having previously won in 1999. Lawrie became only the second player to have won the tournament more than once alongside Adam Scott. It was Lawrie's seventh win on the European Tour. The tournament was reduced to 54 holes after strong winds hampered the play during rounds one and two. He won by four strokes over Jason Day and Peter Hanson after a final round of 65.
Lawrie skipped the 2012 U.S. Open in an attempt to qualify for the 2012 Ryder Cup. He secured qualification with victory at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in August. He has stated that he would accept the captain's role for the 2014 Ryder Cup if offered. Lawrie helped Team Europe retain the Ryder Cup at Medinah. He finished the season in the top 10 of the Order of Merit for the first time in ten years.
On 1 October 2020, Lawrie announced that he would be retiring from the European Tour following his 620th career event at the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open due to back problems and would instead compete on the European Senior Tour moving forward.
Lawrie is passionate about junior golf and his Paul Lawrie Foundation has taught thousands of youngsters. In 2012 he bought Aspire Golf Centre in Aberdeen (now called the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre). Partly due to this, he was named by the Golf Club Managers' Association's Golf Club Management magazine as the 37th most powerful person in British golf. Lawrie is a fan of Aberdeen FC. Golf Club Management, June 2012
Lawrie was a columnist for bunkered golf magazine between 1999 and 2004.
Lawrie has his own golf brand, called Cardinal Golf.
In 2020, Lawrie founded the Tartan Pro Tour, a third-tier UK-based golf tour and feeder to the Challenge Tour that achieved OWGR status in May 2024. The Tartan Pro Tour was created to give players opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic and to eventually replace the shuttered PGA EuroPro Tour in 2022.
Personal life Lawrie's son Craig is also a professional golfer.
Awards and honors In 2000, Lawrie was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE). In 2013, Lawrie earned Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for voluntary service to golf.
Professional wins (19) PGA Tour wins (1) Legend Major championships (1)Other PGA Tour (0) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up118 Jul 1999The Open Championship +6 (73-74-76-67=290)Playoff Justin Leonard, Jean van de Velde
PGA Tour playoff record (1–0) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult11999The Open Championship Justin Leonard, Jean van de VeldeWon four-hole aggregate playoff;Lawrie: E (5-4-3-3=15),Leonard: +3 (5-4-4-5=18),van de Velde: +3 (6-4-3-5=18)
European Tour wins (8) Legend Major championships (1)Other European Tour (7) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up13 Mar 1996Catalan Open−9 (65-70=135)1 stroke Fernando Roca220 Feb 1999Qatar Masters−20 (68-65-67-68=268)7 strokes Søren Kjeldsen, Phillip Price318 Jul 1999The Open Championship +6 (73-74-76-67=290)Playoff Justin Leonard, Jean van de Velde421 Oct 2001Dunhill Links Championship−18 (71-68-63-68=270)1 stroke Ernie Els511 Aug 2002Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open−16 (67-65-70-70=272)5 strokes John Bickerton627 Mar 2011Open de Andalucía de Golf−12 (66-67-65-70=268)1 stroke Johan Edfors75 Feb 2012Commercialbank Qatar Masters (2)−15 (69-67-65=201)4 strokes Jason Day, Peter Hanson826 Aug 2012Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles−16 (68-69-67-68=272)4 strokes Brett Rumford
European Tour playoff record (1–2) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult11999The Open Championship Justin Leonard, Jean van de VeldeWon four-hole aggregate playoff;Lawrie: E (5-4-3-3=15),Leonard: +3 (5-4-4-5=18),van de Velde: +3 (6-4-3-5=18)22001Celtic Manor Resort Wales Open Daren Lee, Paul McGinleyMcGinley won with par on fifth extra holeLawrie eliminated by par on second hole32003Dunhill Championship Mark Foster, Anders Hansen, Trevor Immelman, Doug McGuigan, Bradford VaughanFoster won with eagle on second extra holeHansen and McGuigan eliminated by birdie on first hole
Sunshine Tour wins (1) No. DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunners-up119 Feb 2017Dimension Data Pro-Am−15 (69-69-69-67=274)1 stroke Justin Hicks, Chris Lloyd, Chris Swanepoel
Sunshine Tour playoff record (0–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentsResult12003Dunhill Championship Mark Foster, Anders Hansen, Trevor Immelman, Doug McGuigan, Bradford VaughanFoster won with eagle on second extra holeHansen and McGuigan eliminated by birdie on first hole
Other wins (7) 1990 Scottish Assistants' Championship, Scottish Under-25 Championship 1991 Daily Express Scottish National Pro-am 1992 UAP European Under-25 Championship, Scottish PGA Championship 2002 Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Match Play Championship 2005 Scottish PGA Championship
European Senior Tour wins (3) No.DateTournamentWinning scoreMargin ofvictoryRunner(s)-up118 Aug 2019Scottish Senior Open−2 (68-72-71=211)2 strokes Peter Baker, Peter Fowler219 Jun 2022Farmfoods European Legends Links Championship−11 (64-71-70=205)3 strokes Euan McIntosh316 Oct 2022Farmfoods European Senior Masters−17 (71-66-65=202)Playoff Michael Jonzon
European Senior Tour playoff record (1–1) No.YearTournamentOpponentResult12022Jersey Legends Richard GreenLost to par on third extra hole22022Farmfoods European Senior Masters Michael JonzonWon with birdie on first extra hole
Major championships Wins (1) YearChampionship54 holesWinning scoreMarginRunners-up 1999 The Open Championship 10 shot deficit +6 (73-74-76-67=290) Playoff1 Justin Leonard, Jean van de Velde 1Defeated Leonard and van de Velde in 4-hole playoff: Lawrie (5-4-3-3=15), Leonard (5-4-4-5=18), van de Velde (6-4-3-5=18).
Results timeline Results not in chronological order in 2020. Tournament19921993199419951996199719981999Masters TournamentU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipT22T6T24T58CUTCUT1PGA ChampionshipT34
Tournament2000200120022003200420052006200720082009Masters TournamentCUTCUTCUTT15T37U.S. OpenCUTT30CUTCUTThe Open ChampionshipCUTT42T59CUTCUTT52CUTCUTCUTT47PGA ChampionshipT72CUTCUT Tournament201020112012201320142015201620172018Masters TournamentT24T38U.S. OpenT32The Open ChampionshipCUTT66T34T26CUTT40T63CUTPGA ChampionshipT48CUT Tournament2019202020212022Masters TournamentPGA ChampionshipU.S. OpenThe Open ChampionshipCUTNTCUT
CUT = missed the half-way cut "T" indicates a tie for a place NT = No tournament due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Summary Tournament Wins 2nd 3rd Top-5 Top-10 Top-25 Events Cuts madeMasters Tournament 0 0 0 0 0 2 7 4PGA Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 3U.S. Open 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2The Open Championship 1 0 0 1 2 4 27 14Totals 1 0 0 1 2 6 45 23 Most consecutive cuts made – 7 (2011 Open Championship – 2013 Open Championship) Longest streak of top-10s – 1 (twice)
Results in The Players Championship Tournament20002001200220032004The Players ChampionshipT73CUTCUTT56CUT CUT = missed the halfway cut "T" indicates a tie for a place
Results in World Golf Championships Results not in chronological order before 2015. Tournament1999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017ChampionshipT37NT1T54T60T58Match PlayQFR32R64R64R16R64InvitationalT21T65T50T27T60ChampionsT49T36
1Cancelled due to 9/11
QF, R16, R32, R64 = Round in which player lost in match play "T" = Tied Note that the HSBC Champions did not become a WGC event until 2009.
Team appearances World Cup (representing Scotland): 1996, 2000, 2002, 2003 Alfred Dunhill Cup (representing Scotland): 1999 Ryder Cup (representing Europe): 1999, 2012 (winners) Seve Trophy (representing Great Britain & Ireland): 2000, 2002 (winners), 2003 (winners), 2013 Royal Trophy (representing Europe): 2009, 2013 (winners)
See also List of golfers with most European Tour wins
Notes
References
External links