Paul Lawrie has no issue with hitting the first shot of the 150th Open a 6.35 am on Thursday – he’s done it before, and well, most men his age are up at that time…
“I’m 53 so I’m wide awake at 4.30 am, going for a pee!” said the 1999 champion. “Shouldn’t be a problem, up in the middle of the night anyway. I’ll be ready for 5 am.”
The first to get the first hit twice
In all seriousness, not only is Paul honoured to have been given the first hit again – he’s the first to ever do it twice – it’s actually a pretty good time.
“The greens will be pure, hopefully it’ll be a flat calm,” he said. He was confirmed as the hitting first in advance of the main draw being released on Tuesday. “The Friday time will be 11.30 am as well. It’s a great draw.”
While he always gets nervous on the first tee no matter what the tournament is, his most nervous time was actually in the Champions’ Challenge event of 2000.
“I was defending champion that year, and had the first shot,” he said. “The place was packed and buzzing with people.
“This is a nice, big fairway but I hit a horrible pull hook and it ended up just a foot from the fence. Tom Weiskopf was next up and he whispered in my ear as he passed me and said “thank f*** you went first”.
“Then he hit exactly the same ball and ended up right where I was. That would be the most nervous I’ve ever been, I think.”
Great champions pottering about on the Old Course
Paul was back on the Old Course playing yesterday’s Celebration of Champions, with many of the old champions pottering about on the great links. The teams played a circuit of the 1st, 2nd, 17th and 18th with Jack Nicklaus looking on from a buggy, and a large crowd enjoying the fun.
“It’s great fun, and when you play with Mr (Tom) Watson, it’s always the same,” he added. “He’s never missed a shot out there, flushed every one.
“My ball-striking was a bit poor and you’re thinking, ‘Tom’s watching’, as you squaff it into the front left bunker. You don’t get that feeling very often, you’re usually just into your own game.
“But in things like this and with people like him, you definitely think about it. 23 years and I’m still not quite used to it!”
Jack Nicklaus zipped around each group in a buggy but Lee Trevino and Sir Bob Charles were among those playing.
“Jack came out to say hello, and I saw Tiger on the putting green this morning,” he continued. “It’s just great that they come out to play, great for the R&A that they want to take part, celebrate the fact we’re all champions.”
‘It’s proper links out there’
In 2010 nudged his opening shot down the middle, and in 2015 he was in the penultimate group on the Saturday.
“You can get it around these courses a bit better,” he said. “If it was the main tour I’d be struggling. But it’s links and the ground’s really hard. I knocked it on the last green, which is not my normal shot down there.
“So it’ll play shorter and hopefully we can bumble round somehow. The harder and faster the better, it’s proper links out there.
“The greens are a wee bit green. But the fairways, they’ve let them go. They’re pretty brown and it’s only Monday, we’ve a few days to go yet. It’s as good as I’ve ever seen it.”
It wasn’t taken madly seriously, but the winners of the Challengewere Team Faldo consisting of four Old Course champion golfers; Sir Nick, 2015 champion Zach Johnson, 1995 champion John Daly and 2010 champion Louis Oosthuizen on a score of six-under.
