Only two weeks ago if you’d told David Law he’d be playing both the Genesis Scottish Open and The 150th Open, he’d have thought you were crazy.
The 31-year-old from Aberdeen was in neither field and didn’t even know if he could go to the Irish Open.
But now he’s made both, getting an invitation to The Renaissance this week which proved a catalyst to his season a year ago. But obviously playing his first major championship at St Andrews is the big one.
Hip injury almost stopped him going to Ireland
Congratulations to John Catlin, Fabrizio Zanotti and David Law, who have qualified for The 150th Open courtesy of their performances at the Horizon Irish Open 👏 pic.twitter.com/wQrN2TMYIT
— The Open (@TheOpen) July 3, 2022
Yet the week before the fourth place in Ireland that booked the Open place, he was being examined by a doctor. He didn’t think he’d even make the plane to Mount Juliet.
“I hadn’t hit balls for two weeks,” he said. “On the Friday the week before Ireland, I was in Edinburgh seeing the doc about my hip because I was really struggling with it.
“I’d withdrawn in Sweden then missed (the BMW International) in Munich as well. The hip wasn’t getting better as quickly as we would have liked.
“It was steadily getting better but then I woke up on the Wednesday the week before Ireland and it felt like it was back to square one again.
“So that’s when we said: ‘right, we need to go down, get a scan and get it looked at’. It was a bit worrying, but it was okay, then I went out last week and had a great result.”
He’d gone to Ireland with the focus on just completing some rounds.
“I literally went into the week with zero expectation,” he said. “There’s obviously something in that.”
‘I got really lucky, it couldn’t have been clearer’
A putt to qualify for The Open at St Andrews…@DavidLawGolf, dreams come true! 👊@TheOpen | #HorizonIrishOpen pic.twitter.com/XVNeCqW07L
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 3, 2022
After a strong four days both physically and competitively, David was in position playing the last at Mount Juliet with a par putt to clinch it, and couldn’t have had what he needed to do mapped out better.
“I got really lucky,” he laughed. “I had a fair idea anyway, but, after hitting my second into the bunker, the leaderboard was right there at the greenside.
“It had the Open Claret Jug symbols alongside the players who were exempt, and I could see that the three players in front of me all had one.
“That was nice, as it gave me a minute to think about it. I was still in a good frame of mind despite bogeying 17, but seeing the position gave me a kick up the backside.
“It made me a bit more intent on holing that putt and, if you were to have a 10-foot putt, that was the one you’d want. Down the hill with a little bit right to left and it was good to see it go right in the middle.”
‘Sometimes less is more’
Welcome to Golf Country @PGATOUR 🤝#GenesisScottishOpen pic.twitter.com/7WPDwfpqlW
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 5, 2022
The two extra weeks he didn’t expect means David can tweak his schedule a little.
He said: “It has changed my schedule a little bit, and I won’t play (the Cazoo Classic) at Hillside now. But two weeks ago if someone had said I’d be playing this week and next week, I wouldn’t have believed them.
“It’s an exciting two weeks and it’s just about carrying it on, keeping the momentum going and taking stock about why we did well last week.
“We’ve got a good idea. Sometimes less is more.”
David has great memories from last year of the Scottish, where he played exceptionally for three days before a final round one-over 72 took him back to a tie for 35th. But it was the spark he needed that season.
“It sort of got my season going,” he said. “I didn’t have the best of Sundays, but the whole week boosted my confidence and I went on to play really well.
“It was a little bit of a catalyst week for the rest of the season. Even though I only finished 100th in the Race to Dubai – but it was looking a hell of a lot worse than that in June.”
Big events sharpen the focus
David went on to finish inside the top 15 at the BMW PGA at Wentworth, two crucial strong performances in the big-payout Rolex Series events.
“I think a big event like this week, and next week, ups your focus a bit,” he added. “For me, it’s about finding that a lot more in the other events as well.”
It’s also big for David to have his family about him, and wife Tasha and children Penelope and Josh are arriving at North Berwick on Wednesday.
“I had 45 minutes with the kids after nursery yesterday then had to come here,” he said. “Tasha was in Ireland, but we didn’t have the kids out there – but it’s always great to have them here.
“We have a house booked for St Andrews, but my mum and dad have a holiday booked for next week.
“My little sister hasn’t been on a holiday that isn’t golf related since she was about 13 and she’s now 17. So I don’t think my mum and dad will get away with cancelling!”