Paul Lawrie knows that he’s running out time in his career, but he’s using the spirit and inspiration of his late mentor for one last charge.
Last week Lawrie’s latest example of putting back into the game that has given him everything was to establish his own European Tour event, the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Matchplay at Murcar in Aberdeen, which starts next July.
But among the many good deeds of his widespread sponsorships of golf at all ages and levels, his successful Foundation and more, Lawrie’s set aside a little haven for himself at his Golf Centre just outside the Granite City, and the face of Adam Hunter is prominent.
The 1999 Open champion lost his great friend, coach and mentor in 2011 to leukaemia, but it was his inspiration that resulted in the annus mirabilis of 2012, when Lawrie had his best ever year winning twice and playing in the Ryder Cup victory at Medinah.
“I have a new bay at the Golf Centre, it’s got trackman and a new putting green,” explained Lawrie. “There’s some shortbread in there, obviously!
“But there’s two pictures, one of Marian, myself and the boys, and one of Adam when he gave me a hug at the Open. That was the moment and the person that made me the golfer I am, and when I look at it just makes you wants to hit balls and keep going.”
The new practice bay is Lawrie’s way of re-applying himself to his game after a 2014 season badly scuppered by injury and loss of form, and he can still hear Hunter in his ear egging him on as he did in 2010.
“I remember going to see Adam in hospital and he was lying there with tubes coming out of him,” he recalled. “But he was having a real go at me for doing the Ryder Cup commentary for Sky at Celtic Manor (in 2010), slagging me for being out of shape and not practicing hard enough.
“You need someone like that now and again to tell you just to get on with it and stop moaning and groaning, to just get the work done and that picture will be enough hopefully for that to continue.”
Lawrie admits it’s been a tough year, but even now at 45, he is looking forward.
“It is pretty hard to be positive when you are coming off the back of just 16 events played and finishing one hundred and something in the order of merit, but I’m over that now and ready to get going,” he said.
“I’m big enough and ugly enough to know when it’ll all be done, but the plan to is to play hard and to my potential before I go and play on the seniors. When you look at (Bernhard) Langer and Miguel (Angel Jimenez), they are an inspiration to everybody.
“I would like to play in one more Ryder Cup team. I feel as though I’ve got that in me and those are the two guys you look up to most at their age to how they are performing.”
Going to Gleneagles in September as a spectator outside the ropes in the stands with the punters has strengthened his determination to come back.
“We went on the Saturday with friends of ours, eight of us. I had never been a spectator before and I hated every second of it.
“I had no right to think I should be playing but when you’ve played in the previous one and you turn up to watch them from a stand with the woolly hat on and freezing, it’s not great.
“The amount of people inside the ropes was incredible. I couldn’t get my head round that. There were 117 people with one of the groups, my friend Alan counted.
“I don’t remember it being as bad at Medinah. But it’s not right when you get pop stars, actors and footballers (inside the ropes). There were a lot of unhappy people saying ‘sit down. We’ve paid a lot of money and we can’t see.’ They were spot on because it shouldn’t happen.”
All that was enough to get Lawrie thinking of being inside the ropes doing the proper thing next time.
“I went home, started to hit more balls and went into the gym more and thought ‘man, I want to get into one more team,’” he added.
“Right now I’m as far away as I’ve ever been from that level, but I’ve been there before and done it before, so let’s see what happens.”