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| Paul Lawrie of Scotland tees off on the sixth hole during the third round of the Qatar Masters tournament at Doha Golf Club yesterday |
There’s something serene about the way Paul Lawrie plays his game. The wind doesn’t ruffle him – he is from Scotland where it can get really windy on golf courses – and neither does he get distracted by what his rivals are doing.
Yesterday his calm and cool demeanour came to the fore once when he took a one-shot lead over Belgian Nicolas Colsaerts into the third and final round of the Commercialbank Qatar Masters despite incurring a penalty on the 10th green for dropping his ball on the marker.
Lawrie, who won the Qatar Masters win in 1999 and later that year went on to claim the British Open in Carnoustie, shot a brilliant five-under par 67 for an aggregate of eight-under par 164 that gave him a good platform to attempt a second win in Doha, a feat only accomplished by Aussie Adam Scott before.
“It’s something I hadn’t done before and now I’ve done it in the last two tournaments,” he said after a round that featured six birdies and one bogey, Lawrie said.
“I marked the ball and was looking at the hole when I dropped the ball on the marker. Referee Andy McFee asked if I was 100% sure the marker hadn’t moved but as I didn’t see it I couldn’t be certain and had to take the penalty. I asked if the TV guys had filmed it but they didn’t see it either.
“It’s a freak – a stupid rule – but you have to accept it and move on. I holed the putt and birdied the next so it didn’t affect me at all.”
Lawrie lifted the famous Mother of Pearl trophy back in 1999 and the 43- year-old is banking on an improved putting performance to clinch the issue today.
“I’m playing very well from tee to green but I’ve been playing like this for a long time – the only difference now is I’m making more putts,” Lawrie said. “I’m taking two or three shots less each round and if you’re a decent player then that’s always going to give you a chance to win tournaments.”
But with only four shots separating the top 16, Lawrie is taking nothing for granted, especially on a course where winds can cause real problems.
“My job is to get to the first tee tomorrow, hit a good shot down the middle and move on,” he said. “That’s all I’m thinking about.”
Colsaerts, who shot a 69 in the first round, went one better yesterday despite shooting two bogeys, while Sweden’s Peter Hanson (69) and Ricardo Gonzalez of Argentina (67) are tied for third on six under.
South Africa’s James Kingston and Simon Khan of England share fifth place on five under and with nine players tied on four under par and another nine on three under, the tournament is wide open after high winds on day two forced The European Tour to cut the tournament to 54 holes.
JohnDaly was among a clutch of 10 players a firther shot behind on four under.
One of those on three under is World Number Three Lee Westwood who carded a second round 70 (-2). “That was a bit more like it as I got up and down when I needed to,” said Westwood. “Three under par is about the score I was looking for coming back to the golf course today. Hopefully it’s not too far down and hopefully the breeze gets up this afternoon and sort of equalises the draw.”
The round of the day came from defending champion Thomas Bjorn, who bounced back with a seven-under par 65 following a seven-over par 79 in the first round.
“I just wanted to put in a professional performance, and I put in that performance today where I ground out every single shot and started rolling in a few,” Bjorn said. “To finish off the way I did just makes you pleased with your performance and now we just have to try and play a good round tomorrow and at least get a good result out of the event.”
First-time players in Doha, K.J. Choi and Hunter Mahan missed the cutafter being two and five over respectively. Scotland’s Colin Montgomerie and former Qatar champions Henrik Stenson and Robert Karlsson also failed to survive.