Lawrie lurking at Gleneagles
Mark Foster and Ignacio Garrido have suffered their share of sporting heartache over the past eight years but it remains to be seen if Peter Lawrie can add to their woes in the final round of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
The duo, winless since 2003, lead by three shots on 11 under par from a quintet of players that includes the Dubliner (71), Dane Thomas Bjorn (71), Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal (70), American Anthony Kang (69) and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger (68).
It’s not the kind of leaderboard that will send pulses racing but Lawrie won’t care if he can bridge the three shot gap and end his three-year wait for a second European Tour title.
Lawrie motoring nicely in Johnnie Walker
He went into the Irish Open with a putter he retrieved from his garage collection, hoping it might spark some better form on the greens.
Less than a month later, Peter Lawrie is rolling the ball beautifully again and just a stroke behind leader Ignacio Garrico at the halfway stage of the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles.
Lawrie in the mix again
Peter Lawrie is making a habit of getting into the running early in European Tour events but it remains to be seen if he can stick around for 72 holes and grab his second European Tour win.
The Dubliner opened with a four under 68 in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles’ PGA Centenary course to lie just two strokes behind pace-setter Mark Foster.
“I’ll try not to get ahead of myself,” said Lawrie, who led after the first round of last week’s Czech Open only to fade to tied 37th. “Last week was uncomfortable, coming from two weeks off. Shooting such a good score first round it would have been better to play into it. But you can’t pick and choose when you shoot a score.”
McGinely rules out long putter - Harrington won't say never
Paul McGinley has brushed aside the broomhandle as a solution to his putting woes. But Padraig Harrington has adopted a “never say never” attitude to the long putter.
Dubliner McGinley, 44, is determined to remain competitive as he bids to become the first Irishman to land the Ryder Cup captaincy in 2014.
But despite struggling badly on the greens recently, he has no plans to join the long putter revolution that’s taking the game by storm.
Set to continue his golfing fightback in this week’s Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, McGinley said: “I am very much a traditionalist and I’d have to say that at the end of the day I’m anti the long putter.
Murphy and Caldwell fail to take advantage
Gary Murphy and Jonny Caldwell failed to make the big move they needed to ease their card worries at Gleneagles.
As Peter Hedblom captured the Johnnie Walker Championships by a shot, Murphy closed with a 69 to finish tied 16th with Caldwell’s 73 relegating him to tied 31st.
Ranked 156th in the Race to Dubai starting the week, Murphy moved up just six places to 150th after earning a cheque for €21,861.
The top 115 at the end of the season retain their cards and as things stand, the Kilkenny man is €63,223 behind 115th ranked James Kingston.
Johnnie Walker lifeline for Caldwell
Rookie Jonny Caldwell can save his European Tour card after a sensational six under 66 left him tied for second at the halfway stage in the Johnnie Walker Championships at Gleneagles.
Ranked 280th in the Race to Dubai, he knows that a win would give up a two year exemption while a second place finish would earn him enough to sneak closer to the top 115 who retain their cards.
“It’s been a long time coming but I have played pretty decent for the last couple of months and it is all starting to fall into place,” said the Ulsterman