Peter Lawrie, after spending what he said was some 20 months in the doldrums, is not about to get carried way following a sizzling 66 on day two of the Maybank Malaysian Open.
Lawrie packed a red-hot putter needing just 23 putts to post six birdies, including three in succession from his second hole on the Kuala Lumpur Golf & Country Club course.
It left the 40-year old Dubliner, who is playing for a third week in a row on an invitation, sharing fourth spot on seven under par and only four strokes behind the leading pair of defending champion, Lee Westwood (67) and Spain’s Alejandro Canizares (65).
In-form Austrian Bernd Wiesberger continues to bang on victory door in shooting a 66 to be third spot at eight under par.
Peter Lawrie posts his second round of 66 this year on day two of the Maybank Malaysian Open. (Photo – Thos Caffrey/www.golffile.ie)
Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell let slip his opening round share of the lead with Westwood to post a disappointing 73 and fall back to a tie for eighth place on five under par.
Lawrie’s round of 66 is the second time this year he’s posted ‘all the sixes’ after grabbing third place with the same score and banking Euro 15,000 in the recent one-day Abu Dhabi Invitational at Yas Island.
But on top of playing all four rounds in both Qatar and last week in Dubai, the former Spanish Open winner is not about to get carried away with himself as the goal is to finish top-five in the Malaysian capital that would qualify him for next week’s inaugural co-sanctioned Thailand Masters.
“It’s been a long time coming seeing my name near the top of a leader board because I have been in the doldrums for the last 20 odd months since the 2013 Irish Open, so it’s been long wait,” he said.
“It’s also been difficult as I have gone through a lot of swing changes and the confidence has suffered, but the confidence is coming back and I can see the ball going in the hole.
“So it goes well hopefully for the rest of the year.
“But I am not about to get carried away with myself as I have not been in this position for a long time, so there’s no chance of that happening.
“It’s been tough already this year playing these three weeks on sponsor’s invitations as that means banging out letters being the sole trader that I am, and not being with a big management group.
“So I am just delighted with today’s round in shooting a 66 and I am very pleased to have received a sponsor’s invitation because I wouldn’t be here without that invitation”.
McDowell soured his round in a two hole run taking a bogey at the 11th and then doubling the par four 12th hole.
Paul McGinley battled also grabbing only two birdies but also posting four bogeys and a 15th hole double in a round of 73 to be tied in 53rd place with Belfast’s Michael Hoey (70).
