Ireland’s Peter Lawrie is hoping he’s learnt the mistakes from last year that saw him go close to losing full playing for the 2014 European Tour.
The Dubliner ended the 2013 season late last month having travelled halfway around the globe to secure a share of 18th place in the Perth International that was good enough for him to retain Tour playing rights for the new season.
After a few weeks break Lawrie wasted little time heading to the start of the 2014 Race to Dubai competing in two events in South Africa.
But two missed cuts, as he works to embed some swing changes, was not part of Lawrie’s new season script.
However Lawrie’s now made his way to Hong Kong for today’s (THU) starting Hong Kong Open, and on a fabulous old style golf course.
“Looking back on my 2013 season I am trying to learn from my mistakes and trying to improve on that heading into the New Year,” he said.
“I really feel like I have been handed a new lease of life to be honest heading into 2014.
“However you see guys who lose their Tour card like Richard Finch but then he finishes second last week in South Africa and is virtually back on Tour again.
“So losing your card affects people differently and nearly losing mine certainly affected me badly.
“But as I said there is a lot to learn from what I went through.
“Also being here in Hong Kong is great as it’s a golf course that suits my game and I’ve played well here in the past.
“As well, since getting my card back I have made a few changes to my game and I am slowly working them in but then given there is no real off-season anymore, you have to get any changes worked in pretty quickly.”
Lawrie actually had a month’s break from ending his 10th full season on Tour at 110th on the Race to Dubai, and just one spot inside the cut off mark of 111th, before jumping back in the deep end at the South African Open.
“It was a great feeling having travelled all the way to Australia and come back home knowing my card was safe for 2014 and that I can pick and choose my tournaments for next year,” he said.
“It is something that I could really look forward to.
“And I was proud in a way that knowing I was up against it in Perth that I did what I had to do, and when I look back on the event, and having started the week with a three-putt and thinking ‘here we go again’, and all of a sudden things clicked into place.
“If I hadn’t been in the situation I was in I feel as though I might have had a chance to win the tournament as it was a week I was protecting my scores and didn’t want to make a mistake or have a disaster.”
Joining Lawrie in Hong Kong is fellow Irishman Shane Lowry, fresh from a few days relaxing in Sydney after his World Cup showing, and Simon Thornton.
