Peter Lawrie will remember to have clubs will travel as he kept alive hopes of regaining his Tour card despite a bizarre Bavarian start to his Porsche European Open campaign at Bad Griesbach.
Lawrie arrived at the Bavarian event on Tuesday purposely without his golf clubs to simply attend a Players Committee meeting later that day, and after having been also turned down just prior to leaving Ireland by sponsor’s Porsche for an invitation.
But in reaching continental Europe’s biggest golfing complex Lawrie secured the very last entry off his current Tour ranking.
Peter Lawrie will remember to have ‘clubs will travel’.
Then after some lengthy practice sessions with a complete new set of clubs under the guidance of coach, Jamie Gough and using ‘Trackman’, Lawrie stepped out to pick off five birdies, including two of his closing three holes, in a two under par 69.
“I was only coming to Germany to honour my duty as a member of the Players Committee but when the Tour asked for an invitation for me the sponsor’s declined,” he said.
“So I only packed an overnight bag and had left my house as eighth reserve but after a two hour bus journey from Munich I was first reserve and I was phoned again to say I was in.
“I tried to get my golf bag sent by FedEx from home but was informed it would not arrive to Friday afternoon so thankfully the equipment guys here in Germany were great in arranging a complete set of new clubs along with bag, balls and gloves.
“So rather than fly home to get my own clubs I just settled in with the new clubs and delighted to shoot a 69.
“But in future it will be clubs will travel.”
Lawrie’s lying 111th on the Race to Dubai and just one spot outside of regaining full 2016 membership but then with no guarantee of a start in any of the last four events ahead of the Final Four Series all his eggs are
seemingly in this week’s basket.
Graeme McDowell was four under par after just six holes and then five under with two to play when he posted a double bogey at his penultimate hole on route to a three under par 68.
“After five weeks off, coming back for the first time with a card in your pocket, you’d always take a start like that but then I’m stood on the eighth tee, the par five, and I tried to hit one a little too hard,” he said.
“But all in all I’ll take that as a good start and I look forward to getting back out there tomorrow.”
Frenchman Benjamin Herbert and Austrian Bernd Wiesberger share the lead shooting seven under par 64s under preferred lies for a third Tour event running.
