Portstewart, Northern Ireland …
Paul Lawrie is not yet shaking like a pill bottle but he is learning do deal with his latest ahead of this week’s Irish Open at Portstewart in Northern Ireland.
Lawrie is contesting just his seventh event this season of his 26th year in the play-for-play ranks since making his debut 596 Tour events ago early in 1992 at the Johnnie Walker Asian Classic.
However, in recent years the now 48-year old has struggled with injury.
A year ago, the Scot indicated he was needing to undergo foot surgery and declaring he hated the situation the injury found himself in.
Lawrie’s recent concern, and not that he is using the injury as an excuse, but it is continual pain in his neck region and the reason why he contested just two events in January, one in February, two in May and then came back from a month layout to contest the Tour event that was held a fortnight ago in Munich.
Now Lawrie is contesting three in succession including next week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open and the following week’s Open Championship at Birkdale.
Paul Lawrie, and in his 26th year, says he is learning to deal with pain.
“I have not played a lot of golf as everyone knows as my neck and my bad has been terrible, and I think this is only my seventh event this year so it has been a bit of a struggle,” he said.
“But then today in the pro-am I hit the ball quite nicely and played quite well so hopefully I wake up tomorrow and the neck is not too bad.
“I have a physio that I see, and it is like Thomas Bjorn, and playing behind us today, as you wake up one day and it is just not right and you cannot move you head. I have been struggling with the right side of my neck but you are just getting old.
“But then I am okay with it and then in 20 odd years out here I have hardly had any injuries at all but then the last four or five years, I have struggled a bit.
“I take pain killers every day. I don’t spend time in the physio truck but then I am stretching more than I used to as they have given me some stretching exercises to undertake.
“To be honest, I am not all that bothered about it because when you have played 26 years out here like I have, so playing a bit less of a schedule is not hugely a disadvantage to me”.
Lawrie very much tested his body to the extreme some weeks ago, in an exercise where he no doubt thought of he was still a raw, unexperienced pro but until a reality check the next morning.
“I cannot hit the same number of balls as I used to and you just can’t when you get older as you get a bit stiffer,” he said.
“I few weeks ago I thought I was going to get right back into it and I hit 1,ooo balls one day, and that is the amount of balls I would have hit when I first came onto the Tour, but the next day I could hardly get out of bed. So, I thought to myself I cant do this anymore.
“I only take one pain killer a day and if you do need to take more than one, you need to do something about it. So I just take one in the morning and around lunchtime if I am off in the afternoon and that tends to see my through”.
This week mark also the third occasion in the past six years the Irish Open has been staged on one of links gems of Northern Ireland with Royal Portrush host in 2o12, and their Pro Shop already brimming with 2o19 Open merchandise, and Royal County Down three years later and now Portstewart.
“If I was rating the three courses I would rate them Portrush, here and County Down,” said Lawrie.
“But then they are good if you know what I mean and just because I rate County Down third does not mean is not very good as they are each brilliant.
“I live everything here about Portstewart and its just awesome. The tee shots are going to be important because if you don’t hit a good tee shot there is nowhere to go and that is what links golf is.
“There is, of course, a lot of a Scottish feel about all the courses over here as they are true links courses and there is always a bit of Scotland in every links course. But it is just beautiful here and some of the high dunes out there … well they are just stunning”
