It’s been 18 years but it clearly still irks Paul Lawrie recalling memories of Ian Poulter dancing about Rome Airport with the oversize victory cheque after the Scot virtually handed him the 2002 Italian Open title.
Poulter captured a second Italian Open title in three years but only after Lawrie, who had birdied 17th to go one shot ahead, sent his final tee shot out-of-bounds and with Poulter, who had three-putted 17 for bogey, making birdie at the last to win by two in the Italian capital.
Lawrie was recounting the story in joining victorious Solheim Cup captain, Catriona Matthews in a Scottish Open arranged panel discussion.
The champion Scottish duo were asked a variety of questions from over 300 individuals who had signed-on for the discussion, and with each asked at the end to pick out a ‘best question’ that would be awarded prizes.
Lawrie chose ‘If you had the chance to hit one shot in your career again, which would it be?’
Lawrie said: “It goes back to 2002 at the Italian Open and my final tee shot on the 72nd hole where I am one ahead of my playing partner, Ian Poulter.
“I had driven the ball really well all week and it was a part of the game I was horrible at but back then I had driven the ball in play. I wasn’t nervous on the last day. I didn’t feel I put a bad swing on it but it went straight right and it was out-of-bounds by about four feet.
“I made a double-bogey. Poulter made birdie and he won by two and as you can imagine Poulter was jumping about like a madman.
“We’ve all got shots we don’t like and we’ve all got shots that we understand that we are human, and you are going to hit if off line but that shot is one that I would just absolutely love to replay.
“You can tell it still even angers me today but then it had to be Poulter, as there is no-one you would rather had not won there.
“He had the big cheque when we got to the airport and he’s dancing about with it in front of everyone.
“Fair enough, he won but that shot. Well it still bugs me to this day.”
Matthews singled out he best of her four Solheim Cup victories, including last year as Captain.
She said: “It’s a tough one as either Barseback in 2003 or last year at Gleneagles. Barseback was my first one in a winning team as a player and where I was fortunate to have secured the winning point. I remember coming down the last and Annika (Sorenstam) was in he match behind me and it was a question which one of us would get the winning point.
“We got to the 17th and I was playing Rosie Jones, a veteran American, and I remember all the team including helpers and everyone rushed down to our game and I thought ‘Oh, this looks like it is going to be it’. We both nailed our drives and then she was going first and just missed the green to the right.
“I hit a fade into the green about 15-feet from the flag as it turned out I did not need to putt. I then remember turning around and Sophie Gustafson raced onto the green and just about flatten me, so that was one of my best moments as a player and being my first winning team.”
